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The Who What Wear Podcast
BONUS: Alex Bovaird Returns! The White Lotus Costume Designer on Every Fashion Easter Egg in Season 3 and the Impact of Her Costumes
00:32:39
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- [00:01]
Bobby Schessler
You set the gold standard for your business. Your website should do the same. WIX puts you at the helm so you can enjoy the creative freedom of designing your site just the way you want. Want someone to bounce your ideas off? Talk with AI to create a beautiful site together, generate on brand content, images, media and simply change or fine tune any of it along the way. Whatever your business, manage it from one place and tie it all together with a personalized domain name. Gear up for success with the brand that says you best. You can do it yourself on wix. Welcome to the who what Wear Podcast, your direct line to the designers, stylists, beauty experts, editors and taste makers who what are shaping the ever evolving world of fashion. I'm who It Wears shopping director Bobby Schessler. And today on the show, we've got a super special bonus episode. After this past Sunday's season finale of the White Lotus, the show's costume designer, Alex Bovaird, is back to chat with us some more and dive even deeper. I'm passing the mic to senior fashion and social media editor Tara Gonzalez to talk about that crazy finale, the deeply specific accessories she chose for each character, costume design as fashion influencing, and a whole lot more. We are officially Alex Bovaird's biggest fans over here. So this was such a treat and you've been warned. Major spoilers ahead. It's all coming up on who, what Where?
- [01:47]
Tara Gonzalez
Alex, I'm so excited to talk to you again.
- [01:49]
Alex Bovaird
Likewise. How are you? Did you enjoy season three?
- [01:53]
Tara Gonzalez
Oh, my God, I loved it so much, but I feel like I'm still emotionally recovering from last night from the finale. Like, it's consumed my every thought since I woke up this morning.
- [02:03]
Alex Bovaird
It was a lot to process. I mean, obviously I knew what had happened, but I hadn't watched the finale, so I was very curious.
- [02:10]
Tara Gonzalez
It was rough, I know.
- [02:12]
Alex Bovaird
And it's become this communal watch and social media has seemed to be the new water cooler. So we're all having conversations around social media now. And that communal bond that we shared when we were watching the White Lotus is also really hard to let go of.
- [02:32]
Tara Gonzalez
I know. I was thinking, like, Sundays are just not gonna feel the same anymore. On that note, I feel like something that has really been contributing to the conversation this season, as always, is your incredible costume design. Maybe we can kick it off to talk about the finale a little bit. I know that you and Mike White have. The arrival scene is so important, and you've talked about how you kind of like set the scene for these characters and introduced us into how they were going to be. So I'd love to hear about when the finale comes and you kind of see these characters for the last time. I mean, in some of them it's more final than others, obviously, unfortunately. How do you think about that? Cause some of the characters do change, like slightly. It's only a seven day vacation, but.
- [03:11]
Alex Bovaird
Yeah, as you said, it's just a week. So nothing completely revolutionary in the sartorial domain, but there are little subtle changes. And the arrival scene, we kind of blazon who they are. So we turn it up a notch a bit so that as an audience we go, oh, okay. So that's dialed down a bit through the season. So we're still telecasting their emotional state somewhat or who they are, but it's calmed down a bit. And by the finale, the rat lifts. Their life is about to change forever. On the boat, they turn their phone on and what they've been going on about all week is, you know, how comfortable they are and how they're not like other people and they're better than other people and they're rich and what does that mean to them? So I feel like everything they talked about is going to be turned on its head as they turn their phones on and they realize they don't have any money and their dad's probably going to prison for a while. So that's a good cliffhanger for them. And I think they dress pretty much the same. Piper, she's had a bit of a realization that she is not as down to earth as she thought she was. So we did amplify her colors since she left the monastery. She's no longer so monochrome and ethereal and pure. There is a scene that actually was cut where she was going to hook up with Zion.
- [04:41]
Tara Gonzalez
Oh, my God.
