Director Yorgos Lanthimos had a specific vision for his newest film, Poor Things, starring Emma Stone. Lanthimos created a stylized period drama with a sci-fi twist, and a large part of the world the director created in his movie is thanks to the costume design elements by British costume designer Holly Waddington. 

In an article for The Hollywood Reporter, Waddington spoke about Lanthimos’ vision for the costume design, “He didn’t want it to be like a period drama, he didn’t want it to be like a sci-fi film, and he didn’t want it to be too ‘fashiony.’” Waddington delivered on that request to blur the lines of costume genre and created a unique and innovative look into the Poor Things world through costume design. 

The film follows Bella Baxter, played by Emma Stone, as she is brought back to life by an ambitious, overzealous scientist, played by Willem Dafoe. The film follows Bella’s social and sexual awakening, and Waddington sought to support that theme through the costumes. 

A staple of Bella’s style in the film was large, puffy sleeves; Waddington spoke about the style choice, saying, “There was a very brief window in the 1890s where women wore these huge sleeves, and once we started filming, the size of the sleeve blocked the camera angles. The big sleeve felt quite empowering and was like lungs full of breath and air that ignited and reanimated Bella.” 

Waddington played on the sexual overtones of the film in her costume design, “I was exploring everything that had a connection to the body. I used a soft palette of pinks that look like human skin, and everything started to look like female genitalia.” Waddington designed a latex covering for Bella that was given the name the “condom coat” referring to the similarity between it and the Victorian-era condom.