London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jan 18, 2026

Why Is Bad Girl Style So Good?

Why Is Bad Girl Style So Good?

We’re introduced to Emma Stone’s take on Cruella de Vil in the new Cruella trailer through fashion.

The iconically villainous fashion designer with a hankering for Dalmatian fur walks into a ballroom in a white hooded coat, which suddenly erupts into flames, revealing a sinister red gown underneath it. Talk about an entrance! With costumes designed by the Oscar-winning Jenny Beavan, the film is guaranteed to be a maniacally stylish flick, with Cruella getting an edgy, punky makeover. (It will be hard to top Glenn Close’s portrayal in 1996’s 101 Dalmatians, of course, but it already looks very promising.) Few antagonists are as overtly glamorous as De Vil, but Hollywood has a history of making antagonists impeccably dressed-both in cartoon and live-action form. And there’s something about bad girl style that’s indeed just so good.

When looking at the scope of villainous fashion plates, two categories emerge: There’s the faux innocent, à la Regina George, and the slick, edgy sexpots. For the former, look to the Fembots in Austin Powers and their marabou feathers, or Villanelle’s frilly Molly Goddard tutu gowns in Killing Eve. These evil chicks enjoy dressing sweetly to take their prey by complete surprise. It was Shakespeare, after all, who wrote, “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.”

Then there’s the predator who barely masks her malice. When Halle Berry portrayed Catwoman in 2004, her menacing outfit totally made the otherwise-panned movie. Her reimagined black leather catsuit by Angus Strathie was strappy and sexier than the one famously worn by Michelle Pfeiffer-and totally more badass too. Grace Jones’s hooded Azzedine Alaïa getups in A View to a Kill would make anyone want to join the dark side. Simply put, bad girls just do it better-and below, more of the most stylish villains of all time prove it.



Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada



May Day in A View to a Kill



Regina George in Mean Girls



Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove



O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill



Patience Phillips/Catwoman in Catwoman



Villanelle in Killing Eve



Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty



Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct



Kathryn Merteuil in Cruel Intentions



Courtney Shayne in Jawbreaker



Queen Akasha in Queen of the Damned



Ursula in The Little Mermaid



Meredith Blake in The Parent Trap



Vanessa in Taxi



Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad



Madison Lee in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle



Fembots in Austin Powers



Queen Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsman

Comments

Oh ya 5 year ago
Other than the beautiful dogs and the cool PX200 mod vespa there is nothing of interest in the photo

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks EU Response and Risks Deep Transatlantic Rift
Prince Harry’s High Court Battle With Daily Mail Publisher Begins in London
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Presents Complex Challenges for the UK Economy
UK Prime Minister Starmer Rebukes Trump’s Greenland Tariff Strategy as Transatlantic Tensions Rise
Prince Harry’s Last Press Case in UK Court Signals Potential Turning Point in Media and Royal Relations
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
×