On the March cover of Rolling Stone, Kristen Stewart—with one hand down her jockstrap—dared the masses to try and meet her gaze without becoming instantly horny. If you're a feeling person, odds are the sight of the Love Lies Bleeding star was enough to, well, impel you to put your own hand down your pants. By contrast, if you're a feckless right-wing fuckwit—sorry, conservative "activist" (read: Christopher Rufo)—it only prompted you to pathologize about the happiness of the entire queer population. But Olga Mill, the costume designer who styled the cover shoot, hasn't paid any of the backlash much mind. It's not that Mill—whose credits include Hereditary, Eileen, and, most recently, Love Lies Bleeding—doesn't care about the controversy it's sparked. It's just that she thinks Stewart has already given the only response that matters: "I think there's a certain overt acknowledgement of like, a female sexuality that has its own volition in a way that's annoying for people who are sexist and homophobic," she told Stephen Colbert during a recent appearance on The Late Show. CBS, the host noted earlier in the conversation, didn't want the cover to be shown on air. "Female sexuality isn't supposed to actually want anything but to be had," Stewart said. "And that feels like it's protruding in a way that might be annoying. But fuck you." The cover shoot—which saw Stewart in various states of slutty (non-derogatory) gym wear is only an extension of the film's purpose: to push the minds of its audience to consider what it actually means to be a "strong woman." In the 1980s-anchored Love Lies Bleeding—a seminar in sapphic suspense cinema—Stewart's Lou, a flaccid gym employee, meets Katy M. O'Brian's Jackie, a rock-hard bodybuilder hoping to win a competition in Vegas. They fuck, fight, and by the end, grow about as strong as one can be. Literally. It's probably the most fun you'll have in the theater this spring. Just ask this man. Jezebel spoke to Mill about the iconic cover, how the characters' queerness informed their costumes, and why Hollywood needs more muscle mommies. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Jezebel: First thing first: that Rolling Stone cover. Are you aware that you created the pin-up for queers, everywhere? Even my "straight" girlfriends were like "Am I...gay?" Olga Mill: An honor, and a privilege. Tell me about the concept—apart from spawning sapphic awakenings worldwide? I have to credit Kristin and Collier [Schorr, the photographer] because they brought me in and had this amazing photo of Andy Warhol at the gym as a reference, and then from there, I went off and pulled a bunch of things. The costume gods always have a role to play, too. I just went out and looked for vintage pieces that were eighties gym wear and I happened to come across a jersey that said "animal" on it and one that said "69" so it was like a playful, sexiness around gym stuff. Later—I can't say I'm smart enough to think about this prior—but I was thinking about the sort of cultural resonance of "locker room talk" and that being such a fucked up, sexist excuse for things. So, there's something about the agency that that image has in that setting because it takes back a space that was traditionally really sexist. Speaking of! What do you make of the backlash? The internalized misogyny has practically leaped out of people—so much so that Kristen has to address it repeatedly during the film's press cycle. I saw a clip, I think it was from Stephen Colbert, but I thought Kristen answered it in a…