- [04:42]
Alex Bovaird
So she has a big story point that was cut out. So that also figured into her flowering and wearing bright colors as she has bloomed from the innocent, chaste girl. So she has a mission and fulfills it. But that didn't play. So that was interesting to see. But I think it still works that she had that realization. And we still play with the costumes a bit and everyone else is, you know, Victoria's still relaxed and comfy. She's still wearing her resort wear. They probably have a night in Bangkok or something before they fly out. Timothy has been in his uniform the whole time. Saxon has had a bit of a journey, but it's not like he's gone out and bought new clothes, but he's softened a Little bit. We pulled accessories off him. We went sort of full douche at the beginning with the croquis and the sunglasses and the boat shoes and the belt and the shorts that were just a little long for being cool. And so by the end, he gets a little more handsome and a little cuter, more accessible and relatable. And so on the boat, he's a little bit softer than we met him.
- [05:53]
Tara Gonzalez
There's, like, little subtle changes that, you know, especially I feel like with Piper, I noticed it the most. I feel like she kind of went from American doll, like, Puritan peasant dress kind of styling to suddenly, as soon as she was like, wait, maybe I am a little bit of a spoiled brat who likes the, you know, cushion of wealth. And then you kind of felt like the colors, and it amps it up a little bit. Was just so well done. And she had, like, a little bit of makeup on too. And I feel like you just instantly were like, oh, this is who she, like, really is.
- [06:20]
Alex Bovaird
Yeah, exactly. She's having her meltdown at breakfast, and she's wearing a sort of webby, still very fragile dress. And then once she sort of realizes that she's gonna go home and accept who she is, that she's a bit of a princess, she's wearing brighter colors. And then the ladies, they've been on a bit of a journey where they've been able to take their masks off slightly in one. Jacqueline has these mask earrings when they went out for dinner, and that was to sort of represent that they're wearing masks, and they've come off to some extent, and they're just a little more comfy, and you can see the differences. When they arrived, they were presented as one blonde blob. And then as the. And at the end, the more comfortable Jacqueline, the morning of the shooting, she's still wearing something very eye catching, very leggy, still very Jacqueline. But Laurie's got her jumpsuit on. She's a little more quirky, and. Oh, I forgot that Laurie borrows Kate's earrings in the breakfast scene. She's during the shootout, she's got green earrings in that Kate earlier wears. So Laurie borrows Kate's earrings, and that was something, you know, signifying that they're friends again, borrow each other's jewelry.
- [07:38]
Tara Gonzalez
Wait, that is such a cute detail.
- [07:40]
Alex Bovaird
And Kate is a little more buttoned up on the boat. She's got her pink dress with ruffles, and she's a little bit more girly.
- [07:49]
Tara Gonzalez
Yeah. And then obviously, we have Chelsea and Rick. I love them. So much. And I was so sad. I mean, I kind of figured that that was where that plotline was heading. But when we had talked about their style, you said that they were a little bit of, you know, kind of outsiders. Like, they're supposed to be a little, like, crackly, a little fizzly. And then I feel like at the end, once again, they're kind of just as how they arrived. So I'd love to hear about how you outfitted them for the ending and for them meeting their fate.
- [08:17]
Alex Bovaird
Yeah. They remain throughout, they march to the beat of their own drum. So they have their own slightly misfits. But by the end of it, Rick comes back from Bangkok and he's much softer looking. He's wearing a matching set and he's got his comfy trousers on, but also a cabana shirt that's very muted. And he comes to the beach and him and Chelsea have that very romantic moment where she runs up to him that is just so beautiful. And she's wearing a chartreuse color sheer cover up. And the light is catching them in a really glorious way. I just tried to make that moment very romantic and very cohesive. Cause they're really coming together. Whereas at the beginning, he's a little dismissive of her, by the time he comes back, he's really come back around and realizes how much he loves her. So that moment, they look more a pair.
- [09:11]
Tara Gonzalez
I was obsessed with her style this season. And I also wanted to kind of talk a little bit about this necklace that she had worn that said stay gold on it. And when I'd first noticed it, I was like, oh, no, that is a quote from the Outsiders. And it was like Johnny Cade's last words were stay gold. I really was like, oh, no, does this mean that she's not gonna make it? And so I would love to hear the intention behind that necklace. And if that was meant to be a little, like, cheeky nod about what was to come. Because I feel like it was such an integral part of her look. Like she really did wear it, I feel like every other scene.
