The <i>Another Simple Favor</i> Wardrobe Is Packed with Clues and Destination Wedding Inspiration

Packing for a destination wedding can pose numerous challenges, including: How many shoes can you fit in one suitcase? Another Simple Favor’s Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) doesn’t have this problem. Not only is she recently released from prison (on appeal!) and flying on a private jet to Capri, Italy, but she also hasn’t lost access to a couture-filled closet with eye-popping Louboutins to match. We would expect nothing less from the woman who, in A Simple Favor, picks up her kids from school wearing an archival Ralph Lauren suit.

In reality, costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus and her team “took over an entire villa” that they filled with garments, shoes, and accessories for the 300 guests celebrating Emily’s marriage to Dante Versano (Michele Morrone), as well as Emily’s playful attire and reluctant maid of honor Stephanie Smothers’s (Anna Kendrick) more relatable selections. Rather than repeating the beloved sartorial beats from the 2018 movie, Kalfus embraced the opportunity to explore the characters in a new setting. “It was Capri, Italy, and the format was a giant opulent wedding, so it had a different set of requirements [than the first film], which only made it more fun,” Kalfus tells ELLE.com. Plus, the Versanos are connected to organized crime, and Emily tips her hat to the family business early in the film.

During early conversations with Paul Feig on the first movie, the designer had a couple of questions: “Can we go for it in terms of costumes? Can I bump this up and be showy?” Feig’s response was “absolutely”—the goal was to entertain (mission accomplished!). This mandate continues in Another Simple Favor, which will have you longing for an idyllic Italian vacation (though with less murder), complete with religious iconography such as a belt chain with a crucifix. Kalfus draws from the past and the present: “I like a mood board that's both completely contemporary and referential to the past—cinema, real people—and then it creates a place where you can really start thinking about ‘What are we doing here?” The designer loves to see audiences react to an over-the-top ensemble, pairing outrageous and opulent elements with relatable and desirable ones.

Keep an eye out for clues within the garments, as some of the dazzling outfits are more revealing than they first appear, and hint at the deaths and twists to come. “In many ways, doing the costumes is like a puzzle. You've got to put together looks that go [together] and tell a story, and also in combination with the other characters,” says Kalfus. Here, the designer walks us through wedding-season-ready attire, menswear inspiration, Lively’s incredible find on the island of Capri, and more.

While Emily has been serving time in prison for the murder of her twin sister and father, Stephanie has transformed from mommy vlogger to true-crime influencer. However, Stephanie’s new book, The Faceless Blonde, could do with a sales boost. Enter Emily. Never one to arrive with zero fanfare, Emily surprises Stephanie during a book reading with a custom-built gray pantsuit that winks at her recent incarceration. “Though it was a subtle stripe, it was a horizontal stripe that referenced prison garb,” says Klafus. “The chains were wrapped around [her waist], the earrings almost reflect handcuffs, the bracelets the same.”

It wouldn’t be a scene-stealing moment without a shot of the crystal spikes and crystal Louboutin boots. Kalfus collaborated with cinematographer John Schwartzman to shoot the look from head to toe: “He pans, and we work together so you can have this entrance that references the other movie.” In that first film, Schwartzman captured Emily stepping into a puddle while wearing $2,000 stilettos, highlighting Emily’s DGAF attitude. In the present, Emily hasn’t lost her dark sense of humor or intimidating aura.

While Kalfus notes Stephanie is not blind to Emily’s manipulation, she also can’t turn down her maid of honor request. “Stephanie’s the chronicler of “What are you wearing? She's always commenting, ‘What are you doing?’ There's this tension, and wiseness now,” says Kalfus. “The growth of Stephanie's character can be seen in the costumes, as well as how [Kendrick] plays it.”

While Stephanie purposefully wears sweatpants and sneakers on the private jet as an act of defiance, Emily continues to play dress-up: “She goes on a plane as a gangster, she leaves as a glamorous Capri socialite.” Emily still dresses to a theme with a penchant for masculine threads. “It was a nod to menswear of the movies shot on the island [of Capri] in the ‘50s, ‘60s, 70s. A little bit of Cary Grant,” Kalfus says. “The fedora, silhouette, giant pants, suspenders, all referenced cinema and menswear.” Emily loves accessories like multiple tie pins, and so does Lively. “You can thank Blake for that. If I bring 10 tie pins in and say, How about five? She'll do 10,” Kalfus says.

