Awards Daily talks with Yellowjackets costume designer Amy Parris about everything heliotrope, that medieval feast, and the one-of-a-kind Caligula costume.
In Season 2 of Yellowjackets, costume designer Amy Parris continued what Marie Schley started in Season 1—and then some.
“She did such a great job of establishing very specific looks for each character when they were young,” says Parris of the Season 1 costume designer. “It was great to see how that would translate to the adult characters. It was fun to continue to enrich what Marie had established and keep that going throughout.”
But in addition to character development, Parris had her work cut out for her in Season 2, with dreamy medieval feasts, taking us back to the ’90s mall food court, and a human-sized Caligula! Here are 7 fun facts about the costumes in the second season of Yellowjackets:
What is Shauna Wearing Around Her Head in Episode 6 When She Has The Baby?
As costume designer, Parris, like the Yellowjackets stranded in the wilderness, has to get creative. “You’re limited, so how can you be creative with what’s already there?”
In Episode 6’s “Qui,” Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) wears a blue contraption around her head, looking like something out of the Star Wars universe.
“They’re putting these layers, like socks, on their hands to keep them warm. That’s a sweater that’s draped over the head and tied around the front. We pinned it in places just for continuity so it wouldn’t wrap around too much.”
But like everything on Yellowjackets, there’s more to this makeshift hat.
“In theory, it’s just a warm sweater to keep your head warm. But also heartbreakingly, the baby is in a T-shirt, so it shows how inexperienced and how unready she is to be a mother. She’s bundled up, and the baby’s vulnerable in just a shirt.”
It Was Written Script-Specific that it’s Heliotrope—Not Purple.
You’d think they’d wear more yellow, but purple is the color of Season 2, as established by Lottie’s (Simone Kessell) cult—or should we say “heliotrope”?
“It was written script-specific that it is heliotrope. Knowing that this is an intentional community that shares big vats of dye to dip thrift store clothes in, I didn’t want them to all be the exact same shade, but we specifically would do different baths with different levels of purple to show they would have a monthly dye bath and that they were never going to get the color exactly right every time. It’s also very gender-neutral and equal among them.”
On the Other Hand, Jackie’s Medieval Feast Wasn’t Originally In the Script.
Every Yellowjackets fan knows where they were when they watched the team feast on Jackie in Episode 2’s “Edible Complex.” It was also an important moment for Parris.
“It was the moment I realized, I’m in for a ride with this show. We were racing through, and it wasn’t in the script at that point yet. It was written that it would be a medieval table. When we had our first concept meeting, [director] Ben Semanoff said, ‘What if they were in these Grecian gowns?’ It was done very fast and very quickly; we knew we wanted each gown to be their own and be unique. I didn’t want to rent them or find them from a packaged costume. I spent a weekend grabbing my images, picking specific trends and fabrics of ivory, cream, and gold that would glint with the candlelight on the table. It wasn’t specific to a time period because each person is disassociating in their own way. We made them all in-house, and I wish we could have seen more of [the costumes], but I know that’s also not what the scene is about at all.”
Yes, Misty (Christina Ricci) Wears a Yellow Jacket This Season. How on the Nose!
“At the time, that teddy-shearling-looking fabric was really popular, and it felt like a nice, brilliant color to throw on the rack. Christina is super involved and knows Misty like no one else. It was fun to put a rack of clothes for her each time we’d have a new fitting and have her pluck out her favorites. She’s very specific and intentional with the way Misty gets dressed. Misty doesn’t want anything that grabs attention to her. Everything she wants to do is to avoid being made fun of. Just under the radar and just behind the trends. That yellow is golden and bright, but it was on trend, and it made her feel like she’d blend in.”
What’s with Walter’s (Elijah Wood) High-Knee Socks?
When we’re introduced to Walter this season, the camera pans down to his high-knee socks from Misty’s point of view.
“That was in the script that Misty clocks his nice calves. When I was finding inspiration for Walter—and Elijah and I have this joke, ‘Let’s keep Walter weird!’—he dresses like quiet luxury. We gave him solid socks, not a crazy pattern. Much like Misty, he also wants to fly under the radar, and a color-block Vans sneaker. He’s about form and function. He’s a mix of quiet luxury and Gorpcore (“Good ‘Ol Raisins and Peanuts).”
Parris Relied on True ’90s Fashion for Lottie’s Mall Dream Sequence.
While ’90s fashion is in at the moment, Parris didn’t use modern knock-offs and actually pulled vintage pieces for Lottie’s dream sequence in Episode 4’s “Old Wounds.”
“It was so exciting, not only for the girls who are always dirty [in the wilderness], but I was excited to put them into one-off vintage. A lot of the ’90s clothes in the crash are not exactly period, because we need multiples. We were lucky to get to find vintage and thrift in Vancouver that were very ’90s and specific to the character. That was one of my favorites because I got to use real vintage. And they loved being in clean clothes!”
They Made Caligula’s Bird Costume in Episode 7’s “Burial.” (For Real!)
Yep, that’s a bespoke costume in Misty’s vision from the sensory-depravation tank.
“We made it! I’m so proud of that. It was kind of torture at the time, but that episode came up real quick. I was in Vancouver contacting people in the States to see if any of them could turn around a mascot costume quickly. The schedule luckily changed in our favor, but there was a minute where we needed it so fast. So luckily myself and my costume assistant Deneen McArthur found a local specialty shop that helped us make the heads.”
They needed two heads: one head that had a fan for a dancer in the bird body, and then John Cameron Mitchell had his own to reveal. They were built on foam, and the team padded out the chest to give the body’s thighs rounded-out puffiness. For added durability and danceability, they included pockets for ice packs and bird feet over shoes that wouldn’t be too big or bulky to move in.
“It’s a work of art, and if you could see it up close, I think you’d be really impressed.”
Yellowjackets is streaming on the Showtime app.
