Six years after their original outing, actors Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick are back for “Another Simple Favor.” This time, a destination wedding on a sun-drenched Italian island is the backdrop to intrigue, murderous intent, and floppy hats the size of small parachutes.
The sequel to 2018’s dark comedy “A Simple Favor” sees the cunning Emily (Lively) reunite with frenemy Stephanie (Kendrick) after the former’s early release from prison for double murder. The simple favor in question this time? “Will you be my maid of honor?” Emily asks — a surprising turn as Stephanie played a key role in the arrest and conviction of Emily years prior.
Nonetheless, the two jet off to Capri, Italy, for the lavish wedding of Emily and the very suave and wealthy Dante (played Michele Morrone) where betrayal, snappy dialogue and vintage mob boss-inspired suits await them.
Fans of Emily and Stephanie’s wardrobe in 2018 can look forward to more bold, opulent statement pieces and elevated looks, according to the film’s costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus.
“I’d say the whole of the picture was to attain more of a grand and over the top style,” Kalfus told CNN over email. “The costumes altogether were designed to be imposing and memorable.”
When we first see Emily, her outfit leaves us in no doubt where she’s been these last few years. Her jumpsuit is a couture twist on the cartoonish striped getup of a jailbird. Her hooped earrings resemble separated handcuffs, and her belt reminiscent of one you might see on a member of a chain gang.
Wedding bells and whistles
Then there’s the highly-anticipated wedding itself. For the extravagant nuptials, director Paul Feig (who clearly knows a thing or two about on-screen weddings, having directed 2011 comedy “Bridesmaids”) took particular inspiration from one real life union. “Paul came to me and his team to tell us to look at this video of fashion editor, Giovanna Bataglia, marrying Oscar Engelbert,” Kalfus says of the lavish gathering, also held on Capri. “He wanted his movie to have the look of grandeur, and he wanted us to create an ostentatious and gorgeous wedding.”
One of the film’s most memorable garments is Emily’s one-of-a-kind wedding dress — complete with 40-foot veil — designed by Kalfus herself. The gown features a bustier and leggings made of latex courtesy of designer Renee Masoomian, with a satin skirt by Tirelli Costume House. “It is an unexpected mix of beauty and harshness,” Kalfus says — the garment an embodiment of how Emily herself could be described. The extravagant veil was bordered with hundreds of crystals dipped in blood-red as a “harbinger of things to come,” according to Kalfus.
Suits you
The dress — latex aside — is a surprisingly traditionally feminine look for Emily. Fans may remember her appearing in several tailored (and largely monochromatic) suits throughout “A Simple Favor” — a look which was inspired by the way Feig dresses in real life.
“We were trying to figure out what Blake’s look was,” explained Feig in an on-set interview during the production of the first film. “Over the course of trying to figure it out, she became enamoured with the way I dress,” he added.
Kalfus, who designed the looks for both films, adds that, “Both Blake and I, we looked at each other and go ‘somebody should dress like Paul, don’t you think?’ Every day he wears a three-piece suit.” Emily’s outfits ended up making their way off screen, with Lively promoting the first film in tailored pantsuits by Ralph Lauren, Roland Mouret and Vivienne Westwood among others.
In the sequel, “Emily’s style is pushed, much more heightened,” according to Kalfus. Her dresses, accessories, and that hat — the striped number worn while descending a hotel’s grand staircase (that could block out the sun for a small village) — have all increased in size.
Emily’s black and white lines, neckties and waistcoats are juxtaposed with Stephanie’s colorful floral sweaters and flowing skirts. You also see Emily’s dramatic couture going toe to toe with an often dressed down Stephanie — appearing in sweatshirts and sweatpants, “showing her reluctance to be part of the wedding,” Kalfus says.
When Stephanie is in more formal attire, it errs towards a more youthful femininity, while Emily’s appears more mature and domineering, lending a “psychological edge” over Stephanie, Kalfus says.
That “edge” may be the key as to why Emily’s looks are so striking. However, as Dante’s mother Portia (Italian actress Elena Sofia Ricci) says, “No amount of fashion can save this wedding from being a disaster.”
She may just have a point.
The post Blake Lively packs her outrageously big hat for the destination wedding film of the year appeared first on CNN.
