Since Closer arrived in theaters on December 3, 2004, the perfectly coiffed pink wig that Natalie Portman’s character Alice briefly sports when she’s on the clock at the strip club has remained in the zeitgeist in some capacity. In the 2010s, it accompanied copious photosets on Tumblr. In recent years, it’s migrated to nostalgic pop culture Instagram accounts, TikTok montages, and “film Twitter” where cinephiles and fashionistas alike piece together fancams from its limited screentime. It inspires coordinated bachelorette party ‘fits and, every Halloween, you can bet Alice will appear on more than one “cool girl costume ideas” list.
While legendary costume designer Ann Roth (Midnight Cowboy, 9 to 5, Barbie) was behind the Closer wardrobe and wanted Alice to wear a colorful wig for the strip club scene, Portman’s hairstylist and makeup artist on the film, Oscar-winner Christine Blundell (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Wonder Woman), found and fitted the exact right one. And the wig isn’t just eye candy; it holds a lot of answers to the film’s plot.
The love-triangle drama directed by Mike Nichols and written by Patrick Marber, based on his play of the same name, follows the unraveling and deception between two couples—author Dan (Jude Law) and sex worker Alice and photographer Anna (Julia Roberts) and dermatologist Larry (Clive Owens)—examining how much you can really know someone. Alice, as it turns out, isn’t who she says she is. She only shares her real name once, when Larry visits her in the club, and she can only do so when she hides under her transformative bob’s disguise.
In that moment she says, “Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off, but it's better if you do,” tying together Closer’s entangled web—and making hot girl history.
“It's almost like she's having a game with herself,” says Blundell of Alice donning the bubblegum bob. “Because by this point, she doesn't care who she's upsetting along the way because she's on her own. That's kind of what’s so heartbreaking about the whole thing.”
Alice’s look also feels distinctly ‘00s. Just a year prior, Scarlett Johansson wore a similar blush wig in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation and Evan Rachel Wood threw the Spirit Halloween version on for a moment in Catherine Hardwicke’s Thirteen. It walks a delicate line of being artificial, saccharine, and seductive—how much of ‘00s pop culture is remembered—and why we still can’t stop thinking about it.
In honor of the film’s 20th anniversary, we asked Blundell every question we have about the look from whether it was always pink to what it was like dolling up a then 23-year-old Portman.
Maire Claire: Was the wig always pink?
Christine Blundell: Here’s the thing: It was a very, very cheap wig. I think they're called Smiffys Wigs now. But yes, it was always that vibrant pink. You buy them off the shelf like that.
The fun part was complimenting it. Throughout the film, Natalie doesn't really wear much makeup at all, except when she's working, and then she's fully made up as a working girl. It was more [about] complimenting it with the really bold pink eyeshadow and putting loads and loads of highlighters on her face.
MC: Do you remember where you acquired the wig?
CB: It would've come from one of the great wig shops. We had a few Swiffys Wigs for the art gallery scene. So they are a bit of a go-to when you want a wig that is going to tell a bit of a story. But it is meant to be fun, and it's nothing that's made bespoke.
When I was doing Closer, I didn't have a team. We were all personals to each actor. I was lucky enough to be with Natalie doing her hair and makeup, but there was a designer on it called Linda DeVetta who was overseeing everything. So when we talked about getting the wigs, I think [it was] between her and Ann Roth, the costume designer. Ann had this whole idea of what outfit she was going to be in, with all the tassels and everything, and I think it just grew from that, really.
I remember being presented with a selection of wigs on the day and playing with different wigs, like a white version and blue version, and landing on the pink one because it felt really good for her character.
MC: Were the other wigs you and Natalie tried on also bobs?
CB: Smiffys tend to come in that style. They are quite like a classic wig style for that very vibrant color. Some have fringes, some don’t, but they're all pretty much that length.
MC: Is there a specific wig shop that you like to go to when you’re working in London?
CB: Oh, yeah. I have a few. It depends on what sort of wigs. If I'm having a wig made bespoke, I use a company called Alex Rouse. If I'm buying a Smiffys off the peg, I'll go to Pak’s, a massive wig store in Finsbury Park.
MC: The wig is so coiffed and moves so perfectly when Natalie turns around her shoulder to lead Clive Owens’ character in the club. Did you have to step in on set so it would look just right?
CB: Because they’re nylon, they are static. I was literally right by the camera and running in all the time with hairspray on my hands, smoothing it around, and positioning it, because they just go like that. They look great, but you have to really manage them.
