Fashion in film is both functional and aesthetic. Historical inaccuracies notwithstanding, it’s a way of letting viewers know which era a story takes place, all while making a sartorial statement. Think Audrey Hepburn’s iconic Givenchy black dress in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, which showed off Holly Golightly’s fashion-forward character while giving viewers an idea of its setting.
More often than not, though, people miss the subtle message of fashion when it serves as a plot device. A character’s clothing can speak volumes about their personality, social status, and history. Their style can even foreshadow events in a story, or hint at a plot twist. Vantage takes a look at recent hit TV shows that achieved this.
The Queen’s Gambit
- The Queen’s Gambit (2020)
Though The Queen’s Gambit (2020) is ostensibly about chess, in reality, we’re watching Beth Harmon’s growth from a young girl to a mature woman. In the pilot episode, Beth is wearing a pale green dress made by her mother that has her name embroidered in it. As Beth enters the orphanage, she’s forced to trade in her dress for a uniform like everyone else—losing her autonomy. We only see Beth regain her sense of self once she’s older and earning money from chess. Naturally, she flocks to checkered outfits and black-and-white numbers that mimic a chessboard.
Beth also struggles with an addiction to tranquilizers; her dress when losing to Russian Grandmaster Vasily Borgov resembles the pills’ light and dark green colors. When Beth finally defeats Borgov in the last episode, she’s wearing a pale green dress reminiscent of her original outfit as a child—symbolizing how she has come into her own. The final scene of The Queen’s Gambit shows Beth in a white coat with a matching hat and gloves, mirroring the white queen—the most powerful chess piece.
- Bridgerton (2020)
There’s no doubt that Bridgerton (2020) took several liberties with its costume design. For starters, women in the Regency era did not wear corsets and instead, wore stays. Bridgerton, however, had its female cast wear half-corsets, despite the fact that corsets are used to cinch the waist, and outfits of that era typically had their waistlines underneath their bust. Yet Bridgerton still succeeded in using fashion to tell a story.
The wealthy, classic Bridgertons and the nouveau-riche, tasteless Featheringtons are heavily contrasted, thanks to the pale blue hues and simple styles of the former and the garish greens and busy prints of the latter. Simon Bassett, who has a troubled childhood, usually wears black but he begins to wear more colorful clothing when he begins opening up to Daphne. The most subtle but effective play on color is when Daphne ends up wearing purple after her marriage to Simon. The Bridgerton family colors are blue, and the Bassett family colors are red, so it made perfect sense.
- Penthouse: War in Life, Seasons 1 and 2 (2020-2021)
While Penthouse features an extensive cast, it focuses the most on its three main female characters: Shim Suryeon, Cheon Seojin, and Oh Yoonhee. With structured blazers and striped dresses, Suryeon clearly favors clean lines, signifying her pure, straightforward personality. Monochromatic outfits in muted colors show her elegant upbringing. She’s juxtaposed by Seojin, the villainous primadonna of the building, who usually wears extravagant outfits in loud colors. Her big sleeves and layered looks hint how she’s hiding something.
Suryeon and Seojin are heavily contrasted; when Suryeon exposes Seojin’s affair with her husband, the former is wearing a long-sleeved white number while the latter dons a revealing black gown. Finally, Yoonhee, a poorer woman, wears baggy clothes that show she doesn’t belong among the others—she even has a literal blue-collared look. There’s no doubt that Yoonhee wants to join the ranks of the rich, though; her color palette mimics that of the wealthy Suryeon, as do her new outfits when Yoonhee marries an affluent man in Season 2.
- Wandavision (2021)
One of the first times we see Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch is in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Then, she only wore a scruffy black dress and old red jacket—a far cry from the sleek, high-tech suits of other Avengers, showing how Wanda is still an outsider. In Wandavision, though, we see Wanda come into her own with modern clothing. Her red devil Halloween costume with a horned headdress hints at her final look as a sorceress in the show finale. The latex material and design of her brand-new red-and-black outfit as Scarlet Witch echoes the costumes of the other Avengers, signifying how she is now one of them. Moreover, her headpiece design calls to mind the helmet of another Marvel character: Magneto, her father.
- Attack on Titan (2013-present)
Attack on Titan takes place in a world where most of humanity are hiding from the gigantic, man-eating Titans. The military branch Survey Corps engages in direct combat with the Titans. It comes as no surprise, then, that Attack on Titan draws inspiration from World War II clothing. War fashion was made to be durable and sensible; most of the show’s clothing are tan, rust, and olive green—probably because those are the easiest types of dyes to obtain. Levi Ackerman’s belted olive trench coat closely resembles actual German soldiers. Mikasa Ackerman’s cropped brown blouson jacket is also known as the Eisenhower jacket, worn by Dwight Eisenhower during WWII. The show also takes a page out of medieval European peasant outfits. Hooded jackets with drawstrings, as worn by Eren Yeager, indicate an era when money and other resources are scarce.
There’s no doubt that a production’s setting and script are important. However, we shouldn’t overlook its style, as it tells a story about its characters before a single word is even uttered. And while admittedly fashion on film isn’t always historically accurate, a set’s costume design gives us a glimpse into each character’s individual arcs and personalities.
Graphics by Dana Lee