Emma Stone’s Poor Things outfits inspired by designer’s ‘rambunctious’ young sons

EMMA STONE’S outfits in Poor Things were inspired by the fashion choices of costume designer Holly Waddington, the British Oscar nominee has revealed.

She said her two boys, aged two and five, helped to create the look for the child-like Bella Baxter, played by Stone.

In the film, Bella has a baby’s brain implanted into her head by a scientist and dresses in baby doll dresses, frilly sleeves and discarded trousers.

Ms Waddington, 46, told The Mail on Sunday: “I had two rambunctious boys who were always a mess – underpants on heads or naked from the waist down.”

She drew inspiration from her children to create the colourful, infantile clothing that Bella wears at the start of Yorgos Lanthimos’s film.

“The corset forces the body into a shape that isn’t natural,” she said. “That felt wrong for Bella – too restrictive.’

Waddington, who is from Burnley, Lancs, created the outfits with a team of cutters, costume makers and fabric dyers.

Her outfits were used to show Bella growing up throughout the film, with the character wearing darker and more sensible coats towards the end.

The designer said she flew to Greece before filming to meet Stone, 35, and try out the costumes. “The producers arranged for me to go to Athens to meet her in a hotel,” she said.

“I took loads of suitcases and we spent an afternoon getting dressed up and throwing ideas around. It was through those fittings that we were able to work out details, such as the big sleeves and the little knickers.”

Waddington added: “She’s up for it all. She’s playful in fittings, very trusting and not at all vain – she barely looks in the mirror.

“I found her amazing in that respect. We would have conversations close to the wire, often on the morning of filming, and make decisions in the moment.

“Should she wear the full outfit or just the skirt, long knickers or short knickers?”

Waddington was nominated in the category of Best Achievement in Costume Design at last night’s Academy Awards – one of 11 nominations Poor Things received.