www.harpersbazaar.com: What are celebrities if not well-dressed cult leaders? Opus—the latest horror offering from A24—examines this question in all its gory, surreal details and uses fashion to imbue its characters with power and meaning. The story follows a young journalist named Ariel (played by Ayo Edebiri) as she is invited to the Utah compound of Moretti (John Malkovich), an aging and elusive pop legend on the eve of releasing his electrifying comeback album.
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A24 has done it again! The costumes in A24’s Opus are marvelous. I could probably name three high fashion brands tops. But even I can see the elegance and fabulousness of Shirley Kurata’s costumes are breathtaking. I was astonished learning they were under a tight budget. Many of the high end pieces were lended – as were many of the costumes in the Devil wears Prada, another movie featuring high fashion. In addition to borrowing designer clothes Kurata also took existing suits and embellished them with embroidery and other fabrics to make them more fabulous and fit into the world. As if that wasn’t already enough work, they had to costume hundreds of ensemble members in dyed indigo denim outfits, all with a slightly different shade of indigo. A24 is turning out hit after hit. All of their films are very out there indie films, unlike anything that’s been created, but nevertheless exactly A24. I wonder if the magic of A24 is their ability to bring together phenomenal collaborators, who are the best of the industry.
I love how Opus analyzes the similarities between cult leaders and their followers and musicians and their fans. Costume designer Shirley Kurata (who also did the costumes for Everything Everywhere all at Once) said she pulled from famous artists like David Bowie, Liberace, Elton John, Prince, Michael Jackson, and glam-rock-era Brian Eno to create a wardrobe for the aging rockstar Moretti in the film. Like many of these artists, Moretti has amassed a massive following of fans. Satirizing the parasocial relationship many stars have with their fans, Moretti lives on a cult-like compound with his followers, who are forced to follow a strict set of rules and dress exclusively in indigo denim. I think the distinction between the drab wardrobe of the followers and Moretti’s luxurious style is important. It showcases the hypocrisy of how, despite expecting his fans to dress modestly and plainly, he himself dresses ostentatiously to serve his own vanity and assert his dominance. Kurata’s distinct style brings a playfulness and whimsy to every project she works on. She mixes dull, everyday looks with over-the-top costumes to create a stunning visual contrast.
Looking at these costumes, I really like the aesthetics of them. Everything seems super cohesive and it all seems to click. I really like the combination of the old rock and roll look paired with the kind of futuristic look that really makes the world building come together. I really want to know what the costume designer’s thought processes were behind making these pieces and how they decided upon these looks for the final looks. Something else that I thought was super interesting to learn from this article was how tight their budget was. I would kind of assume that A24 has big budgets but I guess not. It is really interesting to see how much connections come in handy when it comes to tight budgets and people really willing to do favours in return for something else. I feel like everyone in our industry kind of understands the limitations because they have experienced it themselves so everyone is a little bit more willing to help out.
Lets just say these costumes were an “opus” of many sorts (haha im the funniest). I love a24 films for so many reasons but the main is that they never hold back from rich and detailed production design on every level. They are one hundred percent about it and i loveeee. I think its also kind funny yet totally clever that these people are in a cult of denim. GREAT metaphor right there because levis historically has extreme abusive and cult like tendencies. I think it's super awesome that shirley kurata studied indigo dying and ended up repurposing old denim by thrifting and over dyeing it. Another interesting thing about the costume designs description here is that the leaders and pivotal figures of this cult are wearing literally cult classic designer brands like prada, ralph lauren, and rodarte. From the pictures ive seen, im personally not too stylistically or aesthetically crazy for these costumes but i can appreciate them for the sake of craft being done well in an outstanding fashion.
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