How Costume Design Builds Character

Recently I watched the second season of The White Lotus and it reminded me just how powerful costume design is in subliminally showing the audience who the character is and how their character arc is progressing. It sparked a recognition of other instances where we have seen costume design done successfully recently; Euphoria is the other TV show that immediately comes to mind. In this article I want to explore these brilliant instances of costume design and how this is informing the way I analyse my own style.

In my opinion, good costume design is like salt. You notice when it's doing too much or too little, but when it's just right, the whole dish or character comes together very naturally - we have the freedom to notice the true flavour. That is how I felt when watching The White Lotus. The only time I really noticed the costume design and then went back through the episodes to really study it was when Lucia, an escort, is wearing the outfit pictured above (on the left) - this felt like a direct reference to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (afterwards confirmed by the costume designer in this article on British Vogue). Lucia and Mia have their Pretty Woman shopping moment and their style elevates to designer brands but retains its young, party spirit as they grow in confidence and come in to money. Their characters (no doubt helped by their costumes) were loved by the audience - including Kim Kardashian, who used the duo for her Valentine's Day SKIMS campaign.

The standout character of the show for me was Aubrey Plaza's Harper - cynical and new to extreme amounts of wealth - her style is not flashy but instead is a curation of classic vintage pieces and understated but luxurious new pieces. Her character is a contradiction of not wanting to show off her new social status and wealth but then she finds herself on holiday in a luxury resort, with her Bottega bag and multiple other designer items too. The costume designer mentioned in the same British Vogue article how her character's costumes soften into a more loose feminine style as the season progresses, as we realise Harper is far from perfect. We should of course also talk about Jennifer Coolidge's Tanya - who was dressed very decadently in fine and flashy Italian designers obvious from the first day of her holiday where she tries to live her dream Italian lifestyle and channel her inner Monica Vitti. The other character I thought was portrayed very interestingly was Portia (played by Haley Lu Richardson) - a 20-something hot mess who expressed her resentment towards to TikTok and other social media but was not able to fully reject them (relatable). This energy was exacerbated with very messy outfits referencing various Internet-famous Y2K and 90s trends, sometimes in dad-style, sometimes in Instagram-shop House of Sunny.

As mentioned earlier, the other standout TV show for costume design in 2022 is Euphoria. In the second season, we see Sydney Sweeney's Cassie increasingly switch up her style to vie for Nate's attention which comes to a climax when attention is brought to her dressing in the same outfit as Alexa Demie's Maddy. Maddy's character is processing a new chapter of being single, still dealing with betrayal and hurt and turning to fashion to find comfort in the new woman she is becoming. She moves from cult-Instagram-famous brand I.AM.GIA in the first season to darker, more vintage pieces, including those from higher-end designers & pieces from Alexa Demie's own wardrobe as Maddy moves to a new chapter of life.

Now I want to turn towards a balanced analysis of about my own style, how it actually is right now and what I am manifesting it to be as I explore new chapters of my own life. In reality we don't have costume designers or stylists to help us bring out the best of our personalities, and many of our fashion choices are directly related to body image and shape - not something we see characters aware of as they dress on-screen, even if body-insecurity is part of their character. Right now, I am keenly aware of how my body is changing as I implement new health-related routines and my desire to experiment with new clothes has almost completely depleted. I don't want to buy clothes that will only fit my body for a short time and I want to wait to explore the subsequent confidence I will have as I reach my goals.

Additionally, I am spending the first half of this year finishing my Masters degree and whilst the only places I am really going is to my university campus for lectures, I don't feel inspired to express myself through the way I dress. I have a pretty good understanding of what I would like my style to be in a world where I do have that inspiration to play with it. It would represent the balance of my personality - if I was a character in a TV show, my clothes in the day time would juxtapose the slight bluntness in my tone and personality with more feminine silhouettes, the character absolutely would not fall for short-lived Y2K trends because she would always be an advocate for longevity in all wardrobes. Her accessories would be classic enough to fulfil the aforementioned objective, but unique enough to make her feel special. Finally, her evening-wear would have a masculine tailoring edge to it (think YSL) because when the character is feeling good about herself she understands and expresses freely the power she holds. However, right now, for the majority of the time, I do not feel like that character.

I think the choice to experiment and perfect a particular look that represents my personality and then cycle through iterations of similar style formulas to really create a definition for myself through clothes is an active choice - not something I can commit to passively. So, even though I really do still love fashion and the creativity that comes from styling, I find myself choosing to dress for comfort whilst I focus on my health & confidence, before moving my attention to how I can best practise finding and curating my own style. I do plan to write another article about my process after I feel I have successfully reached that goal and I am really looking forward to feeling like I have the freedom to explore that part of my life thoroughly. That being said, I will never hesitate to click "buy now" if I really do fall in love with a particular piece of clothing that I find in the meantime, that makes me feel feminine, powerful or timelessly stylish.