Go Behind the Scenes of Fair Play’s Corporate Costume Design

The film raises a lot of uncomfortable questions about sex and power. How were those two themes showcased in the wardrobe?

With the Emily character, it was finding suits that just looked amazing on her, and throughout, we just wanted her to look really strong but then almost undoing the power of [the suits] with those slightly frilly blouses—blouses that are almost the color of lingerie [and] that have a sort of frail femininity to them. She is playing with that. She is using that femininity. Even though she’s got these shoulder pads and this little suit of armor, there is also this nod to her femininity, which I think women, especially in that world, do play with. I think that’s quite an interesting contrast. You have these super-sharp and super-slick and empowering suits, but then it’s then feminized with these really delicate silk blouses and little bits of lace and little bits of jewelry and heels you could probably only walk in for four hours. 

Let’s talk a little more about Emily’s wardrobe. We see her go from being the underdog to a position of power in a very male-dominated world quite quickly. How did you want to show that evolution in her clothes?

The script—and film really—only spans a couple of weeks. When we sat down and looked at the timeline of it, it was a really compact time, and one of the things that really struck me reading the script is there is no time for extracurriculars. There are a couple of times they go to a bar, but it’s still work. It’s still with colleagues and the boss. Sure, maybe they get home and are on Net-a-Porter buying, buying, buying after buying, buying, buying all day long, but in reality, where does she suddenly acquire these pieces from? Especially at that point where Luke undermines her appearance, it really throws her, and she’s scared now to wear a blouse. She’s scared now to have that femininity. So the black roll-neck comes out, but that feels wrong. There’s this kind of panic.

I think one of my favorite outfits is the one she wears to the strip club. It was quite a brassy belt, bigger earrings. There is an air of confidence, the big cuff on the blouse. It’s just got a bit more swagger. And then the trouser suit—that fact she’s in trousers and not a skirt. For me, when you think about that progression, it’s like she has days when she’s feeling really great and days when Luke has just completely undermined her, and she has no confidence. It’s all so skin-deep and shallow. … Rather than just create this trajectory of “she goes from a cheap suit to a really expensive suit,” I wanted it to be like, “You are the same person inside, and we are going to try and bring a bit more power and confidence, but at the same time, that insecurity is still very much there.” Other than that very first scene at the wedding party when she’s in the dress and … a few other scenes in the flat where we see her in lingerie, it felt like there was no breathing space outside of that office, so I think it was more important to really keep her in that uniform. 

What about Luke? Can you tell me about the sartorial story you were trying to tell with his workwear?

With him, we fitted many suits. I think he ended up with 10 or 12 suits. There were definitely ones that were a really nice cut and looked really good, and then there were others that weren’t quite as flattering, just not a great cut on him. Interestingly, in a way, I played the reverse on him. Whereas we were trying to make [Emily] more badass as the film goes on, with [Luke], there was almost a decline that’s happening, so we were favoring the really good suits at the top of the movie and then the slightly less… None of them were unflattering, but there were some that were… less impressive. With color and the fabrics, there were some that were a bit softer [and] not as sharp and solid, that felt not as assertive on camera, so we were playing those at the other end of the movie.