The moment I stumbled upon the trailer of The Handmaiden (Still in cinemas!!), the new erotic thriller/drama by famed director Park Chan-wook I knew I would love the movie. Luscious costumes, leather gloves, a historic setting, eerie music, hints of S&M and bondage – in short, all the things I found fascinating.

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THE HANDMAIDEN

Being a fashion designer, modern history enthusiast, Chinese and Japanese speaker, this movie was everything that intrigued me all packed into 144 minutes, presented with the most beautiful imagery. The only one thing that I lacked a connection with was probably the romance between the two female protagonists due to my natural predisposition to liking men over women (absolutely no prejudice though!)

A derivative of the English lesbian romance/crime novel Fingersmith set in Victorian Britain by Sarah Waters, The Handmaiden is set in 1930s Korea during Japanese occupation. This is a cleverly duplicitous movie with twist upon twist upon twist told from different points of views. It has received sky high reviews and been hailed as “a cinematic masterpiece” (by the Atlantic) and praised by multiple other publications including New York Times and LA Times.

“[The Handmaiden] is a movie that tries to ravish your senses so thoroughly you may not notice its sleights of hand.” – NY Times

Throughout this post and the next I reimagine and interpret not just the fashion but also the disturbed childhood of the female lead of The Handmaiden, Lady Hideko. She is a prisoner of her sadistic uncle and the target of fake Count Fujiwara who lusts after her sizable inheritance and enlists pickpocketer Sook-Hee to help him in his quest.

OUTFIT 1

Lady Hideko’s clothing are best described as demure yet sexy, luxurious and rich. Her gowns are more Victorian inspired than accurately depicting the fashion of the 30s, mostly due to her confinement in her uncle’s half Victorian half Japanese mansion.

Her formal attire features off-the-shoulder designs, lace and puffy sleeves – elements that are all very on trend right now.

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Perhaps you have noticed that this is an embroidered clutch of a woman undergoing sexual activities with two octopuses. It is actually derived from an extremely famous artwork by Hokusai commonly known as “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife”. I will go into more detail on the background of this clutch and its relation to the movie in my next Handmaiden post. Stay tuned!

At the beginning of the movie, we follow Sook-hee, the fraud and pickpocketer, on her way to become Lady Hideko’s Handmaiden. Before leaving the orphanage, she is given a beautiful and valuable looking hair stick from her caretaker. It serves as a perfectly ironic symbol of her pickpocketing ways and weakness for shiny jewelry. Here I found a gorgeous hair stick from Light in the Box and looks very similar to the one in the movie.

Off-the-shoulder dress by Milly

Erotic Embroidery Clutch by Olympia Le-Tan

Lace Gloves by Dita Von Teese

Velvet Pumps by Christian Louboutin (similar here)

Earrings – Vintage

Hair pin from Light in the Box

OUTFIT 2

Aside from gorgeous gowns and dresses, Lady Hideko often wears skirts and a lace blouse for her more casual moments. Her umbrellas which shield her from the sun is another symbol of her nobility. Traditionally in Asia, those who were tanned were ones who worked out in the fields and came from a lower social status – hence the Asian habit of carrying umbrellas everywhere even though there is no rain, even in modern days.

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It is refreshing to see a female protagonist who is stunningly beautiful yet does not succumb to any man’s advances.

She is beautiful and soft, yet witty and cunning when need be.

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If you look carefully at this clutch by Olympia Le-Tan, you will notice the embroidered imageries of Japanese erotica and bondage (kinbaku). Although there is no overt references to Japanese bondage in The Handmaiden, I felt like this book clutch ties in perfectly with her disturbed and restricted childhood where she is exposed to all kinds of erotic literature and forced to read it for her uncle.

| Photography by Austin Donohue |

Silk & Lace Blouse by Rebecca Taylor

Midi Skirt from ModCloth

Bondage Embroidery Clutch by Olympia Le-Tan

Earrings by Swarovski

Shoes – Vintage

Lace Umbrella & Gloves from Light in the Box

Read Reimagining Erotic Fantasies: The Handmaiden Part 2

Reimagining Erotic Fantasies | Carine Gilson Robe | Of Leather and Lace