Costume Designer Olga Mill has worked on some of the most exciting independent films of the 21st century. Her credits include Ari Aster’s Hereditary, Paul Schrader’s First Reformed, and Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always.
Her latest film, Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding, releases in theaters on March 8th, 2024. But it is her previous film, William Oldroyd’s Eileen, that stands out as a notable snub during this year’s awards race. Mill’s costuming is pivotal in conveying the film’s dreary 1960s setting.
“The film takes place in 1964,” notes Mill. “Aesthetically, that year felt like a sharp turning point from the ideals of the 1950’s and what the 60’s would come to represent. For Eileen and everyone in her town I looked back at the 1950’s. Eileen especially takes a lot of clothes from her mother’s closet so everything is a bit dated. In contrast, Rebecca’s style is more modern and sleek, representing Eileen’s aspirational future.”
That contrast between Eileen and Rebecca is the crux of Eileen, and Mill relied on her relationships with actresses Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie in developing the perfect looks for both women.
“There is always a level of trust that has to be established with every actor. I try to start that process as early as possible,” Mill says. “I sent both Thomasin and Anne my initial research and thoughts on the characters weeks before they were scheduled to come in. It’s a way to start the dialogue. From there I always call the first fitting an ‘exploratory committee,’ where it’s a safe place to try absolutely anything until you find the character.”
Mill’s collaborative outlook on the costume design process is likely why she has been entrusted to develop the outfits alongside such acclaimed actors as Toni Collette, Ethan Hawke, and Kristen Stewart.
Mill spoke with Awards Focus about her creative process on Eileen, and even offers a sneak peek of what viewers can expect from her costumes in Love Lies Bleeding.
Awards Focus: I would love to know what first drew you to the craft of costume design, had you always had a relationship with clothing and fashion growing up? I’m curious to know at what point you knew you wanted to pursue this professionally?
Olga Mill: I immigrated to the United States when I was five and I think the experience deepened my relationship with clothing. When we first moved I went into hyper assimilation mode, I wanted to fit in. I became super tuned into how people dressed and what that meant in terms of their identity/ status. I ended up decoding how people dressed in the hopes of recreating it . I think that’s when it started. I grew up in New York and would ride the subway a lot. I remember playing this game where if I was sitting on the train I would keep my head down as people entered so that I only saw their shoes. Then I would try to guess what the rest of them looked like just based on the shoes. Then I would look up and see how close I was.
So looking back I was always interested in clothes and how they inform your identity but it wasn’t until high school that I put together that being a costume designer was something you could do as a “job.” I went to Laguardia High School for Performing Arts. For one of our plays they hired a costume designer and I thought well, this would be a best case scenario, if I could end up doing this.
AF: I want to discuss your latest work on William Oldroyd’s Eileen, which stars Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie. Firstly, what was it like to work with the star-studded cast, which on top of both Hathaway and McKenzie also includes Jefferson White (Yellowstone) and Siobhan Fallon Hogan (Men in Black, Forrest Gump).
Mill:There is always a level of trust that has to be established with every actor. I try to start that process as early as possible. I sent both Thomasin and Anne my initial research and thoughts on the characters weeks before they were scheduled to come in. It’s a way to start the dialogue. From there I always call the first fitting an “exploratory committee”, where it’s a safe place to try absolutely anything until you find the character. In that first session I’m looking for an anchor, it could be just one piece of clothing or a whole look but we need something that feels truly right for the character. From that anchor piece I can build out and start to imagine the rest of the closet.
Anne Hathaway has such a sophisticated understanding of clothing it was really interesting to collaborate with her on Rebecca’s wardrobe. She brought a level of interest and insight that really elevated the design. With Thomasin we knew we found it when I pulled down her stocking so that they would sag around the ankles. From there it was a visceral process where Thomasin would try things on and both her and I would get to say yes or no just on instinct and then later analyze why something worked or not. It became a game and thankfully one in which we were pretty aligned.
