Baz Luhrmann on Blake Lively’s Hitchcock-Inspired September Issue Cover

“I think the underlying idea—if this film were to be made—is that you have two people living a lie,” Luhrmann explains. “Both Hugh as ‘Interpol’s Diamond L’Ombre,’ and Blake as the fake heiress, whose glamor, charm, wit, and beauty are a mask for her reality—a young girl from the streets who, from day one, has had to hustle to stay alive and for whom expensive goods, objects of status, and priceless objects give her the license to play a role.”

Luhrmann adds, “And yet she and Hugh’s character have had to shut their hearts off to love for different reasons, so I hope these images are both glamorous and beautiful… and a little bit tragic and sad.”

For Blake’s character, Luhrmann was keen to pay homage to the bold actresses found in classic 1960s films, from Brigitte Bardot to Veronica Lake—“and of course, the glamour of Grace Kelly,” he adds. “We knew we had to be strong with the hair.”

While most the shots show Lively as a Kelly-esque figure sunning at the Monte Carlo Beach in a retro striped Jacquemus swimsuit, or dripping in a gilt LaQuan Smith gown by a craps table at the Casino de Monte-Carlo, there are a couple of shots that flip the script on its head. One features Lively aglow in the moonlight—a cat burglar in a Balenciaga catsuit—and finally, Lively in handcuffs, caught red-handed. “The Cat’s slender wrists, encircled not with diamonds but with handcuffs,” reads the September issue script.