NEW YORK — When Kristen Wiig steps out of a vintage Rolls-Royce in the first scene of season two “Palm Royal” she wears a tall yellow fringed hat, gold platform sandals, and sun-kissed flared trousers with fabric petals that sway with every decisive step. This is the first clue that the costumes are on female comedy occupy a central place.
The Apple TV show made a splash in its first season thanks to a star-studded cast, strong production values and an ever-present grasshopper cocktail. Wiig's character, Maxine, tries to infiltrate Palm Beach high society in 1969 and butts heads with her co-stars. Carol BurnettAllison Janney, Leslie Bibb and Laura Dern. But vintage designer dresses also play a major role, reflecting each character.
For the second season, which premiered this week, Emmy Award-winning costume designer Alix Friedberg says she and her team coordinated “thousands” of looks to reflect the characters' lifestyles. She said 50 to 60 percent of the bold graphic suits are original vintage designs created by customers and costume designers.
“The look is so iconic. Sometimes Kristen comes in wearing something and it brings tears to my eyes,” Kaia Gerber, who plays Mitzi, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
If it's not an original vintage, Friedberg's team creates the costumes, and if a character has to wear the outfit in multiple scenes or large dance numbers, the team may create duplicates to maintain continuity. Friedberg says she's been lucky to find so many sellers of vintage designer items in excellent condition.
“(Bibb's character) Dinah wears some Oscar de la Renta originals that are really perfect. Bill Blass was a celebrity, Oleg Cassini,” Friedberg says. “There's a dress that (Jenny's character) Evelyn wears that's all emerald green jersey and it's an original Halston and it's so stunning to her and it's really reminiscent of something that would be in the '70s.”
Jenny calls Friedberg “brilliant” and admires her talent for finding pieces that look like works of art. Some of her favorites were the characters after skiing in the Swiss Alps, but she has a hard time choosing a favorite.
“They all make me feel divine. The hair is a masterpiece and the makeup is all created by Evelyn without me having to do much,” says Jenny.
The costumes also help enhance the comedy. Friedberg says Evelyn's stoic and unflappable personality makes some of her over-the-top outfits laugh.
“She delivers this dialogue, these lines, while wearing seven wigs,” Friedberg says. “The absurdity really comes through in the way these women present themselves over and over again… It was so much fun to laugh and wink at the audience.”
Burnett called the show's costume fittings “a lot of fun” and said they helped her find her character, the conniving Norma. “I work from the outside in. I need to know what I’m going to look like,” she says.
Norma's signature turban began as a practical idea to help Burnett save time on hair and makeup. “The first time she wore it, we both thought, 'Oh, this is really so amazing,' and every time she came out as Norma without the turban, I really missed it,” Friedberg says. “Every time we made her a dress, we always had to think about what the turban would be, but then things started to change and we started designing the turbans before the dress!”
The costumes also help set the tone for the theme of female empowerment that runs through the season. “Evelyn wore a lot more pants—which seems funny today—but back then it was a real power move,” Friedberg says.
Bibb had ideas to show how Dinah evolves from her trophy wife image. “I knew this season was about her finding her own wealth without a man… and what that looked like. I've always been obsessed with Sharon Stone in Casino,” says Bibb, and so they “stole” part of that character. “We really have Dina who wears pantsuits and just has a different perception of herself, and she really becomes her most modern self.”
Friedberg conveyed the privilege and simplicity of the rich people in the series through clothing as well. Josh Lucas plays Douglas, who goes through some disappointments this season, reflected in his costumes.
“What if we go to Douglas, where he was always dressed by women? He was always dressed by someone else. He never went shopping,” Lucas says, posing for Friedberg (who happens to be his sister-in-law in real life). “And for the first time, (his wife's) character doesn't do that, so he only has three holey Hawaiian shirts.”
In fact, he is the rare character who repeats clothing, Friedberg notes. “You can see them getting more and more worn out as the series goes on,” she says.
Gerber's character goes through a major change this season after coming to money. The actor admired Friedberg's intentional designs as Mitzi finds her “femininity and strength.”
“It was so fun to wear these expensive dresses and jewelry and hair and makeup, and that it really resonated with Mitzi's inner journey,” she says.
Costumes may be pleasing to the eye, but Friedberg says each look carries a deeper meaning.
“Maxine wears this dress, which was Oscar de la Renta's original dress,” Friedberg says. “This is what Norma would wear, and it tells the public, without telling the public, that she has arrived, that it is her time, it is her time to rule.”
