Few have worn a black cat eye fairly like Priscilla Presley—her eyeliner was a signature a part of her glamorous look throughout her marriage to rock legend Elvis Presley, which is now being reexamined in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla. Based on Priscilla’s 1985 memoir, Elvis and Me, and starring Cailee Spaeny within the title function, the movie spans over a decade of her life, beginning when she first meets Elvis (Jacob Elordi) on a U.S. Air Force base in Germany on the age of 14, and spans their courtship, marriage, and the start of their daughter, Lisa Marie.
Coppola is, after all, no stranger to unraveling the difficult lives of young girls, and Priscilla suits completely into her canon. We see Spaeny as Priscilla first as a naive lady in a ponytail, who enters a controlling relationship with an older (and extremely well-known) man, finally rising into a lady who has lastly come into her personal. During this coming-of-age journey, Priscilla’s look morphs and adjustments, taking her from naturally glowing teenager to a siren in winged eyeliner.
Behind the liquid liner is the movie’s make-up division head, Jo-Ann MacNeil (Mean Girls, 2021’s Dune, Nightmare Alley), who remodeled Spaeny into the cultural icon. The make-up designer tells Harper’s Bazaar about her analysis course of, working with Coppola, and the way she collaborated with the costume and hair departments to create Priscilla Presley for the large display screen.
How did you get entangled in engaged on the movie?
I had a name and requested if I’d be considering doing the movie, and I used to be like, “Oh, absolutely,” as a result of I’ve been an Elvis Presley fan my complete life, so to get the chance to inform this facet of the story was an absolute dream.
As an Elvis fan, how was the analysis course of for placing issues collectively earlier than filming started?
I almost really feel like I’ve researched this story my complete life. For this explicit movie, I began my analysis for the intervals that we have been going to point out within the film, and that was from 1959 to 1972. And so we pulled all references and we categorized every little thing, me and Cliona [Furey, head of the hair department]. We had about 5 totally different seems to be for Priscilla, and we named them so we’d know precisely what a part of the story we have been at, and the way her hair and make-up can be for that a part of filming.
You needed to work carefully with each hair and costume to verify all of Priscilla’s seems to be made sense. How was it collaborating with them and Sofia to verify every little thing match collectively?
[Sofia] was very approachable, very collaborative, and had a really clear thought of how she needed everyone to look. She additionally allowed us to specific our visions and concepts, as effectively. Working with Cliona and Stacey [Battat, head of costume design], all of us labored very carefully with one another. Basically, proper from the start we shared lookbooks, ideas, analysis supplies. I feel we labored collectively to enrich one another’s seems to be and produce collectively an entire look that labored for all of us, however nonetheless true to Sofia’s imaginative and prescient.
You actually see Priscilla’s character arc by way of her make-up, hair, and clothes all through the movie. How did you all break down that course of?
It was essential that we have been all in sync with what we have been doing. We broke the seems to be down in order that all of us knew precisely the place we have been all at in sure elements of the script, as a result of there have been taking pictures days the place we have been altering [Cailee Spaeny] 5 to 6 instances a day. And these have been huge makeups and massive hairdos, and we actually didn’t have 18 hours within the day to movie all this.
We had her “Young Germany” look, her “Natural Glam” look, her “Baby Glam” look, her “Memphis Glam” look, and the “Family Portrait” look, which was her beginning the period of the ’70s. When we get into the interval of the ’70s, Priscilla has a glowing, California sun-kissed tan. We couldn’t go from her Memphis Glam or her Baby Glam look to her tan, [and] we are able to’t go from the tan again to the others. So it was actually essential in our breakdowns and scheduling to get all of this completed within the period of time that we needed to do it.
Did you’re taking any liberties as you have been going by way of these totally different eras of seems to be?
I needed to take a number of liberties as a result of plenty of the merchandise that have been used at the moment, I couldn’t use. So I needed to reference the colour palettes and match issues as shut as attainable to what was used again then and pull it off. When I’m doing a interval film, I don’t need individuals to observe the film and see the hair and the make-up. I would like you to really feel such as you’re on this interval and that it’s so pure that you simply’re not noticing issues. You simply really feel such as you’re again in 1966. That was my complete mission going into this challenge. My analysis course of was very detailed, and I needed to be sure that I received as shut as I presumably may to what was used again then.
I’m so interested by how the merchandise have been totally different from as we speak’s.
Back then, perhaps you had 5 – 6 crimson lipstick shades you can decide from. Right? Today you could have about 2,000 crimson lipstick shades you may decide from. So to be as shut as attainable to what was used again then, I had to determine what merchandise and features and types would work greatest for this film, to get that very same impact. I used plenty of Chanel, Tom Ford, Charlotte Tilbury. I discovered all these manufacturers gave me the colour palette that I wanted to make use of on this film.
I really like the make-up montage the place you see Priscilla doing her cat eye. Did you must work with Cailee to get the cat eye proper?
She was superb. Honestly, she didn’t want my assist in any respect. She knew precisely the way to do it. We simply did it in a single take or two takes, as a result of she simply nailed it. She did inform me in the beginning of the film and [as] a part of her strategy of turning into Priscilla, it was one thing she practiced herself. So after we got here to that a part of the film, she knew precisely what to do.
One of my favourite elements of the movie is Priscilla’s first journey to Graceland, after which after we see her and Elvis leaving the on line casino in Vegas, the place she’s very rumpled and glam. It feels just like the turning level of the elevation of her look.
That scene was form of her introduction into the approach to life of Elvis Presley. It was the rock ’n’ roll life-style. She was a easy lady with a easy type. And with this makeover, she actually embraced it and truly appreciated the eye that it dropped at her, as a result of it wasn’t solely that she was Elvis Presley’s associate, however that look introduced consideration to her on her personal as effectively. And [Priscilla] has even mentioned publicly that she appreciated the eye of all of it. I feel a giant a part of the turning level for her is that she embraced it.
How did you could have Priscilla’s make-up echo Elvis and his look and elegance?
Her make-up all the time echoed Elvis. When he needed her to dye her hair, the heavy eyeliner, it was actually to form of appear to be him. All the best way as much as 1967, the place it’s the lower crease, the kitten lashes, and the dramatic cat eye. Basically all through the ’60s was actually a mirrored image of him.
There are almost too many nice seems to be to select from—resembling Priscilla’s cat eye and ’70s tan. What seems to be have been your favorites?
I almost really feel like each time we did a glance, I’d be like, “Oh my God, this is my favorite look.” I cherished doing the one the place she gave start to Lisa Marie, as a result of it was a really mod-style eye. It took us a while to get it, as a result of it needed to be so exact. I simply love the best way it appeared on her.
Probably my most favourite look [was] when she received into the ’70s, that complete sun-kissed look and stripping every little thing again a bit. I simply thought Cailee appeared so stunning, and she or he glowed. It was a really totally different look from every little thing else we had completed within the film along with her. It’s very laborious to select one, as a result of I simply thought all of them appeared so stunning on her.
