Emma Stone, a natural blonde, returned to the red carpet this week with her signature red hair for the New York City premiere of her latest movie, Poor Things. She was joined at the event by her good friend Taylor Swift.
The 35-year-old La La Land actress, who has been making the rounds on the press circuit in mostly sleek business suits, switched up her style for the screening of the black comedy fantasy held at the DGA Theater on Wednesday.
An ambassador for Louis Vuitton since 2017, Emma Stone naturally wore a Nicolas Ghesquière design inspired by the French luxury fashion house’s Fall 2023 collection.
Emma Stone is naked underneath a custom Louis Vuitton yellow dress at the New York City premiere of Poor Things at the DGA Theater on December 6, 2023 (Credit: Janet Mayer / Startraksphoto)
The Cruella star looked radiant in the custom sheer yellow dress assembled and hand-embroidered using metallic wires embellished with spore-like adornments of crystals and mother of pearls.
The dress, which reportedly took 550 hours to make, was layered over a tulle base and came with frayed cutouts to reveal a glimpse of Stone’s fair skin. It had a short train that trailed behind and a scalloped, plunging neckline that nearly reached her navel, all held in place by tonal spaghetti straps.
The skin-baring cutouts and exquisite embellishments elevated the gown’s rather simple, straight silhouette.
Given her fair complexion, The Favourite actress seemed a little washed out in the pale-yellow clothing. To balance her skin tone, it would be ideal for her to wear a yellow shade with blue undertones. Nevertheless, the Louis Vuitton creation was nothing short of breathtaking.
Fair-skinned Emma Stone looks a little washed out in a sheer yellow dress adorned with crystals and mother-of-pearls (Credit: Janet Mayer / startraksphoto)
Petra Flannery created Stone’s entire look styled with a handcrafted choker flower necklace. The gorgeous piece, which exuded a Y2k vibe, featured a large flower adorned with glass pearls and crystals on a black velvet strap.
The House Bunny star also wore multiple diamond stud earrings and completed her ensemble with metallic silver open-toe sandals that revealed her white pedicure.
Makeup artist Rachel Goodwin used Pat McGrath makeup to give Stone a feminine, radiant look. She applied the Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Foundation in Light 2 and the Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Concealer in Light 1 before setting the look with the Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Setting Powder.
Emma Stone styles her exquisite look with a handmade flower choker necklace (Credit: Janet Mayer / startraksphoto)
Emma’s striking green eyes were accentuated using the MTHRSHP Bijoux Brilliance in Fleurever Nude, Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner in Xtreme BLK Coffee, and Dark Star Mascara for her lashes.
To add some color, Goodwin dusted Emma’s cheeks with the Divine Blush + Bronze + Glow Trio and smeared the PermaGel Ultra Lip Pencil in Cosmic Vibes and the LUST: Gloss in Secret Lover on her lips.
Meanwhile, Mara Roszak gave Emma a youthful, deconstructed twist updo.
Emma Stone highlights her green eyes with mascara and wears pink lipstick and blush by Pat McGrath (Credit: Janet Mayer / startraksphoto)
Following the premiere, Emma Stone graced the New York premiere after-party of Poor Things at AVRA Estiatorio.
The Oscar-winning actress donned a champagne-colored silk slip dress with spaghetti straps that held the plunging neckline and crystal-accented bust in place.
She layered it under a long, black coat and finished the understated look with metallic heels and a Louis Vuitton Coussin belt bag.
Emma Stone swaps her see-through yellow dress for a plunging slip dress as she attends the Poor Things premiere after-party at AVRA Estiatorio (Credit: Roger Wong / INSTARimages)
Is Poor Things Based on a True Story?
Poor Things is not based on actual events, but it was loosely adapted from the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray. With Emma Stone co-producing, it combines socialist and feminist themes with gothic romance.
Basically, Poor Things tells the tale of a woman coming of age and discovering her identity. However, the story is presented in a rather humorous and unsettling way imaginable.
The story revolves around Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young Victorian woman who commits suicide and is resurrected by a mad scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), who replaces her brain with the brain of an unborn child.
Emma Stone is Bella Baxter, a child trapped in a woman’s body who discovers herself and experiences a sexual awakening, in Poor Things (Credit: Searchlight Pictures / Film4 / Element Pictures / TSG Entertainment)
This is reminiscent of the 1931 iconic horror movie Frankenstein, with the exception that Bella is the beauty and Frankenstein is the monster.
Bella is basically a child trapped in a grown woman’s body. She matures quickly, picking up manners and becoming an articulate speaker. In addition, she has her sexual awakening, which serves as the film’s central theme.
Eager to learn about the world, Bella sets off across continents with lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo). Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella calls for equality and freedom.
Mark Ruffalo stars as lawyer Duncan Wedderburn in the black comedy fantasy movie Poor Things (Credit: Searchlight Pictures / Film4 / Element Pictures / TSG Entertainment)
Poor Things premiered in September at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where it received the Golden Lion. It was then released in the US on December 8 and is set to be released on January 12, 2024, in the United Kingdom.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos Praises Emma Stone’s Shameless Sex Scenes
As Bella Baxter discovers herself, she also discovers sexual pleasure. Emma Stone had to shoot sex scenes, which director Yorgos Lanthimos said were “very important” to the story.
“It was a very important part of her journey. We felt that we shouldn’t shy away from it. It would feel very disingenuous to tell this story about this character who is so free and so open, and then be prude about the sexual aspect of it,” Lanthimos said in a press conference.
Poor Things director Yorgos Lanthimos says Emma Stone’s sex scenes are important in telling Bella Baxter’s story (Credit: Abaca Press / INSTARimages)
“It was clear from the beginning, but also from the novel, from the script, from my discussions with Emma, as well, and how we came up with those scenes. She had to be free; there should be no judgment.”
“The same way she learns about language and human suffering and love and science and politics, the same way she should be equally free about sex and anything else,” he continued.
Praising Emma for her performance, Lanthimos said, “She’s just incredible.” “The vulnerability of it and the sensitivity and the humor of it—it’s just so difficult to do. I just don’t know how she did it.”
Mark Ruffalo and Emma Stone Enjoy Their Comedic, Outrageous Sex Scenes
In an interview with USA Today, Mark Ruffalo admitted he enjoyed the sex scenes with Emma Stone because “it’s so comedic and it’s so outrageous and it’s just so perverse.”
For Emma Stone, the sex scenes in Poor Things “are just another piece of her self-discovery and exploration of the world, whether it’s sex or food or drink or politics or money or anything: the pictures she draws, the letters she writes, the philosophy she reads.”
Mark Ruffalo and Emma Stone enjoy their comedic and outrageous sexual scenes in Poor Things (Credit: Barbara Hine / Future Image / Cover Images)
She explains, “She goes into it because it’s pure pleasure, and it’s not like she fully understands every aspect of it. I mean, nobody ever understands every aspect of sex, I’m sure, but as she moves through it and she’s understanding that once she’s working in the brothel, it’s not always about them having a choice of (the men), and that’s confusing to her. And then learning that some people like that you don’t like it.”
“She comes to a conclusion that she doesn’t want to do it anymore, in that way. She finds it fascinating. It’s just more experience and more life. Just like she doesn’t regret eating Portuguese tarts until she throws up. It’s too much sugar and she learns that, but it doesn’t make them bad. For us to shy away from her when she has no shame or judgment about sex or her body would be disingenuous.”