The Who What Wear Podcast

Episode: Frankenstein Costume Designer Kate Hawley on Mia Goth’s Ephemeral Looks, del Toro’s Color-Coding, and the Tiffany & Co. Archives
Date: November 5, 2025
Host: Tara Gonzalez (Senior Fashion and Social Editor)
Guest: Kate Hawley (Costume Designer for Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep with acclaimed costume designer Kate Hawley on her creative process and collaboration with Guillermo del Toro in Netflix’s Frankenstein—especially spotlighting Mia Goth’s haunting, ephemeral looks, del Toro’s intense approach to color, the historical research behind 1850s Crimean-era style, and the use of Tiffany & Co. archival jewelry in character design. It’s an intimate look at the art, symbolism, and collaborative effort behind bringing an iconic gothic story to life in unforgettable fashion.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Genesis of Kate Hawley & Guillermo del Toro’s Collaboration

• How They Met ([02:11])

  • Hawley recalls meeting del Toro in New Zealand while working with Peter Jackson. They connected over their shared love for gothic art and literature.
  • Quote:

    “He just said, we can communicate, we understand each other, we have the same books, we can work together. And that was the biggest takeaway from that.”
    (Kate Hawley, 02:21)

• The Pressure and Joy of Collaboration

  • Describes the simultaneous joy and daunting challenge of rising to del Toro’s imaginative standards, especially for this passion project.

2. Research Process for a Period Piece ([05:03])

• Hawley’s team traced literary and cultural timelines back to the Count of Otranto, anchoring the film in the Crimean War era (1850s)—a notable shift from the original novel’s Enlightenment context.
• Importance of “dream logic”: The film’s world is not strictly historical, but a “fever dream” filtered through Victor and the Creature’s memories.
• Color and pattern emerge from themes of melancholy, nature, and memory; Hawley avoids black, infusing every choice with intent and emotion.

3. Color Symbolism & Thematic Motifs

• Red as Contiguity and Symbol ([07:39])

  • The recurring use of “plume of blood” red in costumes (Victor’s gloves, Elizabeth’s bonnet lining) underscores narrative cycles and binds Victor’s memories of his mother and Elizabeth.
  • Quote:

    “And that red is the continuity all through. And red is very carefully chosen. He’s got specific tones of red that he uses.”
    (Kate Hawley, 08:28)

• Ephemeral Women & Nature Imagery

  • Hawley links color and material to beetles, glass, and iridescence—taking cues from Tiffany’s scarab glass and Victorian marbled book patterns ([09:45]).
  • Mia Goth’s multiple roles (Elizabeth and Victor’s mother) represent shifting archetypes: Madonna, muse, and memory.

4. Mia Goth’s Key Looks: Details & Symbolism

• Initial Elizabeth Gown—Bluish-Green, Feathers, Layering ([11:31])

  • Design emerged late in production, aiming to make Elizabeth an angelic, Madonna-type figure as seen through Victor’s eyes.
  • Quote:

    “She’s Madonna, an angel. And Mia brings that with her. She’s an extraordinary presence… she shines through all of that. She’s truly luminous.”
    (Kate Hawley, 12:14)

• Bridal Look & The Bride of Frankenstein Homage ([16:25])

  • Multi-layered, referencing skeleton/exoskeleton and flayed skin, with sterling silver brooches and Tiffany-made crucifixes echoing the Frankenstein crest and themes of natural theology.
  • Bandaging and strapping nod directly to the 1930s “Bride of Frankenstein”—completed through collaboration with makeup, prosthetics, and hair departments.
  • Quote:

    “This dress literally became the skeleton as an exoskeleton… it actually looks like a flay skin in itself.”
    (Kate Hawley, 17:26)

• Collaborative Work with Hair & Accessories ([20:15])

  • Long red hair is a striking motif, achieved through constant dialogue with hair and wig specialists.
  • Quote:

    “It really taught me to sort of get over yourself and just embrace it, you know, because then magic happens.”
    (Kate Hawley, 21:31)

5. Creature/Monster (Jacob Elordi): From Wrappings to Nobility

• Design Evolution ([22:25])

