Throughout the film, Moretti’s wardrobe only gets more over-the-top. When he performs for the group of journalists at his compound, he is seen wearing a custom futuristic look by threeASFOUR, including a golden shielded hood that seems from outer space. “It looked like armor, but it’s actually more of a vinyl, so it was more bendable and he could move around,” says Kurata. Taking such practical considerations into account was also true for his climactic finale look. Without ruining the ending, there is a scene where Moretti’s draped white ensemble catches fire; Kurata had to find a design and fabric that would offer the right amount of flammability. “Silks burn too fast, so we used a cotton-velvet,” she says. “We tested a bunch of different fabrics with the pyro guy.”
Photo: Courtesy of A24
But Kurata did not only have one fabulous main character to dress: There were also 200 cult members to outfit. The costume designer zeroed in on giving the spooky followers matching looks that were all about rigid uniformity—all designed in varying shades of indigo. “It wasn’t too representative of a specific existing cult,” says Kurata of the costumes. “There’s also an art to indigo dying—the Japanese take it really seriously—and we thought that’s something that the cult would be into. We hired a dyer that was working hours and hours just dying things—mostly secondhand or thrifted items.”
There was also the question of giving the imperiled journalists, influencers, and TV hosts at the compound unique personalities with their clothes. For Edebiri’s character, for instance, Kurata favored a smart and preppy look. (When we first meet her, she is wearing a colorful Bode sweater vest.) “We were going for a Black Ivy look, says the costume designer. For the talk show host character portrayed by Lewis, Kurata leaned into a more flashy—and admittedly “trashy”—aesthetic, including a red sequin Rodarte dress. While their fates in the film shall remain a secret, one thing is for sure: They all looked damn good while screaming for their lives.