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The fashion in “Mary Queen of Scots” evokes a subtle sensuality. The upcoming film — which stars Saoirse Ronan as the titular character along with Margot Robbie — delves into Mary’s life, including her attempts to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and her eventual execution. FN caught up with the film’s costume designer, Alexandra Byrne, at an intimate luncheon hosted by the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum in Los Angeles this month. The Oscar-winner discussed adding a contemporary touch to the courtly style of the 1500s. “The corset I’m using is not Elizabethan; it’s entirely invented,” she explained. “The Elizabethan style had a very flat front, and it’s not very sexy or feminine to the period today.” And the clothes don’t always stay on in the movie, which lends to moments where shoes hidden under skirt hems are revealed.
“Mary does a lot of undressing,” Byrne noted, “so we get some shoes then. [Women] weren’t afraid of lifting their skirt. We took our references from portraits.”
Mary sports footwear in red, a color that is symbolic of her Catholicism.
“Even within the Protestant court in Scotland, she has some dark red shoes on,” Byrne said. “She was incredibly aware of the power of her appearance.”
However, in Mary’s final moments prior to her beheading in 1587, she is seen making a statement of her own, and shoes didn’t make the cut.
“She walks out to the execution block in the black dress. She then reveals a red chemise underneath,” said Byrne, adding that Ronan was barefoot for this scene to display a sense of vulnerability.
“Mary Queen of Scots” hits theaters on Dec. 7.