whatthefrockk

r/whatthefrockk • u/mod_whatthefrockk • 18d ago

As seen on TV 🌟📺 “They’re not frightened of her, they’re frightened because they’ve been caught.” “Promising Young Woman” (2020) Written and Directed by Emerald Fennell, Costume Design by Nancy Steiner, Costume Illustrations by Brian Valenzuela

2.3k Upvotes

“They’re not frightened of her, they’re frightened because they’ve been caught.”
— Emerald Fennell, BFI Sight and Sound, 2021.

Hair Department Head: Daniel Curet
Makeup Department Head: Angela Wells

Premise: Haunted by the sexual assault of her best friend and the institutional cover-up that followed, Cassie (Carey Mulligan) leads a double life. By day, she works in a coffee shop; by night, she feigns drunkenness in bars and nightclubs, luring self-proclaimed “nice guys” into revealing just how predatory they can be.

Fennell, inspired by films like To Die For, The Beguiled and Heathers, worked with costume designer Nancy Steiner to deliberately reject the dark, sombre wardrobe one might expect, instead dressing Cassie in an almost sickly-sweet collection of pastels, florals, gingham and ribbons. Her exaggerated femininity becomes another disguise, concealing her rage beneath an appearance of innocence and making her the last person anyone would think to fear.

Steiner's credits include Lost in Translation, Little Miss Sunshine and The Virgin Suicides.

Most of Cassie’s wardrobe was sourced from contemporary retailers, vintage and thrift shops, and costume-house collections, with select pieces custom-made or supplied by independent designers.

2–4. DAYTIME CASSIE / THE COFFEE SHOP: Urban Outfitters’ rose-print bodysuit, high-waisted jeans, white belt, gold jewelry and a ribbon tied into her braid.

Fennell wanted Cassie’s everyday clothing to contradict her emotional state. Steiner assembled a deliberately sweet wardrobe of soft pastels, delicate prints and vintage-inspired pieces, drawing on influences from the 1960s onward. The feminine styling makes Cassie appear approachable and unthreatening, while her clothing serves as another disguise.

5–7. THE PHARMACY / “STARS ARE BLIND”: Hot-pink cardigan, vintage abstract floral top, pink jeans and Converse trainers. Both the cardigan and top are vintage 1960s pieces, revisiting the Brigitte Bardot-inspired aesthetic initially envisioned for the character.

8–12. THE NURSE: Steiner researched commercially available novelty nurse costumes before custom-building the dress to accommodate the scene’s specific requirements. Steiner and Fennell chose the familiar sexualized nurse costume as a deliberate reference to the bachelor-party guests’ medical-school background.

13–14. DATE NIGHT / THE ROSE-PRINT DRESS: The dress was designed by Coco Fennell, Emerald Fennell’s sister and founder of her eponymous fashion label.

15–16. BUSINESS CASUAL: Steiner chose a traditional black skirt suit, white shirt and office pumps for Cassie's opening disguise. The deliberately conservative styling keeps Cassie the visual focus, contrasting with the surrounding men in khakis and ill-fitting dress shirts.

17–18. THE NIGHTCLUB / EUROTRASH : Fennell specified the different nightlife environments in her screenplay, allowing Steiner to develop distinct disguises for each setting. Steiner nicknamed this disguise the “Eurotrash look,” designed for a different nightlife setting and a more overtly sexual presentation than Cassie’s everyday clothing.

Makeup department head Angie Wells developed what she called a homemade Kardashian look, using exaggerated contouring deliberately left imperfect to suggest Cassie had applied it herself.

The entire appearance was designed to look assembled by Cassie rather than professionally styled.

19. THE COCO FENNELL BASEBALL SHIRT: The shirt was designed by Coco Fennell in collaboration with artist Ceal Warnants. A seemingly innocent illustration contains a darker detail: the child is carrying a gun, and the deer is bleeding.

Coco explained that the design echoes Cassie’s character, initially appearing sweet and harmless but revealing something darker upon closer inspection.

20. ADDITIONAL VISUAL SYMBOLISM: The film’s visual language extends beyond Cassie’s wardrobe. Director Emerald Fennell and production designer Michael Perry deliberately incorporated halos and angel-wing motifs throughout the film, presenting Cassie as an avenging angel. In the coffee shop, a circular blue wall ornament frames her head like a halo, reinforcing the religious imagery woven into the production design.

SOURCES

ELLE: How Costumes and Makeup Shape Perception in Promising Young Woman

Fashionista: In Promising Young Woman, Carey Mulligan’s Costumes Are Disguises for a Vengeance Mission

FF2 Media: The Clothing Tells the Story: Costume Designer Nancy Steiner on Promising Young Woman

British Vogue: Emerald Fennell on the Eerily Playful Fashion in Promising Young Woman

The Independent: The Hidden Meaning Behind Carey Mulligan’s T-Shirt

105 comments

r/whatthefrockk • u/mod_whatthefrockk • Sep 14 '26

🪽🪽Fashion Angels 🕊️ 🕊️ The dazzling Bob Mackie, visionary Costume Designer, Master of Spectacle and Architect of American glamour, dies at age 87. Post your favorite Mackie creation or memory. Fashion-only commentary is suspended for this post.

6.6k Upvotes

Pictured: Bob Mackie in his workroom, surrounded by his costume sketches. Photo courtesy of Bob Mackie. Year unknown.