Nicole Kidman's Big Little Lies look will 'reflect grief'

10 June 2019

Nicole Kidman's wardrobe in the first series of 'Big Little Lies' is not as "luxurious" as it was in season one.

Nicole Kidman

The 51-year-old actress returns as Celeste in the hit HBO show alongside her A-list co-stars Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley and Zoe Kravitz, which will focus on the group of friends in Monterey, California, as they deal with being part of a murder investigation.

And the show's Emmy-winning costume designer Alix Friedberg has revealed that Kidman - whose character is dealing with the fallout from the death of her abusive husband Perry (Alexander Skarsgard) -will wear clothes that "reflect" her state of mind because her "survival mechanism has kicked in".

She said: "We've already nailed down each woman's silhouette and colour palette but this season, a lot has changed. Some characters aren't coping well with what happened and others are rising above it. We tried to reflect their emotional journeys through their costumes.

"Celeste's look has always been about luxurious fabrics and classic design. She's grappling with grief. She's not as effortless as she looked in season one and her survival mechanism has kicked in."

And Nicole - who produces the series alongside her co-star Reese - will be seen wearing "Perry's old shirts" to reflect her turmoil.

She told British Vogue: You can sometimes see her wearing Perry's old T-shirts and sweatshirts - things she can still smell him on - and that's another expression of her grief."

Meanwhile, Reese's (Madeline) look will remain "perfectly put together" to mask the problems going on in her marriage.

Friedberg added: "She loves bold colours, prints and feminine silhouettes. That perfectly put together Madeline look is a mask for what's happening in her personal life. Her marriage is crumbling and her daughter is making poor choices."

Meryl Streep has joined the cast as Kidman's mother-in-law Mary Louise and the fashion guru insisted that dressing the Academy Award-winning actress has been the "highlight of her career".

She said: It's been one of the highlights of my career. When it came to dressing Mary Louise, the thought process was that she's dealing with her own grief and it manifests in her clothing. She has a uniform and it's very prim, very tailored, very expensive - soft Belgian loafers, shirts made in France, a Hermes scarf. They're beautiful pieces, but quite colourless because she doesn't want to draw attention to herself. And that beige coat she wears? It's almost detective-like."