How to Dress Like Cruella, the Emma Stone version

July 21, 2021

Cruella, now in theaters and on Premier Access with Disney+

Come through, Manila Luzon Emma Stone!

You could almost hear a million fashion designers, cosplayers and drag queens let out a diabolical laugh when Disney announced they would be doing another live-action reimagining of Cruella de Vil. Emma Stone truly had big stilettoes to fill when she signed up to play the enduring fan favorite and ultimate PETA nemesis. First of all, there would be the inevitable comparisons to Glenn Close who barked and chewed every scene she starred in "101 Dalmatians", the 1996 live-action remake of the 1961 Disney classic, which in turn was a retelling of the 1956 Dodie Smith novel. 

And there were the stilettoes themselves. Stone had to go through 47 costume changes for "Cruella", which features a special message from PETA in the credits. (For good reason: The 1996 movie sparked mass buying of Dalmatian puppies, which were then unceremoniously discarded once the novelty faded.) 

If you find you can't wear all 47 (even with all the time the pandemic has bought for fashion rebels everywhere), then you're in luck: The crux of Cruella is in her iconic black-and-white locks. Just nail the monochromatic mane, and you’ll earn your fashion spots. You shouldn't wear fur anyway, and you need not borrow your neighbor's newborn Dalmatian for a (Halloween) night out in this ensemble.

How to do Cruella Hair 

The devilry begins with a trip to the wig shop. Stone herself didn't have to bleach her hair white for the role. As with her costume, Cruella de Vil undergoes a series of wig changes in the movie. But it would surprise you to know that movie hairdresser Nadia Stacey surprisingly made do with just two wigs! She simply added or removed things here and there ("like a Lego kit," she tells Elle), transforming the wig into a completely new animal each time. Sometimes the fringe is an entirely separate thing. 

Miss de Vil's split-down-the-middle skunk hair is well and truly iconic, as hackneyed as that term has become. It takes on a more punkish form in the movie; this is 1970s London after all. Go for a monochromatic bob with loose curls if you want to parrot her look from the posters.  Equally show-stopping is the curly bob with bangs that Stone wears in her scene-stealing scenes with the Baroness (Emma Thompson).

If you want this instantly recognizable, two-tone hair color to be a more permanent affair, know this: The black side of the hair reacts differently to the white side after processing, Stacey warns. 

How to get Cruella makeup

There is probably no more spot-on, pun intended, makeup than Disney's official Cruella collection with MAC cosmetics

In fact, for Cruella's everyday look in the movie, Stacey and her makeup assistant favored the MAC Smolder pencil, which achieves a devilish shade of gunmetal gray and an instant smoky look when smudged around the eyes, she tells Vanity Fair. The makeup team also went for the MAC Shivering powder as the basis for her pale, masklike mug. 

This may not be your grandmom's Cruella, but this new vision of the villainess breathes and lives 70s punk. So don't be afraid to style your brows like rock goddess Siouxsie Soux, who figures heavily in the movie's mood boards. Or make do with what makeup you have: Resourcefulness is what punk is all about.

Otherwise, just take it from the pros below:

Then, of course, there's Cruella's doggone mad, spray-painted face moment. This involves some serious airbrushing and stenciling, with letters cut out in the same font as the Sex Pistols' "Never Mind The Bollocks" album cover.

Here's how you can get the Cruella "Future" look:

Costume

Costumer to the stars Jenny Beavan ensured that Stone only wore clothes in shades of black, white and gray in this role. With a few exceptions...

Here's a replica of Cruella's hellish red ballgown at the masquerade, for example. As Cruella costume designer Jenny Beavan told Vogue, the dress takes inspo from Charles James’ "Tree" dress.

While Emma's Cruella is pooch-friendly, one of her best outfits in the movie has to be the Dalmatian spot-studded number she wears during her punk-rock fashion blitzkrieg outside the Baroness' workshop. 

No fashionista? No worries. Cruella is the most modern animated Disney villainess besides Madame Medusa, and you're likelier to pull her outfits off with what you have in your closet than, say, Queen Grimhilde.

Take note though that the 2021 Cruella does not smoke, so leave the fake cigarettes with the old-school Cruella costumes. 

Hello, Cruel Heart

The world was such a wholesome place until Cruella De Vil. As long as you keep your wardrobe, hair and makeup cruelty-free, you should have a devil of a time getting possessed by Cruella's maverick fashion spirit.

Oh, and adopt, don't shop.

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