When a woman’s job involves the business of love, what does her wardrobe look like? That was the question Katina Danabassis was tasked with answering as the costume designer of Materialists, the new film from writer-director Celine Song. Danabassis previously worked with Song on Past Lives, her critically acclaimed directorial debut. Now, two years later, she is dressing a new, and very different, leading lady.
Unlike Past Lives’ Nora (Greta Lee), who decidedly doesn't care much about her apparel, Materialists’ Lucy (Dakota Johnson) pays more attention to her clothing choices. She is, after all, a professional matchmaker. She’s acutely aware of the role that personal style plays in how someone is perceived by the outside world, particularly when trying to attract potential suitors.
Even so, nothing about Lucy’s leading lady wardrobe seems the least bit forced or frivolous. Danabassis cites the ’90s minimalism of the late Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and “a touch of French sensibility” as essential ingredients in crafting Lucy’s fashion taste. “We aim to achieve naturalism in the character’s wardrobe,” Danabassis tells ELLE. “It is paramount to the story to not distract when thinking about the wardrobe. If it’s feeling loud, that’s where it gets a little hard for me.”
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While Lucy might not shy away from bickering with her boyfriend on a busy New York City street, her outfit choices are noticeably quieter, softer, and more subdued. And some are certainly influenced by iconic onscreen looks from the celebrated romantic comedies of yesteryear.
Let’s take, for instance, the bar scene when Lucy, John (Chris Evans), and Harry (Pedro Pascal) go out for drinks after watching John’s play. She’s wearing a long, black leather coat over a white top and light-wash denim – a combination that calls to mind one of the most quintessential leading lady looks of all time.
“That leather jacket and the white underneath, that’s not not a nod to Notting Hill and the epic beret outfit,” Danabassis says. “I am not oblivious to the fact that this is going to exist in the greater canon of rom-coms and rom-drams. It’s all part of the fun.”
Below, Danabassis dissects some of Lucy’s sartorial sensibilities.
Power Suiting
At the beginning of the movie, Lucy is introduced to viewers as she power-struts her way through the city. She’s a woman on a mission, and it’s hard not to root for her when she’s stomping around in tall black leather boots paired with the sleekest skirt suit and a super-silky, cream-colored blouse. The look was partly inspired by Johnson’s mother, Melanie Griffith, and her role as the suited receptionist in the 1988 film Working Girl, and by a stylish stranger Danabassis encountered one day.
“I saw a girl crossing Bowery in a skirt suit wearing thigh high boots, carrying a trench coat over her shoulder with her finger, and I was just like, that is memorable as hell,” she says. “The knee-high boots, to me, that’s part of the friction in the outfit that makes it so badass. If she was wearing a pump, it’s kind of predictable.”
The Frankie Shop Bea Twill Blazer
Gap White Cotton Long Sleeve Oversized Shirt
Wardrobe.NYC Column Mini Skirt
Wolford Luxe 9 Tights
Paris Texas Anja Leather Knee Boot
Something Blue
While there are two wedding scenes in Materialists, it’s the one in the beginning of the film that sets up the rest of the story. At her client’s black tie reception, Lucy is quite literally confronted with her past and (potential) future when she meets Harry and reconnects with her ex, John. For this impossibly messy-yet-enviable entanglement, she’s wearing a strapless, floor-length gown by Proenza Schouler in a stunning cerulean hue.
“On the rack, that dress looks like nothing, but Dakota gravitated toward it, put it on, and it just worked,” Danabassis recalls. “I also really liked the city vibe to it; I liked that it wasn’t super romantic. I liked that it was communicating business without being too sexy, and the back is so beautiful.”
Uncommon Matters Aurum Silver-Plated Choker
Khaite Loop Metallic Crinkled-Leather Sandals
Sweet Touches of Silver
Lucy’s penchant for silver accoutrements shines throughout the film. From the heels, choker, and ring she wears with the blue dress to the myriad of other heart-shaped accessories she dons elsewhere, her go-to choice of metal is clear. But it’s not just about personal style; the hardware is also symbolic of the class hierarchy Lucy experiences.
“Celine was like, ‘This is a silver movie. Lucy’s a silver girl,’” Danabassis says. “Another little differentiating point is that [Harry’s] a gold man. The [engagement] ring she sees is gold – she’s down here and he’s up here, and she’s having to navigate those differences.”
Pandora Organically Shaped Heart Ring
Mejuri Bold Herringbone Chain Necklace
Billowy Button-Ups
The billowy button-up might as well have its own podium in the Rom-Com Fashion Hall of Fame. Lucy’s spotted in a couple of these staples, including an oversized blue striped top the morning after she first stays the night at Harry’s. Then, in the third act, she’s in a classic white version styled with worn-in denim when she embarks on the road trip upstate with John.
“The casual looks are really simple basics that are in everyone’s closet,” she says. “It’s nothing crazy, it’s just this tissuey, billowy, cotton top that’s beautiful and looks so good. We’re not reinventing the wheel; we’re just riffing.”
Missoma x Lucy Williams Arco Small Hoop Earrings
Flirtatious Florals
Theoretically, the buttercream dress dripping in ruffles and florals was an item Lucy had packed for her trip to Iceland with Harry. When those plans fall through, she inadvertently gets another chance to let the ultra-romantic gown have a moment in the spotlight.
“It’s like she was trying to get in touch with the lover in her,” Danabassis says of Lucy wearing florals. “That’s why you see it so much with John and not so much with Harry. One gets these clean lines, business, transactional talk, pragmatic stuff. And then the other one gets more leading with the heart. One is mind, one is heart.”
Dôen Nevara Dress
Mekita Rivas is a freelance journalist based in Washington, D.C. She has covered culture, style, and politics through the lens of gender, race, and ethnicity since 2016. Previously an editor at Cosmopolitan, senior contributing fashion editor at PopSugar, and senior fashion writer at Bustle, her writing has been published in the New York Times, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, Architectural Digest, and Refinery29.
Esther Coombes is the Senior Ecommerce Editor at Harper’s Bazaar, ELLE and Esquire, overseeing luxury shopping content across fashion, beauty, travel and homes. She graduated from London College of Fashion with a First Class BA in Fashion Journalism in 2010, and has since worked at Marie-Claire, Easy Living, GLAMOUR and Women’s Health.
She held positions as Senior Fashion and Beauty Executive, Senior Lifestyle Executive and Content Lead during her nine years at HELLO! and HELLO! Fashion, creating editorial and branded content across the lifestyle sector and interviewing talent and experts including Lisa Eldridge, Jo Malone and Katie Jane Hughes for print and digital features.
With exacting standards and a critical eye for editing new launches, she enjoys recommending readers best in class products and experiences, be that a glow-giving skin tint, a boutique hotel stay or the perfect slingback stiletto.
In her spare time you can find her at a spin or reformer class or streaming the latest zeitgeisty podcast or television drama. You can follow Esther on Instagram at @esthercoombes.
