The new year has just begun, and we’re getting our first screen-to-street fashion moment courtesy of Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, which arrives in theaters on Monday.
Coppola’s films are always a visual feast, and this one is no different. But Priscilla, which chronicles the title character’s early life and her marriage to Elvis Presley, looks set to influence our wardrobe off-screen, too. It looks like the trailer alone has whetted our appetite; Searches for “Priscilla” increased 35 percent on eBay last month, according to the online retailer.
This isn’t just because the late 1950s and ’60s were such a stylistically rich era, or because the film’s costumes were faithfully recreated, or because Cailee Spaeny portrays Priscilla so convincingly (although all of this is true even though).
What actually makes the difference is that fashion plays an important – albeit rather dark – role in Priscilla’s life story. He made no secret of the fact that Elvis, now 78, had essentially shaped his image. He was just 14 years old when they met in 1959; They lived with him at Graceland when he was 17, and they were 21 when they married. This process, which started with the heart locket she wore on a black ribbon collar in the first days of their relationship, continued with her babydoll wedding dress. “I was Elvis’ baby,” he wrote in his 1985 biography, Elvis and Me. “He can shape his own living doll as he wishes.”
As the King’s wife, Priscilla became something of a fashion phenomenon, inspiring many women to do the same – but today her influence is often overshadowed by Twiggy, Brigitte Bardot and Jackie Kennedy. “Priscilla is more of a stealth influence—someone to create a mood board for those in the know,” says Alexandra Fullerton, founder and stylist of My 3 Words. “Yet when you examine her wardrobe you can see that she is totally of that time and her clothes look totally right for now because 60s style is timeless.”
Priscilla’s elaborate look didn’t stop with her outfits. At Elvis’ instruction, she dyed her hair black to match his and began wearing heavy eye make-up, creating a visual identity we still borrow from today; Look at the image of singer Lana Del Rey. “Although defined by sixties beauty trends, creamy nude lipstick, contrasting lip liner and graphic winged eyeliner are some of the flattering looks for women of all ages,” says Telegraph beauty editor Annabel Jones. “We now have better formulas to work with.”
The “Priscilla Effect” doesn’t just apply to the 1960s. She and Elvis moved to a more bohemian look in the early 1970s; Priscilla swapped her shift dresses for patchwork flares and her black beehive for soft, ocher waves; This aesthetic is also trending with searches for “purple” on eBay. Trousers similar to the pair worn in a memorable 1970 shoot with Elvis are up 45 percent. But it wasn’t until their divorce in 1973 that she finally had the freedom to chart her own stylistic path.
He had a lot of fun doing this. This is a woman who has always loved fashion, enough to open her own Beverly Hills boutique, Bis & Beau, later that year. The Studio 54 Halston-style evening dresses, retro floral prints and denim bikinis of the 1970s gave way to the jumpsuits and strong shoulders of the 1980s; Jenna Wade’s role in Dallas saw her once again influencing the wardrobes of women around the world.
Today, Priscilla has decided on a look that borrows from her past without being a slave to it. The winged eyeliner is still there but softened with the brown shadow; her hair is still dark but warmed up with red, her wardrobe is largely chic and monochromatic; She wears too much Celine.
For the rest of us, it’s ’60s Prisicilla that resonates most right now, and Jones believes this look will impact fashion and beauty in 2024 just as Barbie did in 2023. Actress Anya Taylor-Joy and singer Ariana Grande are already channeling this aesthetic, and the period has become a major reference point for the likes of Chanel, Versace and Emilia Wickstead next season.
Fullerton says this is all long overdue. “Priscilla deserves to be in the spotlight.”