Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla movie follows the life of Priscilla Presley and her relationship with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley. While several photos documenting their marriage exist, turning Cailee Spaeny into Coppola’s version of Priscilla behind closed doors was no easy task.
“It was a 13-year time span for Cailee; she had to look 14 to 27 in 13 years,” says hair department lead, Cliona Furey. “I dived into researching on the internet, but also through production, accessed a lot of home Super 8 movies because I wanted to see what they looked like at home. We were covering a lot of private moments and we don’t have those photos. I was trying to find a sense of Priscilla’s tastes and what she might have looked like when she wasn’t being photographed.”
The result: Furey made five different wigs to depict various looks in Priscilla’s life. “I had to figure out how many wigs I could create all those looks with and do justice historically, while trying to be accurate but also trying not to imitate her,” explains Furey. “I proposed that it was five main wigs and within each wig, I made little style transitions and added a length to a wig to make it look like another look.”
More From Town & Country
Ahead, Furey shares more about bringing Priscilla’s iconic hairstyles to the big screen with Town & Country.
What went into creating the wigs?
We never saw Cailee’s hair. She [wore] wigs for the whole film. The bouffant look and beehive was more achieved by skillset with back-brushing and teasing and methods from the time. I didn’t use as much spray as one might think. I used the Sebastian Shaper Spray because it’s pliable; each wig had to be changed in style several times a day. I [also] used vintage add-on pieces for the bigger bouffant looks, like the graduation and when she’s in the hospital coming out with baby Lisa Marie.
Furey used vintage add-on pieces to create Priscilla’s signature bouffant hairstyle.
Elvis has been a hot topic the last few years, with the Elvis biopic also coming out last year. How was your work different from Baz Luhrmann’s interpretation of Elvis and Priscilla?
I really enjoyed that movie and at the same time, it’s a completely different film. Our film isn’t about Elvis; they did a beautiful job, but it’s more about his public stage life. Ours was more about the private moments and Priscilla’s journey from a young girl to womanhood and her journey in that relationship and environment. A lot of our scenes were in the bedroom or at home, these are moments that haven’t been photographed definitely. So their hair is a little tamer in some scenes and then we tried to hit those historical iconic moments at the same time.
I [also] did my own research and had a different actress to work with. I had to find looks that where I felt the essence of Priscilla’s tastes but make them work for Cailee.
What would you say was the hardest or most challenging look to recreate?
I think [what was] challenging was trying to hit the historical beasts because I did take a little creative license with the looks. But yet, all of a sudden for certain moments, I had to really try to match. The wedding look was a little bit of a challenge because the set looked exactly the same and they were recreating pretty much all the same things. There was a lot of put into that scene, and the veil weighed down the wig. [For the scene] where they cut the cake, we shot the exact same moment and the same photos that happened in real life. I was constantly touching Cailee up and checking the shape of the hair because Priscilla’s hair almost had a square shape to it on the wedding with the veil on. That was a little bit of a challenge because I was mindful of historical accuracy.
Furey says recreating Priscilla’s bridal look was the most challenging because the set was specifically made to look exactly like their wedding day.
How long was Cailee in the chair every day?
More time was in the prep, which is the advantage you have when you use wigs. I can work on the wigs when Cailee’s gone home in bed and I’m in my trailer finessing the looks.
We did the movie in 30 days, so there wasn’t a lot of time, and wigs are actually quicker to change. Could you imagine me trying to work with Cailee’s own hair, going from the ponytail to the wedding? And it’s also a different color. So I would prep her hair in about 15 to 20 minutes in a wig cap.
Did Priscilla have any input in any of the looks?
I didn’t get to speak to Priscilla, but Cailee had met her and Sofia was in constant dialogue with her. Sofia wanted to show time passage through the hair, makeup, and costumes. The hair really does help a little bit in telling the story.
What is something interesting about the whole hairstyling process that you think viewers would be surprised by?
Probably that Cailee was in all wigs, and in some days of filming, she was in five different wigs in one day. Most days she was in at least two or three wigs. She had 120-130 costume changes. And within each wig change, she may have had a makeup change, as in more eyelashes or bigger eyeliner. It was constant changing and we didn’t have a lot of time. She’d be 14 years old in the morning and then pregnant in the afternoon.
Furey used the back-brushing and teasing methods from the time to recreate Priscilla’s big hair.
I know you didn’t personally get to speak to Priscilla, but have you heard any feedback from her?
I’ve seen her say that she was pleased with the whole movie. But one day I was standing beside Sofia on set and she had sent Priscilla a picture of one of the looks I had done and Priscilla apparently said, ‘Wow, that looks just like me!’ It made my day. I’m really hoping she’s pleased that I did it justice.
Priscilla is out in theaters now.
Sophie Dweck is the associate shopping editor for Town & Country, where she covers beauty, fashion, home and décor, and more.
