Costume Designers Reveal the Secrets Behind Emmy-Worthy TV Looks

Keywords:Costume DesignEmmy-Nominated TV SeriesFashion in TelevisionCostume Designers InsightsTV Wardrobe TrendsOutline:1. Exploring the Power of Color and Patterns in Costume Design2. The Collaborative Relationship Between Costume Designers and Showrunners3. Balancing Fashion and Costume Design for Storytelling4. Bringing Period Pieces and Contemporary Settings to Life5. Overcoming Challenges in Filming Extreme EnvironmentsLast Monday, Puck and Max hosted a special event in Los Angeles to celebrate the talented costume designers behind six Emmy-eligible HBO and Max Originals series. The panel discussion, moderated by Puck's fashion correspondent Lauren Sherman, featured insights from the creative minds behind some of television's most visually captivating shows.

Unlocking the Secrets of Costume Design for Emmy-Worthy TV

Costume designers are the unsung heroes of the television industry, responsible for crafting the sartorial identities that bring characters to life on the small screen. In a captivating panel discussion, six Emmy-nominated costume designers shared their unique approaches to dressing the casts of some of the most acclaimed HBO and Max Originals series.## Exploring the Power of Color and Patterns in Costume DesignThe panelists delved into the strategic use of color and patterns as powerful storytelling tools. Consolata Boyle, the costume designer for "The Regime," explained how she deliberately employed a limited color palette of reds, blues, and greens to convey a sense of unease and strangeness, reflecting the show's unsettling tone. "What everybody was attempting to do with this particular show, because it's such an extraordinary script, is to make something that's completely recognizable, and just a tiny bit strange, so that everything is slightly off-kilter," Boyle shared. "We have to be able to imagine that this could happen, and yet there is an aura of strangeness, so that everybody has that feeling of slight jeopardy always."Similarly, Christina Flannery, the costume designer for "The Righteous Gemstones," used fashion to communicate the delusional, high-end world inhabited by the show's characters. "We're taking a group of people that live in this delusional, high-end world in the middle of Charleston, South Carolina, mixing together what they would want to be perceived as and the reality that they're coming across as extremely stunted," Flannery explained.## The Collaborative Relationship Between Costume Designers and ShowrunnersThe panelists emphasized the importance of a close working relationship between costume designers and showrunners, as they strive to align on a cohesive creative vision for the entire season. Danny Glicker, the costume designer for "The Sympathizer," described his collaboration with director Park Chan-wook as a process of "building the language and the motifs, just like in music, where you would create and riff on a theme for each character, then destroy or morph the theme."Kathleen Felix-Hager, the costume designer for "Hacks," echoed the sentiment, noting the involvement of the show's creators in the design process. "The showrunners on Hacks are very involved, and they like to see everything and everything's approved the night or the week before," she said.## Balancing Fashion and Costume Design for StorytellingThe panelists grappled with the delicate balance between fashion and costume design, acknowledging the unique challenges and opportunities that arise when working with high-end brands and designers. Kasia Walicka-Maimone, the costume designer for "The Gilded Age," shared her approach to incorporating fashion influences while staying true to the show's narrative."We created a story that is a fictional story, and had to create a world that reflects that fictional story. One emotion we were very committed to creating from this period was the emotion of crazy excitement—for the ladies of the society, the moment when they were walking out of their house, there was the phenomenon of excitement," Walicka-Maimone explained. "Very early on, we decided that we are going to break some rules, but the rules had to still apply within the historical framework."Consolata Boyle echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the importance of keeping fashion subservient to the story. "The fashion has to be completely subservient to the story and only makes sense in the context of the story. The minute you become too aware of things, I think it's distracting, and that's a disaster."## Bringing Period Pieces and Contemporary Settings to LifeThe panelists shared their approaches to crafting costumes for both period pieces and contemporary settings, highlighting the unique challenges and considerations involved in each.For "The Gilded Age," Walicka-Maimone and her team immersed themselves in extensive research, drawing from a visual library of over 40,000 images to ensure historical accuracy. However, they also allowed themselves creative liberties to reflect the show's fictional narrative, particularly in their use of bold colors.In contrast, Giulia Moschioni, the costume designer for "True Detective: Night Country," faced the challenge of creating realistic, functional costumes for a contemporary police drama set in the harsh Alaskan climate. "Achieving a good result means taking care of every detail," Moschioni explained. "Especially if you're filming in Iceland, where you cannot get everything you want as if you were in America. It becomes pretty funny and exciting."## Overcoming Challenges in Filming Extreme EnvironmentsThe panelists also shared insights into the unique challenges of dressing characters for extreme environments, such as the frigid Alaskan setting of "True Detective: Night Country." Moschioni and her team conducted extensive research, visiting Anchorage and studying the wardrobe of the Alaska State Troopers to ensure authenticity."If you see just two episodes of that, you really get a feeling of how cold and how miserable it is to work in that harsh climate," Moschioni said. "You have to just wear wool, not cotton, no synthetic. You have to keep your head warm because the head is the first place where your warmth goes away."The costume designers emphasized the importance of collaborating closely with the director of photography and production team to ensure the costumes were not only functional but also visually compelling on screen, even in the darkest of conditions.Through their insightful and engaging discussion, the panelists offered a rare glimpse into the intricate world of costume design, showcasing the pivotal role it plays in shaping the visual identity and storytelling of some of television's most acclaimed series.