00:00I always joke that she watched some YouTube videos over the summer.
00:03She learned how to define her curls.
00:06Erica took her shopping.
00:08You kind of see her come in looking a bit fresher for Development Day.
00:12Season 3 of Abbott Elementary sees Janine Teeks have a job glow-up,
00:15going from teacher to school district employee, as well as a major style glow-up.
00:20But there's more to her transformation than meets the eye.
00:22Creator and star Quinta Brunson, as well as the show's costume designer,
00:26head hairstylist, and head makeup artist all spoke to The Hollywood Reporter
00:29about the story the ABC series is telling through Janine's on-screen evolution.
00:34Style-wise, in season 1, her clothing was that of, you know, a girl, not only a teacher
00:41trying their best, but a girl trying her best.
00:44In her 20s, like, Janine's not the coolest.
00:47She's a bit of a nerd.
00:49And honestly, clothes to her are a way to express what she's feeling on the inside.
00:54But that doesn't mean she's good at it.
00:56And I really wanted her to start from that place in season 1.
00:59And I knew it would garner some attention.
01:03But I really wanted that.
01:04I wanted it to, you know, evoke something in people of, like, what is she wearing?
01:09But to not kind of tell the audience that you're going to be on a ride of evolution of style.
01:13This season, the clothes fit her, which is good.
01:16I mean, before, it was just this really big stuff.
01:18And she would put it on right before she went and cinch it in with a belt, you know?
01:22And we would sort of fake alter it really quickly.
01:24And this season, everything, I deliberately went for knits to make them fit her better.
01:29And it was some prints, mostly stripes, not quite the same.
01:33And some lower necklines.
01:34And then the shorter skirts and the fitted blazers.
01:38I mean, it's such a strong visual to see her in something that actually fits her.
01:44Versus, like, the kind of crazier stuff, those, like, really full skirts.
01:49I mean, it's her progression to becoming, like, more together, more confident.
01:56The show isn't just communicating Janine's personal growth through her clothing,
01:59but her hair and makeup as well.
02:01I spoke with our hair team.
02:02You know, they constantly wanted to make the hair look better.
02:07And I so often was like, guys, I get it.
02:11But there's a story that I really want to tell with Janine.
02:16And you'll have those opportunities, like, with Ava and with guest cast.
02:20But with Janine, it's really important to protect
02:24the evolution of a person learning to take care of themselves,
02:28love themselves, and know themselves.
02:30As a hairstylist, as a cosmetologist,
02:32you naturally want to do a glam up or a makeover on everybody.
02:35But I love the fact that I'm able to tell stories every single season
02:40with the development of Janine's character.
02:43I remember having a conversation with Mireya at the top of the season,
02:47and I was like, we're going to do a middle part this year.
02:49And it's really exciting for something so small to be that big to us.
02:53And not only to us, but the audience.
02:55Like, when the season first came out,
02:57or just, like, even promos for the season first came out,
02:59people were like, wow, Janine, bust down middle part.
03:02And I think it's really beautiful to be able to build those moments.
03:06This season meant so much for her to even,
03:09for Quinta to call me and text me and be like, girl, middle part.
03:12I'm like, okay, girl.
03:17Y'all don't understand.
03:18I've been trying to get this girl to switch from the side part for seasons.
03:22And she was like, nope, nope, nope.
03:24But it does fit her character because the first thing after a breakup,
03:28what's the first thing we as women do after a breakup?
03:33We change our hair.
03:34Yeah, honey.
03:35Going online and Googling, okay, how can I make my curls more defined?
03:39Because, you know, we as Black people,
03:40we know how to mix this, mix that in our kitchen and make it work.
03:45So that's basically the approach that we went for this season.
03:48Everyone sees themselves in Janine.
03:51She's a little part of everybody.
03:52But this season, because of her little hiccup with Gregory,
03:55and now she's at the district, of course, you got to kind of elevate.
03:59Like, she's been hanging around Barbara.
04:00She's been with Ava.
04:02And, you know, she's been on YouTube.
04:04And she's like, what can I do to, like, spruce myself up?
04:07And I feel this season, when we were discussing her character,
04:11like, she's more cognizant of what she's doing and how she speaks.
04:15And she wants that presence.
04:17And I went with more jewel tone eyeliners because we all know the,
04:22what is that?
04:22Her jelly bean belt that has all the different colors and stuff like that.
04:27That's Janine.
04:28So I was like, how can I bring teacher Janine into the district, Janine?
04:32This season, I also went with more of lip liners with lip glosses and color in her lip.
04:40Because usually she's just a lip gloss girly.
04:42And she's more toned down.
04:44But again, she's stepping it up.
04:46She's letting you know, you know what?
04:47I take myself more seriously now.
04:50I am still in the district.
04:52Not making that much money, but I can be more presentable.
04:54I always wanted this evolution for Janine.
04:57There's still places I think we have to go with her.
05:00And while the evolutions for the other characters, as far as hair and makeup,
05:05are way more subtle, they're there.
05:08Like they matter.
05:10And I don't need them to be smacking everybody's face.
05:14But you know, they do make a difference in how we tell our stories.
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