Opus Costume Designer on Ayo Edibiri, John Malkovich Style

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The first scene of “Opus,” A24‘s newest horror-thriller satirizing the media industry and pop culture fandom, opens in a drab, grey conference room as a group of writers at a Rolling Stone-esque music publication pitch their ideas. Sat squarely in the middle of the room-length table is Ariel (Ayo Edebiri) whose boldly patterned sweater vest and collared shirt stand out among a sea of suits. She’s one of three women in the room, and the only Black person. She’s also the most stylish.

“The inspiration was sort of a cool ‘Black Ivy,’ New York kind of style. She’s educated,” costume designer Shirley Kurata tells Variety about her inspiration for Ariel, an ambitious Spelman College graduate desperate to make a name for herself within the highly competitive New York media world with a hard-hitting piece of journalism.

We see some of that green eagerness dulled within the first few minutes of the film. When Ariel shares a story idea at the table, the top editor Stan (Murray Bartlett) says it’s “incredible” and then assigns it to a more senior (ie: white and male) editor on the team.

Ariel’s outfit in this scene — a sweater vest from the “cool kid” Lower East Side-based brand Bode, alongside Urban Outfitters trousers and classic loafers — is important because it’s our first introduction to our heroine who, as reflected in her clothing, isn’t afraid to stand out. “She’s not raking in the dough at this point,” Kurata says of her high-low ensemble. “She’s still starting off, so I wanted to have it be realistic.”

For writer-director Mark Anthony Green, who spent 13 years at GQ and who Kurata says is the most “fashionable director I’ve ever worked with,” that didn’t mean entirely evading luxury brands. As a Condé alum, Green knows that even those living paycheck to paycheck in the media industry somehow find a way to get their hands on designer. While you can place a safe bet that the 19 year-old intern in Loewe flats has her dad’s Amex on her Apple Pay, there are also Ariels of the world who can get by on SSENSE sales, lucky thrift store finds and PR gifting (Reader, I’m an Ariel).

Opus Costume Designer on Ayo Edibiri, John Malkovich Style Africa Flying

To the dismay of Moretti (John Malkovich) whose ostentatious clothing are as much part of his performance as his music, it’s Ariel’s effortless and understated style that’s the best of the film — and perhaps the best part of “Opus” as a whole.

The visual feast really begins when Ariel and Stan embark on their journey to Moretti’s compound, where he makes a surprise reappearance after a three-year absence from the public eye, and debuts a long-awaited album to a lucky few invitees and his cult-like followers (before the film takes a much more menacing turn, of course).

On their way to the desert, Ariel wears a gorgeous grey sweater, the collar of a blue-and-white striped button down peeking out from a ribbed scoop neckline. On top, she dons a weighty houndstooth wool coat.

For all the differences between Ariel and her editor, they do have one thing in common: great outerwear. Stan, too, wears a variety of cashmere sweaters, many of which Kurata says she sourced from SSENSE and the Los Angeles-based luxury brand John Elliot, who happens to be a good friend of Green.

“He’s very, very fashion savvy, which was really helpful,” she says. “Because when I would ask, ‘What do you see this character wearing?’ he would say a leather jacket. Most directors would stop at that but [Green] would be like, ‘A Bellstaff leather jacket.’ He would give the brand and that was really helpful because I also only had a month prep and just being able to be like, ‘Okay, I totally get what you’re seeing in this instead of guessing.’”

I found myself wanting to claw at the screen when the guests are asked to change out of their attire to be “fashioned” into clothing to be transformed into “better versions” of themselves. I breathed a sigh of relief when they weren’t given hand-dyed indigo ensembles, like the rest of the cult members, but sophisticated designer pieces. Ariel changes into a butter yellow, knee-grazing Prada dress, straight off the runway, paired with aqua blue open-toed Prada heels.

“You can’t wrong with a chic Prada dress, right?” Kurata says. “I wanted it to have an air of being a little bit timeless and didn’t want it to be too connected to any sort of trend or style that’s popular now. And I wanted something that was chic and classic.”

Meanwhile, Clara (Juliette Lewis), a much less discerning journalist who’s just happy to be there, is fashioned in a more showy ensemble, consisting of a red sequin gown. “She has a more ‘Real Housewives’ style,” Kurata says. “So I definitely wanted her transformation to be noticeable. And I just felt that red sequin dress, it’s like the classic old Hollywood style.”

Of course, we haven’t forgotten about the man of the hour, Moretti who, in contrast with his indigo-dressed followers, wears opulent silks, leathers, sparkles, sequins and appliques. For Moretti, Kurata says she looked to a wide range of pop stars for inspiration, including David Bowie, Elton John, Prince, Michael Jackson and Liberace.

“And a little deeper cut was Brian Eno,” Kurata says. “Because he performed with Bowie and so that sort of was a ’70s version of that glam rock fit era. I just wanted to sort of be inspired by them, but not have it be too much of reminiscent of that character.”

“Like I didn’t want to go military, because that’s too Michael Jackson,” she continues, “Or ruffles because that’s too much like Prince. So it was more just like trying to study the sort of stage costumes that they would wear. And they definitely had to have some sort of stage appeal.”

Malkovich, who launched his own menswear line in 2017, was also highly involved in his costume design, even coming up with the idea that Moretti would wear a sarong, which they had made from scratch. “I thought that was like a new sort of silhouette, like it’s not tied to any existing pop star, but it also has like a culty, cult leader feel to it,” Kurata says.

The film’s third act sees Ariel’s final transformation, after she writes a bestselling book about Moretti and her traumatizing experience on his compound. It’s her “I’ve made it moment,” and it’s clear she’s still herself, but can shop SSENSE at retail price now.

“I definitely wanted to show that she’s very successful,” Kurata says. “Her clothes take an upgrade from working at the office earlier. And so I wanted to find some really cool, chic suits.”

These came from bold-faced labels like Philip Lim and The Frankie Shop, which Ariel wears on the press tour for her new book. But one of the best pieces she wears throughout the entire film is the billowing trench coat she wears to visit Moretti in prison, paired with a burgundy pantsuit and turtleneck.

Even if that meeting didn’t go exactly as she planned, she walked out of the drab, concrete prison looking like a million bucks. And that’s the power of a good outfit.

Shop pieces inspired by the best clothing in “Opus” below: