“Power Dressing” for a Public Takedown
Arabella is an unapologetic extrovert, and at times she dresses like it’s her divine right (and perhaps duty to her fans and followers) to put on clothes that say something. “She’s very aware of everything she’s wearing,” says Moore. “We think about not only how will it look on camera, but the mindset….She’s quite edgy, she’s quite grungy, and she likes to do things a bit differently.”
For example: Arabella’s chunky boots and cardigan when she takes to the stage at a literary conference to out a former love interest (and fellow writer) as a rapist. Moore says she wanted to create a version of power dressing for Arabella that didn’t rely on a strong shoulder and stilettos. “She’s got these green military trousers, a big belt around her waist, and boots,” she says. “But with that, she had a very soft cardigan on, with pattern, and feminine lipstick. And that’s the way Arabella is: she takes the norm and she plays with it. Half of it is one thing, half it is the other. From that outfit, you’re not certain what she’s going to do.”
Kwame’s Faux Fur Security Blanket
Faux fur became a somewhat accidental motif over the show’s run—its playfulness presents a contrast to the celluloid glamour that fur often summons, and it works as a sort of security blanket. Kwame (Paapa Essiedu), the show’s male lead, wears big teddy jackets throughout the season, funky toppers to his stylish shy-guy wardrobe. “Kwame is an interesting one because at the beginning, he’s very out there and enjoying life,” Moore says. “A lot of the time he’s just wearing sweatshirts and trousers and trainers, which is very generic for men,” Moore says, “but by shortening the trousers just slightly, and putting the hat higher on the head, it completely changes it. This is someone who deliberately wore these things in this way to look different.”
Kwame’s Beanie-Bucket Hat Dialectic
“How [Essiedu] wears the beanie on his head, and the pops of color [it creates], just seem to create Kwame,” Moore says. After he’s sexually assaulted, though, “he goes through a journey—not as big a journey as Arabella does, but he starts trying different things, and he experiments with being heterosexual.” Enter: the bucket hat. By the end of the season, he’s returned to something of his previous style, though in richer colors like navy and mustard. “He’s not matured, but he’s gone through something and learned about himself.”