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When? Kristen Wiig Stepping out of a vintage Rolls-Royce in the opening scene of Season 2 of “Palm Royale”, she is wearing a tall, yellow, ruffled hat, gold platform sandals and sunny bell bottoms, with fabric petals that move with every determined step. It’s the first sign that costumes are taking center stage in a female-led comedy.
Apple The TV show made a splash in its first season with its star cast, high production values, and the ubiquitous grasshopper cocktail. Wiig’s character, Maxine, tries to sneak in Palm Beach High society and conflicts with co-stars in 1969 carol burnettAllison Janney, Leslie Bibb and Laura Dern. But also playing a major role are vintage designer frocks that reflect each character.
For Season 2, which premiered this week, Emmy-winning costume designer Alix Friedberg says she and her team coordinated “thousands” of looks that reflected the characters’ jet-setting style. She says 50-60% of the brightly colored and graphic print dresses are original vintage designer pieces, sourced by shoppers and costume designers.
“The looks are so iconic. Sometimes Kristen walks into something, and it brings tears to my eyes,” kaia gerber – the person who plays Mitzi told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
The creative process involves much more than shopping
If the original is not vintage, Friedberg’s team creates the costumes, and if a character must wear a dress in multiple scenes or in large dance numbers, the team may create duplicates to maintain continuity. Friedberg says she was lucky to find so many sellers who had vintage designer items in good condition.
“[Bib’s character]Dina wears some original Oscar de la Renta pieces that are really perfect. Bill Blass was a big guy, Oleg Cassini,” says Friedberg. “There’s a dress that (Jenny’s character) Evelyn wears, it’s a whole emerald green jersey, it’s an original Halston and it’s so beautiful on her and it really evokes what was coming in the ’70s.”
Jenny called Friedberg “brilliant” and expressed amazement at his talent in finding pieces that looked like works of art. Some of her favorite characters had après-ski looks in the Swiss Alps — but it’s hard to pick an ultimate favorite.
Janie says, “It all makes me feel divine. And the hair is just a masterpiece, and the makeup – it all comes together to create Evelyn and I barely have to do anything.”
costumes can be fun
The costumes also help enhance the comedy. Friedberg says that Evelyn’s quiet and passive character produces laughs along with some of her over-the-top getups.
“She’s speaking this dialogue, these lines, with seven wigs on her,” says Friedberg. “The absurdity really comes through in how these women present themselves over and over again. … It was so much fun to make the audience laugh and wink.”
Burnett described costume fittings on the show as “a lot of fun” and said it helped her find her character, the scheming Norma. “I work externally,” she says. I need to know what I’ll look like.”
Norma’s signature turban began as a practical idea to help Burnett save time on hair and makeup. Says Friedberg, “The first time she wore it, we both said, ‘Oh, this is really fabulous,’ and every time she came out as Norma without the turban, I really missed it.” “Every time we made a dress for her, we always had to think about what the turban would be like, and then that started to change, and we started designing the turban before the dress!”
Many looks go deeper than shiny sequins
The costumes also help set the tone for the women’s empowerment theme prevalent this season. “Evelyn wore a lot of pants — which sounds ridiculous to say today — but at the time that was a real power move,” says Friedberg.
Bibb had ideas to show how Dinah evolves from her trophy wife personality. “I knew this season was about finding her own worth without a man… and what that looked like. I’ve always been attracted to Sharon Stone in ‘Casino’ — and so she “stole” a little bit of that look,” says Bibb. “We really have Dina going into pantsuits and having a different sense of that and she’s really becoming the most modern version of her.”
Friedberg also expressed the privilege and simplicity of rich people in the series through clothing. Josh Lucas plays Douglas, who has faced some disappointments this season, which is reflected in his costume.
“What if we approached Douglas where the women in his life always wore his clothes? He was always dressed by someone else. He never shopped,” Lucas says as she posed for Friedberg (who is his sister-in-law in real life). “And for the first time, (his wife’s) character isn’t doing that, so she only has Hawaiian shirts with three holes.”
Friedberg says he is actually a rare character who repeats costumes. “As the series progresses, you can see them becoming a little more detailed,” she says.
Gerber’s character got a major makeover after the money arrived this season. The actor explained Friedberg’s deliberate designs as Mitzi discovered “womanhood and its power”.
“It was so much fun to wear these expensive gowns and jewelry, do hair and makeup, and it really is like Mitzi’s inner journey,” she says.
The costumes may look cute, but Friedberg says each look also has a deeper meaning.
“Maxine wore this dress that was an original Oscar de la Renta dress,” says Friedberg. “It’s something that Norma would wear, and it’s saying without telling the audience that she has arrived, it’s her time, it’s her time to rule.”