Yahoo Finance What do the iconic costumes in Hulu's 'The Handmaid’s Tale' actually mean?
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It may feel odd to think of fashion and the hit Hulu series The Handmaid’s Tale in the same thought. After all, the show’s violent and oftentimes graphic portrayal of a dystopian future isn’t necessarily intended to inspire a fashionable silhouette. Yet still, costumes from the series have transcended the screen in interesting ways. It’s not unusual to see women don the iconic crimson handmaid’s robes to attend protests in the U.S. and abroad. And in 2017, New York-based avant-garde fashion label Vaquera even famously collaborated with Hulu to design a collection of dresses inspired by the series.
The Handmaid’s Tale has become a cultural touchstone in costume design, at once depicting the way fashion has historically been used to control bodies, strip away agency and reify outdated notions of gender. In the recently concluded fifth season, viewers were treated to an alternate reality—one where main character June Osborne (played by Elisabeth Moss) is empowered to not only escape the dystopian Gilead, but indeed tip the first domino of a long-awaited revolution. And in the real world, as we come to the end of a year that saw great political upheaval and unrest, The Handmaid’s Tale’s themes are more salient than ever.
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To learn more about the role of fashion, power and revolution—and how this conversation impacts every single one of us—we sat down to chat with Leslie Kavanagh, the costume designer behind season five of The Handmaid’s Tale. Kavanagh’s careful guidance of the series as it forges new pathways and possibilities inspired us to think about the role clothing plays in our own lives—and even the style lessons to be learned through this important show.
Conveying gender and power through costuming The Handmaid’s Tale
Leslie Kavanagh joined The Handmaid's Tale as the costume designer for its most recent season, and was excited to tackle the great changes that had taken place since the emotionally-charged ending of the fourth season. “The arc of the series has gone in a different world,” she says. “We’re spending much more time in Toronto, in the free world where June is reunited with Luke and her friends, because she’s finally escaped Gilead.”
The change in the setting of the series allowed Kavanagh a great deal of creative freedom to develop an updated aesthetic for the show’s central characters. “I was really able to push a few boundaries of what’s been in place there,” she says, referring to the iconic season-one costumes that were originally designed by costume designer Ane Crabtree.
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While the costumes worn by characters in Toronto were dominated by multi-functional, utilitarian styles in muted color palettes, Kavanagh’s most distinctive costumes this season might be those worn by The Plums. Debuted in the second episode of the season, the Plums are the daughters of prominent commanders and their wives in Gilead—young women who, it is revealed later on in the season, were in training to become wives themselves.
In designing these costumes, Kavanagh thought of the powder blues and delicate pinks worn by young boys and girls, combining them to create a soft lilac and by extension, a subtle blurring of the in-place ideas of how gender was allowed to be expressed in Gilead. “I wanted a bit more of a saturated purple,” says Kavanagh. “Purple is known as a royal color, and that’s how these girls are being treated: like royalty. I really wanted to emphasize that. I did a play on a 1950s swing coat for the young girls. I didn’t want them in a cloak because I wanted to give a visual difference. They’re not wives yet, but they’re not little girls anymore.” Inspired by the style? Shop the similarly styled City Chic Blushing Belle Faux Fur Collar Coat from Nordstrom, available in women’s sizes 14W to 24W.
Dressing for uncertain times in the real world
When thinking about how the show’s wardrobe might translate into the real world, Kavanagh likens June’s style to a “reporter in a war zone,” in which each garment has a purpose—and sometimes even more than one. “She is always in good footwear that she can run in,” says Kavanagh, “she’s layered up a lot.”
It’s important to be prepared for anything, and that’s true of the show and real life. Utilitarian, functional layers are simple to translate from the series into your own wardrobe. Patagonia’s Tres 3-in-1 Parka makes it easy to layer with a waterproof outer shell that can be worn separately from its insulating down-filled puffy interior jacket. Layered together, the jackets provided total protection from the elements, along with the added benefits of ease of movement and Patagonia’s critically important mission to protect and nurture the planet.
A human-centered mission and finding the best products that suit your world without hurting others is indeed something that is important to Kavanagh personally. “It’s sad that so much of what’s happening in our show is reflecting current times,” she says of the show’s parallels with the political climate in the U.S. and beyond. “With everything that’s happening, it’s a little more about mindfulness: less indulgence, and more purposeful pieces that bring you joy.”
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Borrowing style from Gilead’s wives
By contrast, the costumes worn by the women of Gilead are nothing if not indulgent. Kavanagh’s costumes build upon the framework of the other designers who worked on the series before her. For the fifth season, Kavanagh looked toward styles from the great depression and inter-war periods to inform her design process. “I went for a late thirties/early forties undertone for the lines and silhouettes,” she says. She points out how, during World War 2, resources were limited for all people—except for those at the top. As wealthy women continued supporting top designers during the horrors of war in real life, so do the wives of Gilead on screen—under a strict blue-only rule.
If you’re inspired by Kavanagh’s thoughtful costumes, the on-screen styles can be easily replicated from a handful of retailers whose designs are similarly inspired by wartime fashions. The Midi Flare Dress in Double Knit from Ann Taylor offers a modest style that is still elegant and fashion forward. The style is available in Pure Sapphire shade in women’s sizes 00 to 16.
Ann Taylor also offers the Tie Waist Knit Dress for a more figure-hugging look, available in women’s regular and petite sizes 00 to 14 in two colors.
Finally, for a style that’s more daring, shop the Davina Walk Through Jumpsuit that offers the comfort and utility of a jumpsuit with the elegance and formality of a full-length gown. The Kay Unger design is available in women’s sizes 2 to 16 in Midnight Blue and Black.
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This article originally appeared on Reviewed: The Handmaid’s Tale: Interview with the Hulu show's costume designer