- [09:42]
Alex Bovaird
Yeah. So the stay Gold necklace is something that I came up with before Amy was cast. And I was looking into making some pieces with a designer in London that could be signature pieces. I like the idea of a dog tag with a slogan on because she's really into astrology, and it seems like she'd be one of those people that had a slogan tattooed on her arm. And stay gold is from a Robert Frost poem. And stay gold means to stay true. To yourself, to stay unblemished. To stay uncorrupted. And when they cast Amy Lou, she's also very much like that. She very much knows who she is and is very ethereal and very uncorrupted. And you are absolutely right. It was a little nod to the Outsiders. And I did wonder when and how somebody would clock that and take that as a sign it was out there. But it was also subtle, and there's so much going on. So I'm glad that it wasn't noticed until closer to the finale because it actually just helped us sort of egg it on, I think. But, yeah, it was a sort of film fans wink to that scene where he dies and he says, stay gold, Ponyboy. And Amy and I wondered if we should pare it back a little bit so she doesn't wear it all the time, because we didn't want people to assume that from the beginning. So I think you got onto it, like, couple weeks ago or something. But there's so many other things that people were picking up on as well that we hoped that it would get lost in the conversation.
- [11:27]
Tara Gonzalez
Totally. I feel, like, satisfied because I had some people being like, you're reading in between the lines. And I was like, I'm an English major. This is. I have to read in between the lines. Like, I'm looking for the clues. And I know that you've said before that obviously the costume design really is meant to elevate and tell the stories of who these characters are. You know, in the White Lotus, there's always like, a cheeky wink or a nod or I guess people call, like, little Easter eggs throughout the season. So is it fun to kind of see that conversation happen online? And I'm sure that there's some things that people are picking up on, like with the necklace, that's intentional, but maybe there's other things people are picking up on that maybe you were like, oh, that's. That's not what I meant at all. But it's fun that you guys are thinking that. I'd kind of love to hear about your reaction to the conversations happening about those fashion Easter eggs.
- [12:11]
Alex Bovaird
Yeah, totally. There's always things we do in the costumes that lean into what that character stands for or something that might be. The necklace was the only thing that told you who's gonna die? But we're always doing things like Jacqueline has when she arrives. Jacqueline is wearing these little Pamela love dagger earrings. So that was a little foreshadowing of Jacqueline's character and what she was gonna do. To her friends, there was the mask earrings that we talked about. Somebody was talking about how she wears a Valentino dress and it says Valentin. So that. That was just a coincidence.
- [12:53]
Tara Gonzalez
Yeah.
- [12:54]
Alex Bovaird
Rick wears a Cranes shirt and you know, cranes signify longevity. So, you know, that's a misnomer. He's not going to live much longer. But, you know, maybe his spirit lives on. You know, we don't know. New forms is one of the names of the episodes. And the idea that he will live forever and Chelsea and Rick forever. We think about things, but some of the things I've seen online are nothing planned. But when we buy clothes and accessories, we're always getting self referential and being inspired by the characters and doing a little bit of storytelling. But I think if I did another season, I probably wouldn't do any like this person dies because it's a little nerve wracking.
- [13:40]
Tara Gonzalez
Totally, totally. I did notice that on TikTok other people were talking about another necklace that Chloe's character wears that like Maggie. It's Maggie Simpson, right?
- [13:50]
Alex Bovaird
Yes.
- [13:50]
Tara Gonzalez
And I would love to hear a little bit more about how you decided to have her wear that necklace. And then I did see some very funny theories. Somebody was like, oh, you know, Maggie Simpson shoots Mr. Burns. Mr. Burns. So everyone was thinking that that's what it meant. And then it was funny because someone had commented on my video too about the stay gold necklace. And they were like Maggie Simpson referen Robert Frost poem in an episode of the Simpsons. And then I remember thinking, there's no way there's that many layers to this. But I did think it was fun to once again see people kind of having that conversation because it was a fun piece regardless.
