The costumes created by Oscar-winning designer Holly Waddington for Yorgos Lanthimos’ film “Poor Things” follow the journey of Bella Baxter – the main character played by Emma Stone – from childhood to adulthood and witness the transition from the heroine’s complete dependence on men to her complete empowerment. Lanthimos had given his British collaborator, whom we first met as a costume designer’s assistant for the 2007 film “Atonement,” only one direction: He did not want his film to look like a period drama in terms of costumes. But he failed to tell her exactly what he had in mind.
She had to figure that out on her own. Bella Baxter would not have been etched in our memories if she did not wear these mismatched outfits, reminiscent of nothing in particular but drawn from many periods, from 1890s satirical illustrations and dress patterns, to Otto Dix paintings and Victorian photography. Her choices are reminiscent of various periods in fashion history but also today’s trend where any style can be worn at the same time.
“For this film I was thinking about the game throughout the process of designing and making the costumes,” she told Kathimerini on the occasion of the exhibition of the film’s costumes at the Benaki Museum. The design aspect was enjoyable and fun to work out and I got to be playful, to throw different periods in time together, work with a myriad of different materials and to collaborate with wonderful people, so “Poor Things” w.