《Number One Diplomat》Clothes also have their own language, says fashion designer

I always regard clothing as something with its own language.It can be armor, it can be vulnerability, it can be romance, used to convey the character's feelings.“ Jenny Gering, who has designed the costumes for The Diplomat since season two, talked about the considerations behind multiple costumes in season four in an interview with What’s on Netflix.In this play created by Deborah Kahn, Keri Russell plays Kate Wyler and Rufus Sewell plays Hal Wyler; when Green is designing, he will first try to get into the minds of the characters and actors.

The G7 summit at the end of the season almost ran through the preparations for the entire filming period.When the crew was filming in New York from November to February of the following year, due to factors such as actors' schedules, the costume department had already begun fitting some of the actors in episode 8.The script hadn't been written yet, they just knew the story would come to G7.Since then, from New York to London, and then to Florence, the clothes for episodes 7 and 8 have been being prepared and adjusted.

It wasn't until he saw the finished film with editing and music added that Green felt the true impact of these preparations coming together.It’s hard to get the same feeling when looking at monitors on set or looking at footage shot every day.”It met all expectations.“she said.

When we arrived in Italy, the clothes of the protagonists could finally breathe a sigh of relief.Hal took off his tie and replaced it with light fabrics; Kate stopped wearing boots all the time, wearing low heels with her suits and sometimes taking off her coat.The changes are small, but noticeable enough to Green, who has worked with these characters for a long time.

Grace Payne is more like a hostess in this section.Green described the shirt as if it said: I'm entertaining everyone in Italy, who wants a Negroni?”Todd put on a linen shirt. She laughed and said that the plane had just landed and this man seemed to have started speaking “Ciao” in Italian.She's particularly pleased with Bradley Whitford's look this season.

No one else at the summit could just throw on a dark suit and call it a day.Leaders of Italy, France, Japan and other countries, even if they have no lines, still need to dress to make people believe that they are from their respective countries.Green and his team looked at reference materials and considered cut, color, matching and formality: a suit that looks conservative and appropriate in Japan may not be suitable in another country.Attendants, the staff responsible for guiding guests in and out, also need to do their research.The work took a long time, and she was especially grateful to the team that handled the costumes for the background characters, without whom the costumes for the summit would have been impossible to complete.

Grace, played by Allison Janney, has a major reveal at the summit.Green discussed with Kahn the evolution of the character up to this point, still following her clear wardrobe system: shirts and suits all custom-made, no ready-to-wear, but she wanted the colors to be lighter.When designing, Green had Elizabeth I in mind.Grace put herself in a position where others could not reach her, and gradually alienated her husband and those closest to her because she began to believe that only she knew what to do.That feeling of distance from being in a high place, almost like an ivory tower, is what this suit needs to carry.

As for the characters' post-traumatic stress reactions in Season 4, she didn't devise another set of changes to account for them.Green believes that the performance and script have done this part of the work, and that Grace is extremely concerned about appearance and will work hard to maintain the image facing the outside world even if her status changes.

The other season finale scene in question, was much softer.Adela Parker sang with Stuart Hayford, who helped straighten her dress.Green said that some of the interactions were played out by the actors on the spot. If everyone takes more shots, Ato Essando will bring something different every time.She loved the quiet moments these two had together.Adela, played by Ari-Ann, usually wears rich, solid jewel tones.Green had seen many options, and when she came across that pink dress, she thought of a woman in love and having a moment of her own.The color makes the figure look soft and princess-like; the skirt is still columnar, with clear lines and structure, retaining Adela's original characteristics.

Politicians use clothes as uniforms and as protection when entering the battlefield.When Hal became vice president, his attire needed to be approachable, mainstream, and a little aspirational without alienating traditional audiences.“A tie has a lot to convey.”For women in power like Grace, Green considers how to find the right look between toughness and softness, retaining her femininity while still being suitable for the power environment in which she lives.

She did not dress Grace directly after a real political figure.In contrast, the new British Prime Minister played by Jodie Whittaker uses more references to real-life female prime ministers.Thatcher's style is what it was 40 years ago and can provide inspiration, but the clothes themselves still need to be of the present.

Green also likes the moments when the costumes actually enter the plot.Kate and Todd went to the tailor to talk about the details on the shoulders of shirts. She found it very interesting and laughed that she was an obsessive connoisseur when it came to such things.The scene where Adela slides her suitcase to Stewart and the two of them work together to sort it out, which they know well, also affects which dress she chooses; the clothes need to allow these actions to happen smoothly.

She and Keri Russell have been working together so far, and they already have a tacit understanding that can be understood without saying too much.The two people's preferred styles are similar, and the script gives enough direction, so the discussion often falls on very practical issues: Can this set of clothes allow the actors to complete the actions in the next scene?

For example, after Kate and Todd attended a science dinner, they went home and had a Zoom meeting with the president.The previous design was to wear a suit jacket directly over the dress, allowing her to get into work mode without having time to change, which in turn determined what the dress should look like.Green admitted that she couldn't remember whether this treatment was retained in the final film; what she remembered was that during the fitting, she would ask whether it was convenient and whether the movements were smooth.If the actor needs to do something between dialogues, she can also hand over the earrings and let the character wear them while completing the scene.Occasionally she would find clothes that didn't fit when she tried them on, but she and Russell were usually on the same page.

When there are two people, four people, or even the leaders of the entire G7 standing on the screen, the design becomes what she calls “three-dimensional chess”.Can two people wear blue suits at the same time?What is the person next to me wearing?She considers color and overall composition as she would a small painting.In other dramas, she has deliberately used the appearance of two people to convey a specific story; she also explained that this approach has not been specifically adopted in "The Number One Diplomat".

The interview ended with the topic of Halloween.Green had never thought anyone would dress up as Kate and Hal, but she liked it when she heard it and said that if anyone needed help with the matching, they could come to her.She doesn't dress up for Halloween herself - maybe it's a bit stressful.Even so, every time at this time, she would always receive a lot of “You have time to help me...” requests.When teased that this could be developed into a side job, she smiled and admitted that such things do happen from time to time.