- [14:25]
Alex Bovaird
Yeah, I love it. I saw that too. Which was a red herring because Chloe is not involved in the whodunit. So it was really funny to see people make that assumption. That necklace is made by my friend's daughter and she was making jewelry. She took a jewelry class and she hammered out some cute pieces. And I thought that piece was amazing. And I asked her to make me three. I just felt like somehow in the full moon party it seemed a little bit like a sort of raver necklace or something a little playful. And Chelsea has her coconut bikini and Chloe put on that necklace and she puts on a. It's a Miu Miu necklace with pills on it and flowers done by an artist and mew mew. And then she has the Maggie Simpson. Sometimes it's a happy accident that things become more iconic because of the performance in that moment or the particular shot.
- [15:22]
Tara Gonzalez
It must be really fun for your friend's daughter too. I feel like everyone was like, wait, I love this necklace. I need to know more about it. So I'm assuming that she probably got a lot of interest afterwards.
- [15:31]
Alex Bovaird
She did. And I tried to warn her that she might get people wanting to make the necklace. And so, yes, she's making some necklaces. They're available to buy from Lily for you.
- [15:43]
Tara Gonzalez
That must feel, like, really cool to see people connecting so much with the clothing that they want it as well. So I'd love to hear, like, what do you think about after the show's over to kind of see that reaction from people?
- [15:54]
Alex Bovaird
It got a little crazy. I remember seeing something about where to buy. There's a little cameo that my wardrobe supervisor, Eileen does. She's the lady that when the ladies go to a sort of seniors resort and they're like, let's get the fuck out of here. My wardrobe supervisor has a little cameo where she walks right into the camera and she's wearing a matching sun shirt and shorts with all these little characters on. And I saw somebody posting where you could get that outfit. And then I've had a cotton slip that Belinda wears in bed under a robe. I've had the brand reach out to confirm that that was the cotton underslip. And so, I mean, it's awesome. But yeah, I've never experience anything like it, where every single thing seems to be a treasure hunt for people.
- [16:45]
Tara Gonzalez
Yeah. Like, I feel like the one that everybody and I even. Like a lot of people were asking me, where is Kate's beach cover up that she wears? That's that vintage sheer top. And I feel like I saw that everywhere. People were like, I need to know where it's from. And I think you had posted on your Instagram that it was a vintage piece and people were so sad about it. And I would kind of love to hear how you decided that she was going to wear that. And were you expecting people to become so obsessed with it? And are you prepared for everybody to wear vintage button downs this summer at the beach? I feel like we will absolutely be seeing that look so much this year.
- [17:17]
Alex Bovaird
I mean, they should. I'm very honored and lucky to be playing in Mike White's sandbox because the costume only becomes iconic when everything, the performance, the writing, the scene is iconic. So I'm just lucky to have that kind of opportunity. And also people dress up on the White Lotus. We dress people up for the pool. And that's a great example. Kate's three piece suit for the pool. Instead of just throwing on a bikini, she mixed and matched two different prints in the same bikini. And then I always gravitate towards vintage pieces because on the contemporary show you do lots and lots of shopping and trends are so ubiquitous now that it's very frustrating. Like at the moment everything's cropped. It just makes it hard to shop when everything in the shops is the same and you're trying to do lots of different characters. So I go grab lots of vintage pieces and I go to markets and I go to rental houses so that we have a range. And it might not be that that character shop's vintage. That usually is how I approach costume design as method. Like, do they shop at the shop? But with the White Lotus, because we've created our own world and we want things to be a bit more unusual. It may not be that Kate got that at a vintage store. I might asking you to imagine she just got it at Saks. But it doesn't matter. It just allows us to play more and take some sort of artistic license and make a more interesting outfit. So they're not all just in swimsuits by the pool, they're in extra outfits and they've got a little lace vintage piece that matches the set. And lots of people were asking me where that came from and I happened to, right before we left the White Lotus, do a little bit of video with my pa. I wish I'd gone through every outfit, but we were just so busy. But I had that one and so I told people about it.
- [19:08]
Tara Gonzalez
I'm a big vintage fan, so it was really fun to see the way that you incorporated. Like you said, there were so many great vintage pieces with so many fun, unexpected contemporary pieces too. Did you have any favorite vintage pieces on the show yourself?
