Warning: Mild spoilers for Babygirl below.
In Babygirl, an intense, heated affair between powerful CEO Romy (Nicole Kidman) and her enigmatic intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson) is fueled by an ongoing, ambiguous power play. In the production notes, director Halina Reijn – who also brought us the quintessential Gen-Z horror comedy Bodies, Bodies, Bodies – explained: “The whole relationship between the two is just about: Who is the cat?” Who is the mouse? Who is using who?”
During a brief interaction in the office’s elegant pantry, an enthusiastic Romy orders Samuel to make her some coffee. The subordinate, sensing her intrigue, cheekily counters by shaming her afternoon caffeine habits.
“How many coffees do you drink a day?” he asks with a glint in his eyes. “It’s none of your business,” replies Romy, wearing a soft pink blouse and skirt and wrapped in a dove gray wool and cashmere coat from Max Mara. Then she gives in: “Seven.”
“We really wanted to show how much control she had over how she presented herself,” says costume designer Bart, one half of Kurt and Bart. “Part of it was [her color] Range. Even though she is a super calculating and controlling leader, she [has] this hyper-feminine but truly neutral presentation. It is tone-on-tone and has very pale colors. There’s a certain amount of distance.”
The same goes for the luxurious, tactile fabrics and textures – cashmere, silk and sheer organza – in her sumptuous wardrobe: “It feels very inviting and feminine. We wanted to show what happens when she loses control and falls down the rabbit hole,” adds Bart.
This is also reflected in their behavior, especially in the way they dress. For example, Romy flawlessly ties the belts of her coats, exerting even more control (or presenting the appearance of control). “She’s strapped in a little tighter, a little more closed,” says Kurt.
At the company’s Christmas party, Romy paints the ideal image of a woman who has everything. She wears a figure-hugging Giorgio Armani dress in blush with subtle cutouts, delicate pleats and draping at the neckline. But even surrounded by her perfect family – doting theater director husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas) and teenage daughters Isabel (Esther McGregor) and Nora (Vaughn Riley) – all dressed in white, she finds herself distracted by Samuel.
In the production notes, Kidman described Romy as “unable to be fully authentic to her husband or to herself because she is extremely afraid of revealing her innermost thoughts and desires, feelings and secrets and what she considers shameful.” .” Through her exciting, often surprising and dangerous rendezvous with Samuel, she is able to explore and express her sexual desires, which are usually considered socially taboo. Your wardrobe responds accordingly.
“Harris’ character obviously allows her to open up and explore a different side of herself, and that’s when [her clothes] Become more relaxed and open,” says Kurt. (As for Dickinson’s costumes, he googled “subway interns” to find out about his ill-fitting but actually tailored suits and Men’s Warehouse ties. “I find that contrast really, really interesting,” notes Kurt .)
When Romy arrives at Samuel’s cheap hotel room to put an end to their mutual flirtation, she sends a mixed message, armored in a severe, almost dominatrix-like, all-black outfit: a sculptural Khaite coat over a sheer, high-Etro blouse with floral neckline and tailored, ultra-tight pencil skirt.
“She felt overexposed, so she approaches again — and ends up overdressing for this meeting,” Bart says. “The idea is that she’s trying to take control again and not let him seduce her, but she’s not sure, so the blouse is blue and black sheer lace. She also wears the highest heels she wears in the film in this scene.”
Strolling in late with snacks from the bodega, Samuel reveals confusion about Romy’s intentions by referencing her fashion messages. “You show up dressed like this,” he says, pointing to her ensemble, right down to the towering Valentino stilettos.
“That’s what I love about the whole movie – it’s not easy,” Bart says. “[Romy and Samuel are] Both are awkward in the roles they take on and sometimes dress completely incorrectly or uncomfortably for the occasion.”
Kurt adds: “The fact that Samuel doesn’t give a damn and shows up in his dirty clothes [Nike] Hoodie, he has nothing premeditated about their encounter.”
As Romy submits to her own sexual impulses and desires in the exciting, secret relationship, her color palette also changes. “It’s starting to bloom,” says Kurt. “These colors get hotter and more saturated, just as she gets hotter.”
Reijn’s vision for Romy’s turning point depicts a fashion tableau of sorts: as the camera shoots from above, she writhes on the floor of her walk-in closet, struggling to change from her signature pink pantsuit into a sapphire blue velvet Zuhair Murad dress with slits, cut -outs and asymmetrical details.
“Romy is shedding her skin. It changes in real time,” explains Bart. “We rehearsed [the changing scene] together, like she’s taking everything off while at the same time putting on the dress that’s so tight.” Romy wears the stunning dress to supposedly support Jacob at the premiere of his play – but then she lies and feigns a work emergency after she received a text message from Samuel.
In the middle of the affair, Romy lies to her family again and rushes from the office to a rave on the outskirts to meet Samuel in a tank top. She’s still wearing her work outfit: a lush marigold pussy-bow blouse by Jason Wu, a tailored cream pencil skirt, and her camel coat (which she miraculously didn’t lose in the sweat-soaked, toned crowd). As the two perform a sultry dance amid the blaring music and erratic lights, Samuel slowly loosens Romy’s long tie at her neck and removes her blouse to a journelle cami.
“Seeing her blouse ripped off at a rave [by Samuel] “It’s actually really exciting – there’s something about it that you can’t do without,” says Kurt. “Since all of her clothes are really nice and expensive, to see something like that just ripped off her in a sweaty club was really, really exciting and, honestly, a symbol of her letting go.”
Romy opens and closes the film in a different blouse with an elaborate bow tie. At first she’s nervous about being late for work and having a group of new interns in her corner office—including a brash, outspoken Samuel—and keeps fussing with the haphazardly tied neckline on her dove-gray Saint Laurent top. In the final scene, however, Romy appears again in a sheer shirt, sitting tall at her desk and with an immaculately tied bow.
“When we first meet her, when she’s most in control of herself, she’s already starting to loosen up a little bit,” Bart says. “It’s not like she ends up portraying a completely different character. She wears the same clothes, but the really big difference is that she is herself. It’s really Romy who brought about the change.”
“Babygirl” hits theaters on December 25th.
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