Check Out the First Stills (and Awesome Costumes) From the Madonna-Directed W.E.

The first stills from Madonna's directorial debut W.E. are out, courtesy of Grazia, and they are beautiful. W.E. stars Abbie Cornish as a woman in 1998 who is infatuated with the 1930s marriage of King Edward VIII (played by James D’Arcy) and his relationship with Wallis Simpson (played by Andrea Riseborough). The film will reportedly switch back and forth from the '30s to present day, highlighting parallels between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson's romance and a modern one.
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The first stills from

Judging by these stills, we already want to see it based on aesthetics and costumes alone. The costume designer, Arianne Phillips, who happens to be Madonna's personal stylist, also did the costumes for Walk the Line and

We are particularly obsessed with Simpson's ring and sunglasses in the above photo as well as her gorgeous headpiece and earrings below. It's all in the details.

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Arianne Phillips On Working With Madonna, Costuming Her MDNA Tour, and Why Finishing a Film is 'Like Childbirth'

Last night, Persol fêted their annual ‘Magnificent Obsessions’ exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens with costume designer Arianne Phillips as one of its honorees. Mention Phillips’s name to anyone in the music or film industries and you’ll immediately notice a twinkle in their eye—the woman is legendary. She’s worked as Madonna’s personal costumer for 15 years on top of an additionally long list of film credits. Most recently, she did the costumes for Madge’s current MDNA Tour which marks their fifth touring collaboration. At the exhibit, which opens today through August 14th, you’ll find an entire section devoted to Phillips’s costumes for the Madonna-directed film, W.E, which focuses on the Duchess of Windsor’s controversial life. Dutifully holding court beside her exhibited creations, we chatted with Phillips about what it’s been like to work with the queen of pop for over a decade. Fashionista: How does it feel to see your work exhibited like this?

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Exclusive Photos: Madonna Gets Some Help From Steven Klein on the Set of Her New Movie

Madonna's been pretty tight-lipped about W.E., the movie's she's currently directing and co-wrote. The plot has something to do with King Edward VIII's affair with American socialite Wallis Simpson (they later married), played by James D'Arcy and Abbie Cornish. And Lourdes Leone will be taking a break from blogging to make her acting debut in the film. It's Madonna's second time directing, and she told Interview that this film has a "bigger story" and will be "more layered and complicated" than Filth and Wisdom, her directorial debut. For her second attempt at directing, Madonna is pulling out the big guns. Some exclusive photos sent to us by a tipster show that she's getting some high profile high fashion help. Looks like famed fashion photog Steven Klein is giving her Madgesty some advice while on set in Brooklyn last week. Of course it's not the first time Madonna and Klein have worked together. The two paired up for an exhibition back in 2003, and he shot her for several editorials. Hopefully this bodes well for W.E. making a bigger splash than Filth and Wisdom.