- [19:21]
Alex Bovaird
There's a couple that Amy Lou wears that are stunning, but you don't even really notice them because they're at dinner. And I was always gunning for them to make entrances and exits. In season two, there's a lot of sweeping entrances through the restaurant and you follow the character and you also see a bit more of their costume. But I also really like it when the camera travels with the characters because you feel more sort of on their journey. But having said that, there's some vintage dresses that she wears that they just look like tank tops when she's sitting there because she doesn't stand up. So there's a gorgeous dress that she wears, I think on night two and it looks like a old curtain and it has little tassels on. It's so gorgeous. It's crushed velvet. And there's another slip that we chopped off, a vintage slip with embroideries on. But yeah, they both look like tank tops. But I suppose my most favorite one that you do see would be again, Chelsea. She wears a sheer floral chiffon dress on the yacht. I love that. And we chop that off as well.
- [20:26]
Tara Gonzalez
Yeah, that's the one character that I could actually of this season imagine like, oh, she did walk into a vintage shop.
- [20:31]
Alex Bovaird
I think Chelsea definitely buys, you know, vintage and buys things from flea markets. And Chloe maybe too, because they're both young and self expressive and oh, that's a really big favorite of mine too. The dress that Chloe wears to her house party when she has people over that vintage Versace dress that we customized for her. That is really cute and just a little bit eccentric.
- [20:57]
Tara Gonzalez
I love that one.
- [20:58]
Alex Bovaird
We're pro being a little bit eccentric.
- [21:00]
Tara Gonzalez
So my personal favorite vintage piece was also one that Amy Louis character wears is the vintage Louis Vuitton bag that she wears from the Marc Jacobs era. The Kalahari bag.
- [21:11]
Alex Bovaird
I love that.
- [21:12]
Tara Gonzalez
And at first when she was wearing it, I was like, I need to know where that bag is from. I just loved the look of it. And then after I like had done some research and I realized I was like, that is such a fun designer bag I was not expecting to see on the show. So I personally would love to just hear about how you source that bag. It made so much sense that she would wear that too.
- [21:28]
Alex Bovaird
I thought that as well. That was actually the only bag option I really had for her. I bought that and the Stay gold necklace were the two things that I developed first other than just gathering stock for the show in general. And I saw it on the RealReal and just thought it was perfect designer old vintage bag. It's a hobo bag and it has all these different colors and it has the logo kind of embossed very softly. I thought she should still have a designer bag, but it should be old and worn and it just was going to go well with her boho aesthetic. So yeah, that was one of the first things I bought.
- [22:07]
Tara Gonzalez
I bought one on the Realrel because I was inspired. After I watched the show, I was like, I love this bag and I always loved the Marc Jacobs Louis Vuitton. So you and Chelsea inspired me as well. The designer bags is always like such a big thing. I know that there was like a lot of Loewe, there was a lot of Valentino. How did you kind of decide, like, what characters were gonna wear which bag?