But nothing says 'dialing it up’ quite like the white cascading pearl Tamara Ralph pant suit that marks Emily's landing in Capri. Klafus worked with the London-based designer, “who let us use her couture” (and who Lively recently wore on the red carpet). “It is an amazing suit. It seemed like such a socialite over-the-top arrival in that beautiful vintage boat [and] Dante waiting for her,” Kalfus says. Emily wears an even bigger hat later on, that makes the Tamara Ralph white, wide-brim hat look regular sized in contrast.

Stephanie doesn’t want to be at this wedding, but it doesn’t mean she won’t look the part in Capri. “She'll pack the right items as the bridesmaid, which is why the colors are similar,” says Kalfus. “There's a cohesion to that look that establishes Stephanie knows what she's doing when she wants to get it together.” Case in point, the pink and blue floral Zimmerman dress at the garden party mirrors the same palette as Emily’s more outrageous rose gold and mint Tamara Ralph ensemble. The latter mixes light feathers, chiffon, and satin with a weighty sculpted halter that looks like a work of art.

“It's wild and, of course, [Lively] knows how to work it. That bustier was something like 30 pounds, and she had to wear it for two or three days,” says Kalfus. The floral motif is “an ode to Capri’ that works its way through Emily’s closet from the red flower on the private jet, the blooming metallic top, and even latex roses on her wedding gown.

Rather than opting for the lemon-yellow Capri theme, Kalfus chose a sophisticated Capri color palette, such as the blue and brown worn by Emily in the finale act. While I won’t go into spoiler territory, this chic and understated (for Emily) look did require 15 multiples of a blue men’s polo shirt and custom wide-leg pants for the stunt and photo doubles. “It was so much action, and that was also a Cary Grant moment,” Kalfus says.

Emily makes a splash with a statement hat before the wedding. “I have to say that we had more, let's say, ordinary hats, fabulous, but smaller,” says Kalfus. Working with someone like Lively, who embraces adventurous fashion, allows Kalfus “to take it as far as you want” with the costumes. Lively came across a certain find while she was shopping: “Blake found that hat in a tiny shop in Capri, and she texted me, 'Renée, you've got to see this hat, we've got to get this hat,’ and we did!”

They did get the hat, which appears in a scene where Emily is behaving suspiciously: “It became like, almost another character. It was great walking through those small walks on the island. It was, again, a memorable silhouette.” It's serving drama from top to bottom, with thigh-high python Louboutin boots adding an extra pop. Kalfus doesn’t know the exact number of the desirable Louboutins in Emily’s collection, but the high-end brand did ship five boxes of options: “They were under every rack in her [Lively’s] room; they work together all the time. We had a serious Louboutin closet.”

Of course, Emily isn’t taking a demure route when it comes to fashion. “Paul wanted the dress to be gigantic,” says Kalfus. But that isn’t all. A 40-foot veil and a 50-pound skirt, which proved challenging to hang, add to the visual theatrics. Kalfus designed the gown, which features a latex bustier, leggings, and gloves made by Renée Masoomian in New York City that literally “fit like a glove.” (Masoomian also designed Lively’s SXSW look.) The skirt was built in the renowned Rome costume shop, Tirelli, making it a truly international affair. “There was a contrast between latex, which is unexpected and harsh in a way, although it was white with this wedding skirt,” says Kalfus.

Another Simple Favor doesn’t shy away from foreboding symbolism, including the 40-foot veil that ends covered with blood-red dye and crystal drips. Sure, it is a white wedding, but this is “a harbinger of, ‘Oh my God, what's gonna happen next?!” Meanwhile, Stephanie’s demure pink dress gets a detective twist during the nighttime reception, nodding to what she witnesses during the festivities and her true-crime career. The belted Max Mara outwear has a “trench coat kind of look,” and the color was “pulled off of the dress.”

Being Emily’s maid of honor comes with more duties, drama, and death than a typical bride demands. Thankfully, you can take fashion inspiration from Emily’s destination wedding without having to endure Stephanie’s struggles. What you can take away is some sartorial advice from Kalfus about attending a wedding this season, even if it isn’t happening in Italy: “Bring the summer vibe, bring the garden party!”