Normally, undergarments are far less important in films than the actual costumes the cast members are wearing. While Anastasia Steele wears a fair number of beautiful gowns and slinky dresses during the Fifty Shades movies, underwear is honestly a very important part of the character and her identity, especially in relation to her partner Christian Grey. While most of us might be fine in tighty whities, or if we're feeling really fancy, maybe some Victoria's Secret underwear, but costume designer Shay Cunliffe certainly didn't phone it in for Fifty Shades Freed, although she did reveal to us she may have worked with fewer undergarments than the first Fifty Shades Of Grey movie. Still, picking out underwear was not a cakewalk. She told us in support of the Blu-ray release:
We started with a hell of a lot of underwear. I had the head start of looking at all the underwear that had worked in the first movie, because I think they had even more than me. Maybe not used in the movie, but I think a fabulous, immense box of men's underwear arrived for me to consider. We knew we were going to do all in the same spirit as the new film in many ways, but we knew we were also going to do all new things, because I don't want to repeat anything. I want it all to be fresh on these new ones.
Ultimately, some of the underwear was fairly easy to narrow down, thanks to certain brands lending themselves to be the Ana Steele look. Shay Cunliffe told CinemaBlend that it quickly became apparently that Stella McCartney had the right look, as it was "gorgeous, intricate, sexy underwear" without dolling the character up too much. Agent Provacateur also became a go-to favorite for the costume designer during her time working for the franchise.
And so I knew that Stella McCartney was immediately a brand. I was going to completely pursue. I personally think that Agent Provocateur is an amazing brand for sexy underwear. Just from my years of doing it. I've never done it to the highest power before, the way I had to in 50 Shades. I've just done the odd sexy scene before in my life. So I made a beeline to those two lines.
Neither of those underwear brands are the cheapest money can buy, but if you need a little Anastasia Steele underwear courage in the bedroom, that's where the creative team went in terms of brands. Dakota Johnson was then brought in and asked what she liked and disliked, and the overall look was put together from there. Presumably, the actress liked what she was wearing because she's said before that she stole a lot of underwear from the set during her time filming the trilogy.
That's a multi-step process and it doesn't even mark the end of the difficulties of creating wardrobes for movie character. In fact, Shay Cunliffe also revealed the movie purchased multiples of each of the same underwear pieces because stuff would rip. If you've seen Fifty Shades Freed, you probably know exactly how that could happen...
You want three or four, at least, just because of body makeup and also with things being pulled on and off. I think actors in a hurry can end up ripping things by mistake. You're covered for that, too.
All in all, Anastasia Steele looks amazing in the underwear pieces the movie threw together. So much so that Dakota Johnson previously revealed one of her favorite scenes involved her in her underwear in a closet, fighting with Christian Grey as she started to get dressed. Although it's easy to see why an underwear scene such as that might be better than the times she had to wear a modesty thong. She said:
It's a scene where Anastasia finds out she's pregnant. And she's in her closet and she gets into an argument with Christian. [She] kind of is extremely vocal and honest about it while getting dressed. So, she's putting clothes on and sort of figuratively covering up and protecting herself while speaking her truth, which I think is pretty special.
A lot of time and effort was spent on choosing the costumes, including the underwear looks for the movie, and if you want to read more specifically about why the corset look was important in Fifty Shades Freed, we have you covered. In the meantime, you can now order your own copy of Fifty Shades Freed on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.
