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Marilyn Monroe’s Secret Influence On Sunrise On The Reaping
The costume designer for the Hunger Games prequel breaks down the Old Hollywood inspo for one of Maysilee’s iconic ’fits.
Spoilers ahead for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
If you’re knee-deep in Hunger Games lore, you know Katniss Everdeen’s Mockingjay pin paid homage to her District 12 tribute predecessor Maysilee Donner. But in the upcoming dystopian prequel Sunrise on the Reaping, hitting theaters Nov. 20, Maysilee’s costumes have a surprisingly real-world style muse: Marilyn Monroe.
Before Maysilee, played by Mckenna Grace, faces the cameras for her pre-Games interview with a younger Caesar Flickerman, fashion student Effie Trinket swoops in with a rack of black looks to dress the District 12 tributes. And for Maysilee, Effie chooses a halter ball gown, getting the full-glam treatment.
Her showstopping dress features a bodice covered in sparkly sequins and a voluminous satin circle skirt. She even wears matching opera gloves — an Old Hollywood go-to accessory. Naturally, it was all orchestrated to a T. “When Maysilee is in her interview outfit that Effie Trinket produced out of her aunt’s closet ... I went for a Marilyn Monroe look because I thought it suits Mckenna so well,” Sunrise on the Reaping costume designer Bina Daigeler tells Bustle.
According to Daigeler, the choice was about more than just looking fabulous for the Capitol; she wanted Maysilee to “feel strong, beautiful, amazing.” She says, “It’s more a ’60s kind of swing dress,” adding that the timeless silhouette “can stay iconic for many, many years.”
The look also fits the larger creative vision for the film — filled with nods to ’60s and ’70s-era fashion. (Grace confirmed this in an interview with E!, recalling how she saw Stevie Nicks on the mood board.) The aesthetic ranges from Lenore Dove’s Woodstock-inspired numbers to Effie Trinket’s OTT looks.
“When you look through Effie’s costume, you can see a glimpse of Vivienne Westwood,” Daigeler says. Drusilla Sickle, played by Glenn Close, was also inspired by a different real-world British designer: Alexander McQueen. (The label was also prominently featured in the original trilogy, worn several times by Elizabeth Banks’ Effie. Her unforgettable butterfly dress? McQueen.)
“There’s always an haute couture fashion moment where my inspiration could come from, and it was the ’60s and ’70s,” the Oscar-nominated costumer says. It’s a runway moment decades in the making.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
