On her love of fashion, her work with Sofia Coppola, and her aspirations for a creatively fulfilling future …
There’s a strong possibility that you’ve already been acquainted with Stacey Battat’s designs. Most acclaimed for her longstanding creative partnership with director Sofia Coppola, Battat has shaped the visual identity of zeitgeist-defining films such as Somewhere (2010), The Bling Ring (2013), The Beguiled (2017) and Priscilla (2023), a biographical drama and visual feast chronicling the life of Priscilla Presley, starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi. Demonstrating a rare ability to realistically evoke time periods while reflecting idiosyncratic characters through clothing, Stacey stands out as one of the most consummate costume designers in contemporary cinema.
“Since I was very little, I’ve loved clothes,” she shares. “I’ve always been incredibly fond of something well-made and intricate. It doesn’t matter if it’s clothes or a car – if it’s beautifully made, I appreciate it.”
Painstakingly crafted and innately beautiful design tenets have since become hallmarks of Stacey’s on-screen creations. With a self-proclaimed penchant for fashions in movies such as Who’s That Girl, Desperately Seeking Susan and all of John Hughes’ films, Stacey started out by studying fashion design in New York. She then went on to assist Alex White at W Magazine, and worked in Marc Jacobs’ Mercer Street store as a retail assistant.
She pivoted into costume design with Zoe Cassavetes’ Broken English in 2007, “I remember really enjoying it,” she says of the experience,“I was very much thrown in the deep end, so I quickly learned how to swim.” Soon after, having met Coppola at Marc Jacobs, the duo embarked on a string of collaborations that culminated in some of the finest outfits worn in independent film today – from The Bling Ring’s aspirational glamour and logomania emblematic of 2000s LA, to the Southern Gothicism and muted colour palette of Civil War-era drama The Beguiled.
Battat is somewhat of a costuming chameleon, assembling looks that pinpoint particular points in time, and embracing their nuanced narratives. “Once I’m engaged in a project and begin to understand the characters, I’m constantly thinking about the colours and how they can quietly convey the story,” she explains of her approach. Her outlook aligns perfectly with that of Coppola’s, whose resonant style of storytelling captures character arcs with an authenticity and emotional depth that is distinctly hers.
“We work well together and create harmonious worlds because there is such a strong level of trust between us,” admits Stacey, “It helps that I understand her. I can read what’s on her page, see it through her eyes, and perceive the world the same way she does. She is a master of quiet storytelling.”
For each of their projects, they adopt the same approach, “We start by looking at pictures – she brings some, I bring some, we spread them on a table and talk. Then, for a character’s wardrobe to come to fruition, it takes fittings with the actors for the costumes to fulfil their potential. It’s really a three-part collaboration,” she clarifies, “The way in which actors carry themselves, and the movements and shapes they make can significantly shift the direction of the final product.”
It takes a village, and oftentimes other parties can play a vital part in making the magic happen, as in The Bling Ring where Battat approached fashion houses Dior and Louis Vuitton for samples. Most notably, for Priscilla she reached out to Anna Sui, Valentino and Chanel, who were commissioned to create the lavish lace wedding gown worn by the eponymous star. “With Anna Sui, we looked through her archive and found a dress that she had previously made, and also found some ‘60s prints. I then used that print to create a new fabric that still felt like ’69, using the pattern from the original dress,” says Battat of her multifaceted approach.
“Chanel and Valentino are a little different,” she assesses thoughtfully, “They’re like two petals on the same flower. With Chanel, they made something pretty historic. The gown was different from the original, but still very much in the same vein. We started by looking through lace from Virginie Viard’s old collections and developed the dress from there. The final dress used two laces.”
“Valentino was an absolute dream to work with,” she reflects, “I sent them images and sketches of what I was hoping for, and they sent some back until we developed a capsule collection for Elvis. Priscilla would not have been what it was without their help.”
What’s next for her? “I just finished Jesse Eisenberg’s upcoming film, who I loved working with,” she divulges, referring to a new A24 acquired musical starring Paul Giamatti and Julianne Moore.
She’s not shy about shedding light on challenges within the industry. “The hardest part about working in independent cinema is that while the stories are great, the budgets are not,” she says. Alongside her career in film, she also expresses a desire to branch out into the realm of dance. “Hopefully, my next step involves either the New York City Ballet or the Los Angeles Ballet,” she teases.
Whatever she sets her sights on next, one thing is for certain: the clothing she fabricates – whether for the medium of graceful dance or evocative film – will be worthy of the utmost appreciation.
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