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Hollywood Journal
  • 2 days ago
When it comes to unforgettable TV, costumes do more than just dress the part…they tell the story. And this year's Emmy nominees for Outstanding Contemporary Costume Design gave us fashion moments that were as bold, layered and binge worthy as the shows themselves.
Transcript
00:00When it comes to unforgettable TV, costumes do more than just dress the part, they tell
00:05a story.
00:06And this year's Emmy nominees for Outstanding Contemporary Costume Design gave us fashion
00:11moments that were as bold, layered, and binge-worthy as the shows themselves.
00:16Let's start with The Righteous Gemstones, a televangelist empire dripping in rhinestones,
00:21sequins and just the right amount of satire.
00:24The Gemstone family wardrobe is all about excess between flashy suits, designer labels
00:29and a Sunday service that truly dazzles.
00:32I've always been very fascinated with religion.
00:34I think specifically coming from the South, you can see some of these extreme megachurch
00:39situations where it's so far-fetched.
00:42For example, last season we did a monster truck rally and I remember messaging Danny and messaging
00:48the production center and being like, whoa, look, this is actually a thing.
00:51And he was like, yeah, we already knew that.
00:53So it's like the megachurch world is just, it leaves so much fun for character development
01:00and costume design.
01:02And I think with some of these characters, it's really fun to play with it because they
01:05have a stunted element to them, but they're also bazillionaires.
01:08So, you know, we have people like Judy and Adam Devine's character that, you know, they would
01:14really care about having this like elaborate look so you can play with sequins and things
01:18like that and they do have the access.
01:20So, yeah, I feel like I myself am a huge fan of drag culture and just like club kids and
01:27things like that.
01:27So I really thought that this is a show that you can kind of push that like, I don't know,
01:33sometimes you can come on to shows and they have a certain kind of energy to them and
01:36some have like a feminine energy, a masculine energy or like both or this or that or neither.
01:41And I felt like this show has like an energy where we could really elevate religion and
01:46like a drag perspective.
01:47And I think that's kind of what we did.
01:49And I think it was pretty incredible because Danny was really like on board with pushing,
01:55you know, these characters and like having a lot of fun with it.
01:58Meanwhile, The White Lotus was one of the boldest ensemble shows this Emmy season, but the
02:03clothes also stood out as a character of its own.
02:06From breezy linen sets to luxe resort wear, every look said something about status on vacation.
02:12With each season of The White Lotus, it was clear that the country or location was a huge
02:20character in the story and the relationship with the landscape and the people and the culture
02:28where the guests are, where the guests are, was very important.
02:31One of the first things that came to my mind was my own travels in Thailand and Southeast
02:38Asia, and then also the song One Night in Bangkok.
02:42It kept going through my head because it's super catchy.
02:45And so these two influences, sort of a shiny, flashy, glittery version of ourselves.
02:53And then my own idea of like a bohemian spiritual adventure.
02:59I approached the ladies as if they were one person with sort of three facets to them.
03:05And when you first meet them, they seem like one amalgus blob.
03:11And then as you get to know them, you see their personalities and where they're from and
03:15where they chose to live their lives come through.
03:18But the idea really was that they are dressing for each other and trying to impress each other.
03:22And also a little bit for show that they're wearing masks and that the masks start to come off.
03:29And, you know, particularly the case sometimes with American Girlfriends is that there's a lot
03:34of fronting going on.
03:35So their guard gets let down and you see that Laurie's falling apart and Jacqueline's not happy.
03:42And so that starts to prevail in the outfits.
03:47Then there's the studio, a behind the scenes take on Hollywood itself.
03:51The costumes blurred the lines between on-screen glamour and the creative chaos behind the lens,
03:57with the costumes from each episode serving as an homage to a different era of Hollywood.
04:01When you're doing a period show, you really go in and you just, you know,
04:05you want everything to be exactly from that period.
04:08And this one, we just incorporated all of it.
04:10We did, you know, 30s suiting, some 40s in there, a lot of 70s, a little 80s, a lot of 90s.
04:17You know, we just tried to kind of weave all of the eras of Hollywood filmmaking into it just
04:23to show the love that we have for all of it.
04:27My favorite story is when we, when Ron Howard came in, we did ask him to bring his hats,
04:32his signature Imagine hats.
04:35And he brought a little duffel bag of the different hats that he has.
04:40So it's like Imagine Docs, Imagine Creative, a charity that he works with.
04:45And he showed us all the hats, which is exactly what we wanted.
04:50But he's like, well, maybe I could wear a different hat for different scenes.
04:54But it's all one costume that he wears.
04:56It's just like one thing.
04:57So that would be a totally different farce if you were changing his hats every single
05:03time we see him.
05:05Meanwhile, Emily in Paris brought us Parisian couture like no other.
05:09Love it or hate it, Emily's bold looks, clashing prints, and over the top everything is another
05:14character in itself.
05:16With each season, viewers have watched Emily immerse and find comfort in the Parisian way
05:20of life.
05:21And this season, that was reflected more than ever in her fashion, with her signature Emily
05:26twist, of course.
05:27I remember that the black and white masquerade ball that Truman Capote was throwing in 1967,
05:35I think, around the end of 60s.
05:39So it was a good way to have this French and American culture goes well together.
05:45So black and white, I thought it was a nice idea.
05:48It was very, very graphic instead of having a lot of colors for once in the show.
05:57So we get in touch with Aris and he was part of the project.
06:03He was very enthusiastic and he did a couple of regarding the mood board I sent to him.
06:09He did a couple of drawing sketches.
06:12And Lily and I decided on the most outrageous one, obviously.
06:20So yes, it was a nice collaboration.
06:24It's the kind of moment that you are happy to collaborate with the fashion designer.
06:29Because they all know that I have a deep admiration for the job.
06:35And finally, Hacks.
06:40Debra Vance's wardrobe serves old Hollywood glamour one minute, sharp power suits the next,
06:45and always reminding us that she runs the show.
06:48Put her next to Ava's laid-back style, the contrast makes for the perfectly imperfect but
06:53brilliant pair.
06:54So whether it's satirical sparkle, Hollywood power dressing, or Parisian couture, these nominees
06:59prove that in TV, the costumes are about more than just clothes.
07:03In the end, the Emmy went to the studio, but every designer this year delivered looks we'll
07:08be talking about long after the ceremony is over.
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