  • Creature’s form conceived as a work of art, not a “patched-together” monster. Early sculpts by Mike (prosthetics) influenced how layers and clothing were added as the monster’s character grew and gained empathy.
  • Quote:

    “Victor’s making a Porsche. He’s not slapping bits of meat together and suturing it. He’s building a work of art. Victor’s an artist. He’s trying to achieve an ideal form.”
    (Kate Hawley, 23:17)

• Costume as Emotional Arc

  • Clothing stages mirror character development: at the end, the Creature is “almost ennobled,” reflecting the swapped fortunes of Victor and Creature ([23:58]).
  • Use of suede leather for Creature’s coat to evoke a “flayed skin” effect, tying into both historical reference and horror motif.

6. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac): Artist as Inspiration

• Aesthetic Influences ([26:52])

  • Costume design channeled the energy of David Bowie’s Thin White Duke, Prince, Lord Byron, and Nureyev—a man of physicality, eccentric confidence, and inherited grandeur.
  • The signature red gloves throughout signify both familial memory and the creative process (akin to blood/guilt).
  • Quote:

    “Guillermo always talked about Victor as being an artist, and that unlocked everything.”
    (Kate Hawley, 26:52)

• Laboratory Scenes: Layers and Authenticity

  • Victor’s lab-worn clothes bear layered stains (not paint, but viscera), echoing the real habits of artists throughout history.

7. Worldbuilding Beyond Main Characters

• Extras & Background Players ([29:01])
  • Background characters, funerals, estates, and soirees were costumed with as much attention, grounding the world with narrative and emotional consistency.
  • Costumes and environments blend into one visual, almost painterly, tapestry.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Collaboration & Shared Vision

  • “It was about communication and understanding language. And I think the thing that binds all of us with Guillermo as collaborators is sharing that common language and building on that.” (Kate Hawley, 02:31)

• On Victor’s Gloves as Symbol

  • “The red that she wears on the interior of her circular bonnet is repeated in the circular effigy of the death mask of Claire… we finish that whole storytelling at the end with Elizabeth as the bride dying and the red seeping through the blood red of tulle and white.” (Kate Hawley, 08:38)

• On Ephemerality and Memory

  • “Memories aren’t always clear… the mother’s more abstracted in that way.” (Kate Hawley, 09:45)

• On Costume as a Living, Collaborative Art

  • “The character’s not complete until that happens… it’s a huge collaboration with so many different departments and so many members of the team.” (Kate Hawley, 20:08)

• On Fashion Influence

  • “I feel like people are gonna start wearing these feathered headpieces and the bonnets coming back into fashion because of...” (Tara Gonzalez, 30:19)
  • “Gloves in general, I feel like a sea of malachite.” (Kate Hawley, 30:43)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:11] - Kate Hawley & Guillermo del Toro’s first meeting and shared influences
• [05:03] - Historical research and the dreamlike, color-saturated approach
• [07:39] - Mia Goth’s roles, blood-red symbolism, and ephemeral design
• [11:31] - Elizabeth’s bluish-green gown and thematic connections to nature
• [16:25] - Bridal look: referencing “Bride of Frankenstein” and multi-layered symbolism
• [22:25] - The Creature: design evolution and emotional arc
• [26:52] - Victor Frankenstein: artist archetype, gloves, and costume layering
• [29:01] - Background players, worldbuilding, and the holistic artistic approach
• [30:19] - Anticipating fashion trends inspired by the film

Takeaways for Listeners

• The costumes in Frankenstein are the product of meticulous research, design, and passionate collaboration, with every layer serving both storytelling and emotional resonance.
• Del Toro’s vision fuses gothic tradition with vibrant, symbolic color palettes and motifs of memory, nature, and transformation.
• Key looks, especially for Mia Goth, simultaneously evoke historical authenticity and dreamlike timelessness.
• The exchange between Hawley and del Toro’s team demonstrates how world-class filmmaking is ultimately a collective, iterative act.

For those who want to see how gothic literature, art history, avant-garde fashion, and personal storytelling fuse in a singular cinematic vision—the episode is a masterclass in costume design as both craft and narrative.