The True Intentions Behind Cruel Intentions
In 1999, Sarah Michele Gellar, in her role as Kathryn Merteuil, carried a sassy, 90s Rococo fashion show on the big screen, and Ryan Phillippe as Sebastian Valmont, dressed in an elegant, trust-fund baby aesthetic in a long, black tailcoat, reminiscent of the 1800s. The key to his wardrobe? Prada, Prada, Prada.
The scandalous '90s classic Cruel Intentions, the film adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s 1782 novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, revolves around sex, innocence, and manipulation. Wealthy Upper East Side step-siblings, Kathryn and Sebastian, are on a quest to destroy the reputations of two innocent girls, Cecile and Annette.
The costume designer Denise Wingate (She’s All That, The Sweetest Thing, A Cinderella Story) has worked on Hollywood’s most stylish rom-coms, and yet, Cruel Intentions remains her favorite. The fashion is not only voguish but also thoughtful. Wingate, who majored in psychology, makes choices that capture the psyche behind the characters and the story.
Through Annette’s pure pastel tones, Cecile’s memorable Koala T-shirt, Katherine's Victorian-era corsets, and Sebastian's all-black suits, Wingate uses specific color palettes and styles for each character. She creates a contrast between the sinfully sophisticated step-siblings and their innocent victims, visualizing their prey-predator dynamic.
Opposite 'Colors'-Attract
Art by James Sullivan
Femme Fatale vs. the Innocent Socialite
In the film’s infamous Central Park kissing scene, Kathryn, as the powerful master-manipulator, wears a black two-piece blazer and skirt with an oversized black hat and black Calvin Klein sunglasses. Meanwhile, Kathryn's comically naive protégé Cecile wears a pastel pink top, pink plaid skirt, and a green sweater around her shoulders. Cecile looks like a socialite attending a polo-match, whereas Kathryn looks like the femme fatale of the Upper East Side. With their opposite fashions and twisted friendship, it’s as Katherine’s all-black is corrupting Cecile's sweet pink.
Seductive vs. Angelic
Sebastian mockingly says, “Paradigm of chastity and virtue” when describing his next conquest, Annette. The chemistry between the two is built upon an opposites-attract tension and Wingate uses their costumes to illustrate their conflicting nature. The first time Sebastian kisses Annette, she is wearing a sweet and pastel with a lilac V-neck and a matching skirt. Sebastian, in contrast, wears a dark-navy silk shirt and black pants. Her angelic color palette and innocence juxtaposes Sebastian’s seductive playboy charm, and yet they balance each other out.
Red as the Forecaster of Sex
Red cinematically symbolizes danger and sex and Wingate employs the color in Cecile and Annette's costumes. She dresses Cecile in a red hooded sweatshirt when she goes to see Sebastian and gets manipulated into her first sexual encounter. Wingate wanted Cecile to look like a modern ‘Red Riding Hood’ and Sebastian the 'Big Bad Wolf'. Annette wears red for the first time in her cardigan, right before she has sex with Sebastian. At this moment, the two are in love. The introduction of red into Annette's color-palette represents the loss of innocence, as she is no longer the virtuous virgin, but also her first experience with passion and love.
Hidden Corsets and Retro Sunglasses
‘‘God forbid I exude confidence and enjoy sex,” Kathryn cries out to Sebastian, rebelling against the double standards in society. Sebastian's reputation depends upon sleeping with as many girls as possible, whereas the way to ruin a girl's reputation is with sex.
Kathryn's ability to hide behind a disguise is reflected in her fashion. When the audience gets introduced to Kathryn, she is busy playing nice to Cecile and her mom, to earn their trust. She does this in a black Dolce & Gabbana suit with her signature crucifix necklace around her neck — elegant and conservative.
Once the guests leave, Kathryn stops the act and immediately unbuttons her blazer to reveal a salmon bustier and black corset. She sheds the disguise and steps into her true self as she snorts cocaine out of her crucifix necklace. At that same moment, Sebastian takes off his signature black, small-framed sunglasses. He wears the sunglasses indoors, like a layer to hide his true intentions. Wingate uses the sunglasses again when Sebastian is in Kathryn’s bedroom, after breaking up with Annette, to hide his heartbreak and tears from Kathryn.
The intentions behind Sebastian and Kathryn's games may be cruel, but the intentions behind the Cruel Intentions fashion remain fascinating, even after 22 years. Well, it wouldn't hurt to dress up in couture bustiers and corsets pretending you’re in the 18th century, every once in a while. Like Kathryn Merteuil says, “Everybody does it, it’s just that nobody talks about it.”