In Luca Guadagnino’s new psychological thriller “After the Hunt,” Julia Roberts stars as a Yale professor who is forced to choose sides when a star pupil accuses another faculty member of sexual assault.

Each scene that unfolds is thorny and tense. And as the cast — including Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield who play the accuser and the accused, respectively — engage in an unflinching battle of wits, navigating one knotty maneuver after another, what stands out is their clothes, which are as sharp as the dialogue.

“After the Hunt” brings Guadagnino into more volatile territory as a filmmaker, but it has similarities to his past work in the visually rich sartorial choices of its cast, where the clothes contain deeper meaning and expresses the power dynamics between its characters. The result is made possible by the film’s costume designer Giulia Piersanti.

Playing the role of Alma, an academic professor, Julia Roberts has a smart, cream-colored and visibly expensive wardrobe, while her husband (played by Michael Stuhlbarg) and colleague (Chloë Sevigny) are seen in more relaxed, sometimes vintage clothing. Amazon MGM Studios

Whether teaching a class at the pristine Ivy League institution or grabbing a drink at a bar after hours, Roberts’ character Alma Imhoff has an unmistakable penchant for preppy, tailored cream-colored pieces, achieved with a wardrobe of luxury labels like The Row, Celine and Lemaire, though she also occasi