- [22:25]
Alex Bovaird
Yeah. So we have our favorites on the show. I think the show in Thailand was very unusual because we had to bring everything with us and keep it for eight months before we returned it. So it was a big ask to borrow bags from people. So that process started way in advance. And we have a really good past relationship with some of those brands. Loewe. Loewe for Pauli's Ibiza is like the perfect collaboration accessory for us. And then Valentino is just such a good, romantic, adventurous aesthetic for us also. I really wanted some Hermes bags this season, so I was fortunate to be able to work with them and Laurie. But I wanted to do it in an unexpected way. So, you know, instead of a big old Birkin, which you wouldn't really take on a tropical resort, Laurie has a really cool beach bag that has got a picture of a street scene on it. And Piper carries a little Hermes bag, so it was a subtle nod that she's really born a princess. The ladies have lots of bags. They change bags all the time, a little bit unfathomably often, but it is a TV show. We love Bottega. Jacqueline, we imagined, you know, she knows the IT bags. She has a sardine and a Bottega beach bag as well. The Gucci bag that Victoria has, I love that bag with the bamboo, and it just seems so old school. And we love delving into the past to a world where people do dress up. And the Gucci bag just went with everything. And we knew she was going to be opening and closing it. The accessories are really important too. The jewelry, the scarves. We thought through the jewelry way in advance, too. We had to get special permission to ensure all that fine jewelry. There's an argument to be made just to do costume jewelry, because we had to put everything in a safe. We had to get things bonded. We had to get them sent over on a carne so that we didn't have to pay 80% tax on them. But I think there's something great about using real jewelry for high class, high dollar characters, because the actor feels like they're a rich person when they've got, like, hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry on them. It's pretty transformative. And they just gleam and shine in a certain way, so it was worth it to us. I worked with a designer called David Webb who does really amazing animal jewelry, and we borrowed a monkey brooch from him was the first thing I wanted to, because the monkey is a big part of the iconography of the show. So that monkey brooch was pivotal and I was always trying to get it on people. And then the snake necklace we custom made with David Webb. And we used a lot of Pamela Love jewelry because she also has lots of little symbols. We found a jewelry designer in Thailand called Pachari. She made us a ring for Fabian with the white lotus on because I saw it at the Mandarin Oriental that they all had these gifts once they've been working there for a long time with the Mandarin Oriental fan on it. So Sophie from Pochari made one for Fabian and then I bought a lot of jewelry from her with pearls. Jacqueline wears some, Chelsea wears some. They're just really beautiful kind of organic pearl and gold jewelry. And then there's some Jacob and company, some flashy earrings. Watches, a lot of fun vintage as well.
- [25:51]
Tara Gonzalez
Yeah, I know you just mentioned watches. That was another thing that people were like really identifying and looking into. Did you have any favorite ones from this season?
- [26:00]
Alex Bovaird
Yeah, I like Patrick's Hublot watch. It's a real like Wall street kind of fuck you watch. So I like that one. The Rolexes are so classic. On the rat lifts, Srittela wears a Jacob and Co watch that has little butterflies inside. It's very over the top. Actually, my all time favorite is Jacqueline's Hermes watch. That is a really beautiful watch that I would love. It looks like a, you know, a bracelet.
- [26:26]
Tara Gonzalez
I know exactly what you're talking about. To go in a different or this is still an accessory, but noticeably wasn't a very fancy accessory that I know that people on our Instagram had been asking about and that I had also just been wondering was Frank's Lowe's hat the baseball cap that he wears when he is masquerading as a director who has done zero research and doesn't know anything that Shritala has been in? So I'd love to hear about how the Lowe's hat came to be.
- [26:51]
Alex Bovaird
Oh, totally. We were working on the islands mostly and then Woody Harrelson was going to play Frank at one point and then he wasn't able to make it. So Sam Rockwell came in at the last minute and I advocated to go on a shopping trip to Bangkok just myself because I was trying to get off the island too. It was very claustrophobic. But I did want to freshen up my closets. So I went on a shopping trip to Bangkok for a couple of days. They have amazing markets there. They have an eight floor vintage mall that's full of mostly American vintage. Like Better T shirts than I've seen in your average vintage store here. Someone obviously goes and gets them, or they were in Asia, but they're, you know, American vibes. So there was loads of good stuff. And we talked, Sam and I, about an outfit for that scene where he's not Frank, he's pretending. So the Members Only jacket he wears and the Lowe's cap, they just seem like a character from America coming over, you know, from Texas or something. So I just grabbed a lot of ideas. I had cowboy hats, too, but cowboy hat in Bangkok just seemed one too many strange elements. But that lo's hat just seemed an odd choice, but kind of works with the Members Only jacket and gives him something to take off and put on.
- [28:14]
Tara Gonzalez
Yeah. And I feel like he obviously only had so many scenes, but he was such a great character. And then I guess maybe you get a glimpse at what his. His real style is. Like when he's chasing after Rick in the leopard print thong or whatever.
- [28:26]
Alex Bovaird
Yeah, he's got a G string cheetah. G string, yeah. That was a choice we also try to take when he's wearing a woman's chemise. He's wearing a woman's, like, pink chemise, but that also seemed a little too far. So you just see like a smidge of his cheetah.
