“The low-slung jeans and strappy going-out tops are pitch-perfect for the era, and costume designer Charlotte Svenson immediately immerses us in the mid-00s period with a reminder of a time when waistbands seemingly couldn’t get any lower.”
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Tell me lies podcast
Interviewed by Stassi Schroeder in collaboration with Hulu for the OFFICAL TELL ME LIES podcast series. The interview begins at 23:57.
All the Tell Me Lies Outfits Details You Might've Missed, According to Costume Designer Charlotte Svenson
“The show has been building up to this moment for years, and Svenson has been there each step of the way, crafting a quintessential wardrobe that has as many followers as the show itself. “The thing I'm most proud of is that, for the look of the show, we really struck a chord with what is happening now with fashion in Gen Z and the revival of Y2K by doing it justice with the nostalgia of the time, and creating this timeless look even though, technically, it's now almost 20 years old," she says.”
How the Clothes in Tell Me Lies Capture the Unraveling of Girlhood
“Perhaps the hardest task for any costume designer is to make the clothes feel invisible. What’s more challenging still is to do so using a collection of coconut bras, fur-trimmed coats, and low-rise True Religion jeans. But for an all-too-relatable portrayal of college years, rich with friendship fallouts, toxic relationships, academic stress, and family drama, crafting looks that feel as real as the emotions behind each scene is crucial. Just ask Tell Me Lies costume designer Charlotte Svenson.”
Fur Coats, Low-Rise Jeans & The Trauma Of Our Twenties: Inside The Fashion Of "Tell Me Lies"
“From low-rise jeans and Ugg boots to fur-trim jackets and going-out tops, Tell Me Lies recreates the trends of the late-aughts while also resurrecting the emotional logic of how people dressed during one of the most formative periods of their lives. It's no wonder these looks can send millennial viewers into a nostalgia-induced spiral. Behind these polarizing looks is costume designer Charlotte Svenson, who has been on the show since its first season and can be lovingly blamed for our collective flashback.”
The Fashion In Tell Me Lies Will Transport You Back To The Late 2000s
”For costume designer Charlotte Svenson, it was all about transporting the audience back to the late aughts, when the show’s core friend group — including Lucy (played by Grace Van Patten), Stephen (Jackson White), Pippa (Sonia Mena), Wrigley (Spencer House), Bree (Catherine Missal), and Evan (Branden Cook) — were in college. “For our viewers, some are millennials diving into familiar nostalgia, while others are Gen Z seeing trends come full circle,” Svenson tells TZR on a recent call. The costume designer — who has also helped with the costumes on shows like Orange Is the New Black and Russian Doll — adds that fashion is a powerful way to tap into those emotions, both for the story and the overall tone of the show.”
Tell Me Lies – Costume Design for a TV Series
“Costume design is both an art and a craft. It’s about creating layers of meaning through clothing, even if the audience doesn’t consciously notice it. It’s a job that requires creativity, and a love for storytelling – not just a love for clothes.”
PLL: Summer School’ Star Jordan Gonzalez Explains How Ash’s Evolving Style Depicts Trans Experience
”The actor also played close attention to how Ash evolved since the start of the show, adding, “I had a wonderful conversation with Charlotte [Svenson], who was the head of our costume department about how Ash in season 1 is very kind of stoic and all black. [He] usually [wears] boots, which is very James Dean-esque.”
“While working on Pretty Little Liars: Summer School, costume designer Charlotte Svenson (an Emmy winner for her work on Russian Doll) challenged herself to keep up the meta pace while also honoring how far the spinoff’s main characters (final girls Imogen, Mouse, Tabby, Noa, and Faran) have come following the traumatic events of Original Sin.”
“Every item in Lucy’s wardrobe is vintage – albeit not in the Galliano-era Dior sense. Among the items that costume designer Charlotte Svenson sourced for Van Patten via Depop? Various Coach purses, the inevitable Juicy Couture sweats, and denims via Abercrombie & Fitch. “You see how her clothes evolve as Tell Me Lies progresses,” Van Patten notes. “She’s going through this sexual awakening – and looking for power in her out-of-control relationship, too. By the finale, she’s essentially wearing a bra to school. Her insecurities flare up thanks to Stephen, and her need to impress him really starts to control her life.” If the fashion world has become enamoured with the Y2K era of late, Tell Me Lies is a cringey reminder of a sartorial moment defined, for many, by appealing to the male gaze.”
“Like most trendsetters, Grace Van Patten hopped on the low-rise jeans train long before everyone else caught on. She was filming Tell Me Lies, Hulu’s dark romantic drama which, crucially, is set in 2007—when the iPhone was in its infancy and fashion was, to put it lightly, risky. At her wardrobe fitting, the actress was met with pairs of True Religion jeans that rested far below the belly button; she felt nauseous at the sight. But as production carried on, her apprehension at the throwback wardrobe turned into appreciation.”
“The predominantly 2007 setting will no doubt tug on recent nostalgia strings. MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” is an instant mood setter, as is the focus on text messages popping up on Blackberry, Razr, and Sidekick screens. Social media is in its infancy, and no one has an iPhone yet. The low-slung jeans and strappy going-out tops are pitch-perfect for the era, and costume designer Charlotte Svenson immediately immerses us in the mid-00s period with a reminder of a time when waistbands seemingly couldn’t get any lower.”
Toxic Nostalgia and Low-Rise Denim: Why Tell Me Lies Is Reviving the Messy Magic of 2000s Style
“Tell Me Lies captures the early 2000s not only through aesthetics, but through the emotional trajectory woven into its costumes. Here, clothing narrates its own story, speaking even louder in Season 3, and forming part of what has the internet so transfixed. Perhaps, then, it isn’t the 2000s themselves that draw us back, but the possibility of dressing as though our feelings mattered more than our image and using clothes to express who we are rather than letting appearance define how we feel. ”