Screen wardrobes tend to be most eye-catching when the show involved is a period drama and we can marvel at wildly elaborate dresses, but it's rare to find a contemporary release that stops you in your tracks. But, lately it seems that when Nicole Kidman is on the cast, good wardrobe things happen. In Netflix's latest soapy drama, “The Perfect Couple,” (based on the book by Elin Hilderbrand and directed by “The Night Manager” director Susanne Bier) Kidman revels, wriggles, and relishes in the role of Greer Garrison Winbury, the highly strung matriarch of one of Nantucket’s wealthiest families. Without giving away too much of the plot, on the eve of her son's wedding, one of the guests is found dead - chaos ensues everywhere other than Kidman's wardrobe, which becomes a reassuringly expensive bastion of keeping calm and carrying on!
The plaudits, of course, must go to Danish costume designer Signe Sejlund, with whom Kidman had previously worked with on the HBO series The Undoing, which we wrote about here. Sejlund had to consult a friend who lived in Nantucket to get the low-down on how East Coast high-society moved and dressed, with one of the first and perhaps strangest idiosyncrasy coming by way of the 'Nantucket reds', which refer to red trousers which everyone apparently wears. Surely this trend must originate from the British upper class penchant for red trousers but who knows?
But onto Kidman's wardrobe, which is notable for its array of blues, creams, and whites, which Sejlund used to complement the stunning seascapes but to also reinforce Greer's wealthy status. Being based in Nantucket, there was naturally a preference for nautical-inspired style, and in order to create a sense of the Garrison Winburys being uber rich, Sejlund adopted an unstructured, neutral-tone wardrobe with virtually no branding - all very 'quiet luxury'. Being Danish, one can certainly see Sejlund nod to elements of Scandi minimalism, too.