- [28:45]
Tara Gonzalez
On a similar note, obviously, as you said, you have so many pieces and so many scenes that are shot and scenes that get cut. Was there any outfit that by the time the show has ended, you realized didn't make the cut and that you were kind of bummed not to see or something that you just really loved?
- [28:58]
Alex Bovaird
There's a scene, it's a dream, Kate has a dream, and the ladies are wearing identical outfits. And I've got some photos, actually, and I've seen Leslie post some. And it's a mint green, very ethereal long skirt. It's all made out of chiffon, and a little matching top that you kind of ruch up and tie around your neck. And the three of them wore it, so I wanted to dress them all the same, but also to have it be dreamy. It's almost like that dream in Rosemary's Baby. That's kind of surreal. But, yeah, that was cool because they were all wearing a matching dress. Kind of dreamy and weird and surreal. So it's always fun when you get to do something more artistic and expressionist.
- [29:40]
Tara Gonzalez
Now that the show has finished, were there any responses to specific characters or specific pieces that you were not expecting at all that you were taken Aback by.
- [29:51]
Alex Bovaird
Honestly, I was just taken aback by how. How much interest, how much impact it was having, and how people really were doing a deep dive about everything and how fast people were figuring out what they were and giving you links to buy them. That really took me aback. And also the scrutiny. Like, I've seen something where, like, why is this person wearing that? They would never. I just fall in love with all my characters and all their styles and just get really passionate about it and want it to be perfect. So I really like it all. So. Not that I'm not surprised that people like it, but I just. I spend my whole life thinking about how to make people look good in their clothes and how to signify them. And, you know, I don't always succeed, but that's the goal. Chelsea is such an endearing character, so I'm not surprised. Chloe has such a sort of killer signature left field sharp style that. That was very iconic on screen. And Rick's shirts were very popular on the shoot. The ladies were always wanting to wear Rick's shirts. Little camp shirt vibe is cute for a woman. So. Yeah, I guess I didn't really answer your question.
- [31:07]
Tara Gonzalez
No, but it makes sense because, you know, as we were saying, it's like the thing that's special about the White Lotus that's maybe not the same with other TV shows, especially now, is that it really is this character study. So I think you get so attached to the characters and the clothing is such a major part of it that of course people are gonna get really into what they're wearing because you feel like you're seeing more than just a really pretty, sheer vintage blouse. So much storytelling is being done through the clothing. It would be hard not to get attached to any of it.
- [31:32]
Alex Bovaird
And it's supposed to be evocative of escaping and adventure and romance. So it's embedded in the brief that we give people desirable looks.
- [31:43]
Tara Gonzalez
Yeah, exactly. Like you said, they're packing the clothing for this trip. They're packing their favorite stuff, their best stuff, and then that's what all of us kind of see and fall in love with.
- [31:50]
Alex Bovaird
I know I'm starting a shopping page. I've just been scrambling to set that up a bit so that if people want the White Lotus look, I can purvey it for them so they don't have to.
- [32:01]
Tara Gonzalez
Yes. Well, I'm so excited for this episode and to get to chat with you. I feel like we answered a lot of questions that people had been wondering about.
- [32:08]
Alex Bovaird
Cool, Good. I can't wait to hear it.
- [32:11]
Tara Gonzalez
Thank you so much again for your time. So great to talk to you now twice and have a great rest of your day.
- [32:15]
Alex Bovaird
Thanks Sarah.
- [32:22]
Bobby Schessler
A huge thank you to Costume Designer Alex Bovaird. Make sure to subscribe to our show wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss an episode. And while you're there, I'd be so grateful if you'd rate and review us. If you have any guest suggestions or any other feedback, drop us a line@podcastooitwear.com or find us on social at who It Where. See you next Wednesday on the who It Where Podcast. This episode was produced by Hilary Kerr, Summer Hammeris and Natalie Thurman. Our production assistant is Claire Schmidt, our editor is Ko Takasugi Chernovin. Our audio engineers are at Glen Canyon Audio and our music is by John and Leahy.
- [33:16]
Alex Bovaird
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