No one tells stories about young women quite like writer/director Sofia Coppola. Her latest film, Priscilla, based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me, begins with a teenage Priscilla Beaulieu (Cailee Spaeny) stationed with her family at a German Air Force base, where she soon meets Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi). As the dashing, older musician casts his spell, Coppola follows Priscilla as she morphs from a teenage girl into a wife controlled by her husband, and then a mother figuring out who she is as a woman.
The film spans 13 years, with Priscilla’s slow evolution reflected in her costumes, makeup, and hair—the latter perhaps most notably. (Both Presleys were famous for their jet black pompadours.) For both Coppola and Cliona Furey, who headed up the hair department on Priscilla, telling Priscilla’s story through her changing mane was incredibly important. “Sofia inspired it by letting me know that she wanted the hair, makeup, and costumes to show the time [passing] and help tell the story,” Furey says. “That’s where I was going in my mind when I met Sofia. And as [Priscilla’s] life journey arcs, I wanted the hair to arc too.”
Furey, whose prior credits include Nightmare Alley, A Simple Favor, and Crimson Peak, first met Coppola over Zoom to chat about working on the film. She describes the filmmaker’s directing style as deeply creative and collaborative. “She’s such a strong female, but with this relaxed, easy, gentle, kind approach,” Furey says. “She was very respectful of me as a head of department and a hair designer. She listened to my ideas. She was approachable, and her relaxed manner and vibe made it nice for the whole crew.”
Furey began her research for the project by reading Priscilla’s script and poring over historical photos, planning to match some of the iconic moments represented in the film. Yet she also wanted to flatter the film’s 25-year-old star: “I felt I captured the essence of Priscilla in a way that looked good for Cailee,” Furey explains. “I showed her the boards and wanted to make sure she was happy with everything.” She took other (informed) creative liberties, too, imagining what Priscilla might have looked like before she was photographed by the press—such as when she was still going to school. “I did take a little license, but also respected Priscilla’s iconic tastes. I just tried to keep it very feminine, very classy, because I think that’s Priscilla Presley’s signature look,” Furey says.
