Edgar Wright’s psychedelic fever dream of a horror movie, Last Night in Soho, has divided critics and audiences, but there’s one thing that everyone can agree on: The costumes are sensational, not to mention crucial to the narrative. The story follows Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), an aspiring designer who moves from England’s Cornish countryside to the capital to attend the London College of Fashion. After being mocked by her roommate Jocasta (Synnøve Karlsen) and her crew of snobby friends, she retreats to a studio near Soho owned by a mysterious elderly woman (Diana Rigg) and finds that every night when she falls asleep, she’s transported back to the 1960s—a period that has always fascinated her.
There she meets Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), a vivacious singer who’s eager to move up in the world, and watches her as she dominates the dance floor at the Café de Paris, auditions at nightclubs, and falls for a Teddy boy (Matt Smith). Inspired by her visions, Eloise creates ’60s-inflected pieces at college, begins dressing like Sandie, and even dyes her hair. But, as Sandie’s tale takes a turn for the worse, Eloise’s does too. The costumes are swoon-worthy throughout, from the homemade newspaper dress Eloise wears at the start to Sandie’s floaty peach frock when we first meet her and the outfits worn by revelers at a raucous Halloween party.
