The muted tones and layered elements of Grace Snell’s costume design for “Sense and Sensibility” are grounded, earthy, tangible — words that might not always come to mind with a film set around the turn of the 19th century.
“I think, for me, period dramas can sometimes be somewhat at arm’s length,” Snell told WWD over Zoom. “I think if you’re not familiar with the clothing of the period, it’s sometimes hard to make assumptions about where women are in society because everybody looks so lovely.”
The costume designer worked with filmmaker Georgia Oakley to create a visual language for the latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s first novel, emphasizing familial bonds and the financial divide between its characters.
The story follows the Dashwood family — sisters Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles and Bodhi Rae Breathnach, along with their mother, played by Caitríona Balfe, following the death of the family patriarch, which sees the women lose their comfortable living and a total change in their prospects.
While adaptations of Austen’s work almost immediately bring to mind sweeping romance and love stories, the author’s biting novels satirize and critique the position of women during Austen’s era, many of whom depended on men with money for financial security and stability in their lives.
“One of the biggest things for Georgia and myself was to have to visually see quite a difference in society, especially once [the Dashwoods] have fallen and have lost all their money,” Snell said.
“We talked about ways to do this and we discussed reusing a lot of the clothing; sharing a lot of the clothing, recycling some of the fabrics; and then having characters like Fanny Dashwood and Mrs. Jennings, that would show the kind of ceiling for fashions at the time, and what expensive fabrics would look like, including adornment, like jewelry and headwear,” Snell said.
The contrast between Austen’s heroines and the wealthier characters around them makes those differences in status clear, even to audiences unfamiliar with the period. “I was trying to engage the audience on an emotional level that they could understand visually quite easily, the differences of the circumstances about the women in our film,” Snell said.
Few scenes articulate that difference in social standing better than the ball that takes place at the climax of the film.
Featuring all-white attire that calls to mind the Netherfield ball sequence from Joe Wright’s 2005 adaptation of “Pride & Prejudice,” the scene conveys the wealth and excess Snell wanted to capture.
The moment sisters Elinor and Marianne entered the ballroom needed to “feel extremely intimidating. Something that when they step into a world that they’re no longer a part of, that they do feel that they’re in this dream,” Snell said. “And it was agreed, and Georgia was happy with that; we just went with this all-white rule.”
The choice of white also reflected the fashions of the period, with “white being highly desirable and expensive and fine,” Snell said. The turn of the century, from 1799 to 1800, ushered in a global cultural shift, one where white fabric signaled wealth and access.
“I was imagining kind of what artists would be seeing of the time and what they would be sketching,” Snell said.
Oakley’s “Sense and Sensibility” is just the latest screen iteration of Jane Austen’s work. In 1995, filmmaker Ang Lee directed “Sense and Sensibility” starring Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson, the latter of whom also wrote the screenplay, for which she won an Oscar. On Dec. 3, Netflix will release a six-part adaptation of “Pride & Prejudice,” starring Emma Corrin, written by Dolly Alderton and directed by Euros Lyn.
To Snell, the ubiquity of Austen’s work just makes sense.
“You’ll see yourself in different characters and, particularly as you grow older, you’ll start seeing yourself in other characters,” Snell said. “They just feel very, very relatable and very real. Those stories, I think, can be retold and reimagined with fresh views and new eyes. I think we should just continue to adapt her [work].”
“Sense and Sensibility” is now in theaters.