Dressing the wealth-obsessed, incestuous one percent requires an encyclopedic knowledge of couture and a vivid imagination. Costume designer Bina Daileger brings both to “Rosebush Pruning,” a modern day remake of the Italian satirical drama “Fists” directed by Karim Aïnouz and written by Efthimis Filippou, a regular collaborator of Yorgos Lanthimos which may go some way in explaining the dysfunctional relationships. Whereas Daileger’s most recent project, “Mother Mary,” featured custom gowns and hand-beaded bodysuits, the family in “Rosebush Pruning” wears recognizable brands lifted straight off Matthew Blazy’s runway.

In the disturbed universe of “Rosebush Pruning,” money can’t buy happiness or taste. The clan of unlikeable siblings posed a fun challenge to Daileger: to costume a family with unlimited resources but awful style. Daileger’s costume decisions were made in service to the film’s “weird script” and uncanny aesthetic. “I didn't try to do something tasteful,” Daileger says. “I tried to make something that is weird, like them.”

Daileger envisioned the characters’ shopping habits as one of hyper-contemporary obsession, mixed with eclectic vintage. “They would do online shopping from the runway, but they also had all the old pieces from their mother who disappeared,” Daileger says. “So I knew that I [couldn't only] style them in straightforward high fashion couture pieces; it had to be something more interesting.” Early mood boards drew on the aesthetics of a coastal European vacation, taking cues from the beach, sky, sand, and the various shades of blue in the Mediterranean. Aïnouz pointed Daileger in the direction of the painter Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida whose work capturing the people and landscapes of Spain in a bright bold color palette inspired Daileger.

When Daileger first read the script, real-world fashion houses were name-dropped in the dialogue. But the fashion expert incorporated her own understanding of the current moment. “It was that moment where all these fashion designers moved houses and everything got reset, so it was my personal fun to make a game between Bottega Veneta and Chanel.” Behind every logo or recognizable designer motif, is a reason for its inclusion. “I wanted to have a brand that was very New York American, so that is why I brought in Bottega. and then Chanel is such an iconic fashion house,” Daileger says.

Daileger equates Anna (Riley Keough) to a modern-day Hitchcock character, dressing her in the “classic style of a very elegant woman [who] uses [fashion] in her own way and makes whatever out of it.” On multiple instances, Anna wears colorful Chanel tweed. At her mother’s funeral, Anna pairs a black blazer dress with turquoise Chanel boots. “I wanted something that is very classic but then gets changed into something super freestyle,” Daileger says. “I thought it would be fun if Riley had these very iconic Chanel pieces but wears them with her light baby blue boots and shorts.”

During the fittings Daileger gave space for improvisation and spontaneity. “It was a little bit like a dress up party,” Dialeger says. “There was a concept but also a lot of improvisation. the costumes look realistic even though they are strange because it just happened organically during the shoot.”

In one such moment, Keough suggested a lack of clothes in keeping with the privileged nonchalance of the hyper wealthy. “I had this amazing vintage turquoise wrap for Riley and she said, ‘Why would I wear something underneath? I'd just be in my bra.’ so it was a constant organic exchange of ideas and we really played around in the fittings.”

Like Anna, Robert (Lukas Gage) uses fashion as a means of competing for his older brother’s attention, and to try to “provoke him,” as Daileger says. Robert’s clothes are “much more erotic or sexual,” while also taking cues from his sister. In one scene, he wears a tank top under a transparent Dries van Noten shirt. “Everybody was saying, like, really Bina? And I said, yes, really; he wants to be sexy for his brother,” Daileger says. 

Edward (Callum Turner) is introduced in a casual linen suit suited for Barcelona living. Daileger wanted him to fit in “nicely to the beach and Mediterranean,”  before he was introduced in the more dubious confines of his homelife. Back at the house, Edward wears a burnt orange tracksuit designed by the Spanish designer Palomo Spain. “When he goes out, he dresses up; but at home he wears track suits and [dresses] like somehow [who] is always on the run,” Daileger explains, likening his style to a thief who is comfortable and on the run. 

As the character who “interacts with the outside life in the most normal way,” Jack (Jamie Bell) needed to wear more socially-adjusted costumes. His looks are the least eccentric of the bunch. “He is the cool older brother. He drives the cool car and tries to keep it all together but is also a complete mess,” Daileger says.

Jack’s girlfriend, Martha (Elle Fanning), is dressed inconspicuously upon introduction. “At the beginning she looks like a student in Barcelona who is trying to make her living but also is a little bit mysterious. we don't really know where she comes from,” Daileger says. Daileger aimed to make Martha appear uninterested in fashion, while subliminally hinting at hidden aspirations.

When Martha is introduced to the rest of the family, she wears a rose patterned oriental style dress Daileger sourced at a vintage store paired with a Bodega Veneta bag and Swatch watch. “She appears like she is not interested. But obviously she's very ambitious and asked for specific pieces because she wanted to build up,” Daileger says. She envisioned the character asking Jack for specific designer items from her boyfriend that she did not have the means to afford herself.