AF: There is this stark contrast seen in the film between the dismal, dreary life of Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie), and the glamorous-seeming character of Rebecca (Anne Hathaway). How did the costuming of both of these characters play a part in how the audience perceives each of them?
Mill: There had to be a stark contrast between Eilleen and Rebecca in order for the tension in their relationship to work. The film takes place in 1964, aesthetically that year felt like a sharp turning point from the ideals of the 1950’s and what the 60’s would come to represent. For Eileen and everyone in her town I looked back at the 1950’s. Eileen especially takes a lot of clothes from her mother’s closet so everything is a bit dated. In contrast Rebecca’s style is more modern and sleek representing Eileen’s aspirational future.
AF: Diving deeper into this contrast of the blonde bombshell beauty of Hathaway’s character, Eileen’s first interaction with Rebecca sees her stepping out of a car in a fitted suit, hat, and high heels. Can you break down each of these pieces for us and talk more about where you sourced them / how you crafted this look in particular?
Mill: This look needed to work on two wavelengths. On one hand it’s how both the audience and Eileen first meet Rebecca, so it needed to really inspire a curiosity. On the other hand, Rebecca is a therapist on her first day of work at a boy’s prison, this calls for something professional and understated. The book describes Rebecca arriving in a red cape. We detoured from that a bit to make it slightly more subtle. I still wanted something graphic and memorable so when I found the black and white coat at a rental house called Right to the Moon Alice I knew it would be great for that moment. Rebecca arrives in this really cool red car, so I wanted to match her leather gloves to the car color. The coat had a ¾ sleeve so the gloves could really have a moment. Her shoes and hat were from one of the few big rental houses in NY called Helen Uffner. The suit is Courreges, we got lucky and found it on the Real Real. Even though it is wool it has a sleekness to it that we don’t see prior to that moment. It feels cleaner, newer and sharper than anything we’ve seen in Eileen’s world.
AF: As we get to know Rebecca’s character a little more, we see this edge to her that Eileen may not have noticed at first. How did you navigate this undertone and highlight this character development with the costuming choices you made?
Mill: I always thought of Rebecca, through Eileen’s eyes. Eileen idealized Rebecca as this cool, smart, confident modern woman. It’s the kind of pedestal that’s reserved for late adolescence when someone crashes into your world like an asteroid and you are praying for the extinction of everything you’ve ever known. We didn’t want to give anything away with Rebecca’s clothes.
When Eileen comes over to “Rebecca’s House” for Christamas, Rebecca is dressed down in a pair of slacks and a knit cardigan. In contrast Eileen got super dressed up for the occasion. I thought that immediately gave Rebecca more power in the situation because she gave less of an effort.
AF: Set during the holiday season, there is this cold wintery feel to the film. How did you go about selecting pieces that would reflect the film’s atmosphere, from physical location to the weather, how do each of these narrative elements play a part in your creative process?
Mill: I think a lot about temperature in the beginning of the design process, mostly in the context of whether a person is comfortable or uncomfortable in their environment. Eileen is a character who is supremely uncomfortable in her world, both physically and emotionally. I personally really don’t like winter so it was easy to tap into some of that discomfort. Itchy wool, wet socks, lots of layers that don’t all fit comfortably together. I specifically chose pieces for Eileen that looked like they might feel uncomfortable.
Eileen’s world also felt stale and moldy so I looked at photos of mold and ended up pulling a lot of the color palette from there. I thought some of those moldy textures resembled wool, especially 1950’s, 1960’s wool. Think green bread mold or the fuzzy kind that grows on raspberries. I then looked for pieces like Eileen’s sweater, that had that feel.
AF: What do you have coming next? I’d love to hear more about your upcoming projects that readers can look out for.
Mill: I’m excited about Love Lies Bleeding, it’s a Rose Glass film premiering at Sundance this year. Kristen Stewart stars in it and she is really fantastic. I got to play in 1980’s gym culture, specifically women’s bodybuilding. Ed Harris is also in it and I loved his look. Overall I love the aesthetic of that film.