Community, Leadership, Experimentation, Diversity, & Education
Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Wednesday, March 05, 2025
‘White Lotus’ Costume Designer Alex Bovaird on Her H&M Resort Collection, Thailand Inspiration and Styling the Show’s Wonky Universe: ‘It’s a Little Off, Wild, Emotional’
www.yahoo.com/entertainment: It can be hard to describe “The White Lotus” universe to those who haven’t seen the delightfully wonky Mike White-created show, which returns for its third season this weekend. Off-kilter, eccentric, absurd and quirky are a few words that come to mind. But sprinkled atop all the kookiness is an undeniable romanticism and allure that makes you want to sip a Pina Colada on the beach with the characters –despite knowing their vacation, like in every season of the show, ends in a blood-curdling murder.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I think that White Lotus is a super cool show that I had kind of forgotten about between its break of season 2 and season 3 creation, but now have been hearing about it a lot. I remember really enjoying the first two seasons when I watched them, particularly because of the star studded cast (that had many different actors of different age groups), the dynamic writing of the show and the arguments and drama that would ensue, and the general fun ambiance of the setting of both seasons, both with production and costume design. I think there is a really subtle art of being able to costume for “real people” versus perhaps doing a period piece where there is more historical things choose to base on. When I think trying to create contemporary people, that in the context of White Lotus, are supposed to feel truly like real people we could run into and understanding the nuance of the details that would allude to who someone is without it feeling like they're wearing a costume.
This feels similar to Wicked, where the costume designer for the movie also created the merchandise for several stores. The outcome of that was a cohesive collection that fit the characters very well and didn’t feel cheap or gaudy like many movie merchandise does. I have never seen White Lotus, but the clothing is extremely evocative of the vacationing-with-a-dressed-up-vibe the designer was talking about. I personally love creating designs with intricate meanings hidden within colors and patterns, especially when they are open to interpretation from the audience, and I think that this collection accomplishes this very effectively. And they do not feel like merchandise designed to boldly express your love for a show- someone who had never seen White Lotus could very easily purchase some of these pieces with no prior knowledge needed to enjoy them. Overall, it's a beautiful collection and I love the themes the costume designer discussed in the article about making them.
I have always been avid about not really liking when costumes for a show look like they can just be off the rack, I feel like there is so much personality when they are really customized and tailored to the show however I think with The White Lotus I think the situation is a little different. I think it’s honestly really cool how she translated the show’s quirky, offbeat style into real-life fashion. I love how she described the clothing as “emotional dressing” that reflects the characters’ moods. It makes the outfits feel more personal and natural. Because quite frankly the costumes in the show aren't anything groundbreaking, however I think there's more story to them than meets the eye. The Thailand inspiration for the collection is awesome too. I think it’s impressive how she was able to take the show’s costume design and turn it into a versatile collection that people can wear on vacation or even just out and about. I also thought it was interesting how she found fashion design less complicated than costume design since she didn’t have to worry about specific characters or scenes. Very interesting article and instance!
Post a Comment