Patti Smith and Debbie Harry Inspired the Romantic Regency Costumes in ‘Persuasion’
Will the pair reconcile, or will Wentworth, still bruised from her rejection of him, instead pursue one of her sweet-natured sisters-in-law, Louisa and Henrietta (Nia Towle and Izuka Hoyle)? And what about the charming, fortune-seeking Mr. Elliot (Henry Golding) who takes an interest in Anne, to the chagrin of her self-obsessed sisters, Elizabeth and Mary (Yolanda Kettle and Mia McKenna-Bruce)?
As in Austen’s source material, there are moments of somber rumination and devastating heartbreak, but Cracknell imbues the film with raucous humor too, adding side-splitting set pieces and Fleabag-esque monologues to camera. Fittingly, Anne’s costumes have a subtly modern edge too, with louche shirting, muddy boots, and looser silhouettes that mark her out as a heroine who was well ahead of her time.
Ahead of the film’s release in cinemas on 8 July and Netflix on 15 July, Agertoft talks us through her favorite looks, the details most viewers will miss, and her eclectic mood board, which featured everyone from Patti Smith to Bruce Springsteen.
Vogue: You’ve worked on quite a few period dramas before this—Death Comes to Pemberley, Poldark, Les Misérables. What sets Persuasion apart, and how did you get involved?
Marianne Agertoft: It came to me via my agent who thought I might be interested. I was sort of not working at the time, but I read the script and thought it was amazing. I met with [director] Carrie [Cracknell] over Zoom and we were on the same page in the sense that we wanted to create this fresh new adaptation and we were equally excited. Visually, there are links between Persuasion and the projects I’ve worked on before, but it did feel different because I have evolved as a designer and I think the world of period dramas has evolved beautifully, too, over the last few years. That meant that we could take things a bit further.
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