Carey Mulligan’s character in this Oscar-nominated drama utilises the ‘good girl’ look to get revenge. Costume designer Nancy Steiner explains why the wardrobe packs such a punch
At one point in Emerald Fennell’s debut film, Promising Young Woman, Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan) goes to lunch with a former college classmate, Madison McPhee (Alison Brie). Madison, who is a stay-at-home mother, gets – as she calls it – “afternoon drunk” and proceeds to give her thoughts on gender politics. “All guys want the same thing,” she slurs. “A good girl.”
This desire – and Cassie’s subversion of it – is spelled out in what she wears. Cassie’s clothes are the epitome of the “good girl” type – pink, floral and fluffy. There is a baseball shirt with a unicorn on the front. A sweater with daisies. A midi dress, softly flowing in sky blue. Her clothes are sweet – as sweet as the cupcakes on display in the coffee shop where she works.
