by The new year has barely begun and already we have our first screen-to-street fashion moment, courtesy of Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla which landed in cinemas on Monday.
Coppola’s films are always a visual feast and this one is no different. But Priscilla, which traces the title character’s early life and marriage to Elvis Presley, looks set to influence our off-screen wardrobes as well. The trailer alone, it seems, piqued our appetite; Searches for “Priscilla” on eBay have increased by 35 percent in the past month, according to the online retailer.
It’s not just that the fifties and late sixties were such a rich period in terms of style, or because the film’s costumes are so faithfully recreated, or because Cailee Spaeny portrays Priscilla so convincingly (although these things are real length).
What really makes the difference is that fashion plays a central – if rather dark – role in Priscilla’s life story. Now 78, she has no secret that Elvis fundamentally shaped her image. She was only 14 when they met in 1959; lived with him at Graceland by 17, and 21 when they married. This started with the heart locket she wore on a black ribbon choker in the early days of their relationship and continued with her babydoll wedding dress. “I was an Elvis doll,” she wrote in her 1985 biography Elvis and Me. “His own living doll to fashion as he wishes.”
As the King’s wife, Priscilla became something of a fashion influencer, inspiring legions of women to follow suit – but today her influence is often overshadowed by Twiggy, Brigitte Bardot and Jackie Kennedy. “Priscilla was more influential in disguise – someone they would know,” says Alexandra Fullerton, stylist and founder of My 3 Words. “But when you go into her wardrobe, you can see that she was completely on point and, because sixties style is so timeless, her outfits look totally right now.”
Priscilla’s carefully cultivated look didn’t end with her clothes. At Elvis’s behest, she dyed her hair black to match hers, and began wearing heavy eye makeup, carving visual identities that we are still borrowing from today – just look at the image of singer Lana Del Rey. “Although defined by sixties beauty trends, creamy nude lipstick, contrasting lipliner and graphic winged eyeliner is one of the best looks for women of any age,” says Annabel Jones, beauty editor of the Telegraph. “We just have better formulations to work with now.”
The “Priscilla Effect” isn’t just about the 1960s. Both she and Elvis transitioned to a more bohemian look in the early seventies, with Priscilla trading shift dresses for tartan flares and that black beehive for soft, dark blonde waves – and that aesthetic is trending too, to search on eBay for “purple. trousers” similar to the pair worn in Elvis’ 1970 commemorative football, a 45 percent increase. But it wasn’t until their divorce in 1973 that she finally had the freedom to carve her own path.
She had fun doing it too. This is a woman who has always loved fashion, to the extent that she opened her own Beverly Hills boutique, Bis & Beau, later that year. Her Studio 54 Halston-esque evening dress, retro floral prints and 1970s denim bikini gave way to a 1980s boiler suit and power shoulders – a role on Dallas as Jenna Wade saw her, once again, influence women’s wardrobes on around the globe. .
Today, Priscilla is set on a look that borrows from the past without being a slave to it. The winged eyeliner is still there, but it’s softened with a brown shade; her hair is still dark, but warmed through with red, and her wardrobe is mostly sleek and monochrome – she wears a lot of Celine.
For the rest of us, Prisicilla is the hottest sixties trend right now, and Jones believes this look will influence fashion and beauty in 2024 the same way Barbie did in 2023. Actress Anya Taylor -Joy and Singer Ariana Grande is already focusing on this aesthetic, and the era is a major reference point for the likes of Chanel, Versace and Emilia Wickstead for the coming season.
All of this is long overdue, says Fullerton. “Priscilla deserves her moment in the spotlight.”
