We speak to the film’s hair and makeup designer Nadia Stacey about the sensational looks in Craig Gillespie’s 101 Dalmatians prequel.
The Hidden Meanings Behind Emma Stone’s Wild Beauty Looks in Disney’s ‘Cruella’
Few screen villains have captured the imagination quite like Cruella de Vil, who was famously brought to life by Glenn Close in Disney’s 1996 live-action adaptation, 101 Dalmatians.
Deliciously wicked and with a wardrobe to die for (quite literally), Cruella was the ultimate baddie. But how did she get to be so dastardly? This is the question that underpins director Craig Gillespie’s origin story, Cruella. Starring Emma Stone in the title role, and set in the vibrant punk era of 1970s London, the film follows Estella, a rebellious young grifter who—with her natural black-and-white hair, which she disguises with red hair dye—has always felt like an outsider. With dreams of making it as a fashion designer, she soon catches the attention of industry titan, Baroness Von Hellman, played by Emma Thompson, who takes her under her wing, until one day Estella notices the Baroness wearing a necklace that had once belonged to her mother, who died in mysterious circumstances many years ago.
Enraged by this, and sick of trying to repress her nonconformist nature, Estella sets about trying to upstage the Baroness, letting her two-toned hair flourish and experimenting wildly with makeup—in one scene, she teams a crystal-encrusted red lip with the words “the future” stencilled over her eyes like a mask—and a wardrobe of her own creations. And with that, Cruella is born.
It’s a humanizing story (which, admittedly, still does not make up for massacring dozens of puppies years later) with a strong beauty message—one that is all about embracing your true self and using makeup as a means of expression. That theme resonates with the film’s hair and makeup designer Nadia Stacey, who worked with Stone on 2018’s The Favourite. Ahead of the film’s May 28 release date, we talked to Stacey about how the beauty looks became central to the film’s story and why Cruella might just be someone we can all relate to.
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Tish Weinstock
