When I was growing up in the 2010s, I was exposed to the extravagance and decadence in fashion magazines published in the Noughties. It was a time of spray tans, bleached hair, and incredibly flashy accessories sprawled out on sets and homes that felt as if I had stepped foot into a grand, exclusive castle for only myself. Models draped themselves in excess and it was all that stayed in my head.
Being born in the 2000s and growing up in the 2010s meant that I had completely missed this specific era of time, but the feeling of desire always carried inside of my head as I remembered those glossy magazine pages.
It was a time of large parties, larger-than-life personalities, and I felt like I was an outsider growing up in the wrong time.
It’s not that I no longer feel like an outsider, but growing up and finding myself still continuously navigating college almost feels like I’ll never shake that feeling of not belonging. It’s the feeling of desire, longing, and the hope of bettering yourself that drives the story of Saltburn, Emerald Fennell’s sophomore film releasing on November 23.
Saltburn follows Oxford student Oliver Quick (played by Barry Keoghan) navigating his first year at university, where he feels like an outsider. It’s until he finds himself entangled inside the world of Felix Catton (played by Jacob Elordi) and his aristocratic family at their family estate over the summer. Throughout the film, we’re introduced to different members of the Catton family (played by Alison Oliver, Archie Madewke, Rosamund Pike and Richard Grant) as they slowly begin to integrate Oliver into their world. Set during 2006-2007, Saltburn tells a wickedly twisted fairytale of obsession and greed, and how far we go to become the person we so hopelessly desire.
When Saltburn was first announced in 2022, I knew that it was going to be a film that I needed to see. Fennell’s directing and screenwriting has always popped out to me, as he is never afraid to be detailed and cater towards a feminine perspective. I sat down with Fennell at AFF 2023 to speak about the costumes and the characters of Saltburn, and I was not disappointed.
“I’m so obsessed with costumes, and I mean, costume is character. How we dress is the first decision we make about who we are. It’s so important, and it’s just as important as texture,” says Fennell.
Fennell teamed up with esteemed costume designer Sophie Canale in order to create some of the 2000s looks we see on screen in Saltburn. By using archived pieces from runway shows, fashion houses and even personal items to help establish who the characters were in 2007.
“In terms of who was the easiest [to style], Farleigh as a character was difficult. He’s the cousin who lives with the family but he’s always constantly reminded that he’s always one foot in and one foot out,” says Fennell.
“Felix was quite easy. It was just the idea that Felix was a really bad dresser,” says Fennell.
I obviously had to plead my case on this to her, explaining that I loved Felix’s outfits in Saltburn. She laughs at my determination to prove my point.
“Of course! You’re supposed to because it’s him! The truth of it is that he’s actually wearing polo shirts and shirts that are five sizes too big for him,” Fennell says.
And of course, I have to ask the most important question that is lingering in my head after watching the film: is everyone in the film just secretly jealous of one another?
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that everyone is jealous, but everyone is looking to get something. We talk about it being like a vampire movie, but at the end, you never know who the vampires are. It felt very much like the desire of wanting someone you can’t have, wanting to be someone you can’t be, and wanting a life that is unattainable,” Fennell explains.
Whether or not you take something important out of Saltburn, it’s clear that even a film set in 2006 at an extravagant estate can be incredibly relatable and real to us in 2023. We’re all looking to be someone, and sometimes, we just have to accept that we can never be that person.
Saltburn premieres in select theaters on November 17 and worldwide on November 23. This article was written for the 30th annual Austin Film Festival.