MC: Was it shot in a real club or a set?
CB: If my memory serves me well, it was in a real nightclub in Central London.
MC: As you said, Alice doesn’t wear much makeup throughout the rest of the movie. Was it fun to come up with the pink, sparkly look she wears with the wig and apply it to Natalie?
CB: It was incredible fun. Natalie is so easy to work with.
The actual character arc of Alice in the whole film, from the moment we see her, what always had to be very paramount is that she was from New York. She had arrived in London and she was meant to look out of place. That initial walk with her down the street with the red wig on was designed for her to stand out from the crowd—that she was quirky and different from other people walking around London.
Makeup-wise—aside from the fact that Natalie really doesn't need makeup—it didn't fit her character. We had to keep her looking almost childlike in comparison to the other actors, and her love rival [played by] Julia Roberts. She was always meant to look a bit more mature and together and organized, whereas Natalie's character, Alice, was always meant to look a little bit, I suppose, skittish. A little bit lost in the headlights. What I remembered thinking at the time was that her character was such a survivor, and I think that was where I didn't really want to enforce a definite made-up look on her. It just didn't feel right. So everything was about keeping her really natural.
At the end of the film, when we go into the club scene, this is her work, this is her world. It was almost like this is a mask. She puts this on to protect herself. She puts on this full face of makeup and she literally is there to do a job and no one is going to see her crack.
The pink makeup we used was very dependent on that wig being pink. It was like, ‘Okay, let's just go full throttle here with the pink.’ And it was almost like we're going to make a really, really girly pink. You'd look and it's like, ‘Well, this is odd putting makeup on you, finally.’ And you'd stand back like, ‘Actually a bit more,’ and then, ‘Oh, a bit more.’ And then you ended up with these really made-up eyes. But she's Natalie Portman. She can carry it off.
At the end of the film, when we go into the club scene, this is her work, this is her world. It was almost like this is a mask. She puts this on to protect herself. She puts on this full face of makeup and she literally is there to do a job and no one is going to see her crack.
MC: Do you remember what makeup brand you used for that look?
CB: I do. I had quite a lot of MAC makeup because I've got a makeup school, and they were sponsoring me at the time. And also at the time, MAC specialized in doing that pure pigment color, so you could get all the depths of color with your MAC makeup. So all of the colors that I'd have used [for that scene], it would've been MAC.
MC: Closer came at a huge time in Natalie Portman’s career. It came out the same year as Garden State and amid the release of the Star Wars movies. What was it like working with her?
CB: I remember being quite wowed by her because she's a worker. She is a very, very good actor, and she comes in, makes no bones about the fact, and respects what everybody does. She'd been doing it since she was 9-years-old and is incredibly respectful of everyone's job—and, likewise, expects you to be respectful of her job.
Funnily enough, I've just finished working with her again. She had a team with her this time and I was designing the film, but we finished the Guy Ritchie film [Fountain of Youth] and she hasn't changed. She's still fun, and she still is so professional.
[Closer] was a very enjoyable shoot. It was my first time being on a film set where it was all personal. It was [make-up artist] Linda DeVetta designing it, but it was personals with their actors because everything was about them. [When you design a film’s make-up direction], it's much more about overseeing the whole production and making sure that every actor is catered for. Whereas, when you are doing personal with someone—especially someone like Natalie—you have a chance to get totally involved in their character's journey. It was a slick movie to film on. I just remember thinking, ‘God, these all really, really experienced filmmakers.’ It was quite a turning point for me in my career.
MC: Are you aware of the wig’s lasting legacy and how much people on the internet love it?
CB: Here's the funny thing: My son’s girlfriend is a stylist, and when I said to her that you had contacted me, she was just like, ‘Oh my God, Closer? That is an iconic look.’ And, literally, to this day, I'm just like, ‘Is it?’ I don’t know! I mean, I was designing films at the time, I didn’t design Closer, but I designed them and moved on to the next one. I don't look back at what I've done. It was only when [my son’s girlfriend] said to me the other day, ‘It's literally what we talk about when we're doing our styling sessions at uni. I can’t believe you didn’t realize that.’ So, yeah, I was never aware that it was quite such an iconic look. It was a film that I loved making, and I honestly didn't realize it would have the impact that it had.
MC: There’s even a rumor that Britney Spears loved Closer and was inspired to start wearing a pink wig when she went out because of the movie.
CB: Oh, okay. I'll take that.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
