There's quite a bit to like about NBC's Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist: The quirky characters, the charming storylines, the singing and dancing, and that total joyful feeling you get whereas watching all of it unfold. However we are able to't focus on the hit present – the season finale of which airs Sunday, Might 16, at 9 EST – with out mentioning all of the fabulous vogue. The outfits, proper down to each colourful, stable sweater, play a serious function in bringing this musical world to life. They usually're dreamed up by none apart from costume designer Heidi Higginbotham.
"It's a really, very giant job," she admits when speaking to InStyle over the telephone. "In addition to every particular person lead actor, we’ve got all the background and recurring dancers, so we’ve got to do all of these fittings. And people fittings additionally should work with what the lead characters are sporting. We need to ensure that all of the costumes look good collectively, particularly in a dance quantity."
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Higginbotham says the entire course of begins with an preliminary, pre-season planning assembly with the present runner and the creator, discussing every character's arc.
"We'll do preliminary fittings for appears to be like that we expect are going to work, in order that we are able to financial institution some," she tells us, including that issues received particularly sophisticated for season two as a consequence of COVID. With everybody quarantining in Vancouver, the place the present is filmed, there was quite a bit on-line buying, transport, and Zooming concerned – and that's all earlier than ever seeing a script.
"That's when it will get actually scary, as a result of I don't get a script till possibly every week earlier than [we film], and people scripts can change drastically all the way in which up till we shoot. Generally, a giant costume will get minimize, or one thing actually explicit arises in a rewrite and we’ve got to rapidly pivot."
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Costumes Credit score: NBC/Getty Pictures
One particular person specifically from the solid that Heidi enjoys working with from the solid, is Alex Newell, who performs Mo, Zoey's gender-nonconforming buddy, neighbor, and constructing tremendous. In season two, the character opens a restaurant, and the 2 continued to work carefully on growing the character's model, which slowly grew to become extra structured and business-like.
"One of many issues I really like about him is that he loves garments a lot," Heidi tells us, saying that since Newell is just like his character, his opinions and preferences are extraordinarily vital.
"Within the final two years, I've had initiatives with homosexual males, homosexual girls, trans males, trans girls, homosexual males who current as girls, physique various women and men on the spectrum of sexuality. I've match Drag Queens. That's completely completely different from what I do know, and it's been tremendous attention-grabbing to do the analysis, since my job is determining how these characters uncover their very own model. It's akin to doing analysis on a interval present, however the distinction is that I’ve an actor who represents that group who comes right into a becoming. Alex is wildly nice to collaborate with as a result of he's very assured in his personal pores and skin, his personal sexuality, and the way he likes to decorate."
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For Newell, working with Higginbotham on what Mo would put on typically looks like strolling right into a mall, however higher.
"You simply see all of those garments in entrance of you and also you're similar to, 'Effectively, I would as properly simply attempt all of them on,'" he tells InStyle. "Generally, we undergo the rack and like I say, 'Completely not, I might by no means put on this.' However then it appears to be like higher on my physique than it does on the hanger."
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Costumes Credit score: NBC/Getty Pictures
Even for informal scenes, the 2 attempt to not maintain again, and as an alternative assume exterior the field for Mo's appears to be like.
"We lean into the script," Newell says. "If it requires Mo to be the constructing tremendous and be doing work across the constructing, it's extra 'Let's discover a enjoyable method of displaying how Mo would categorical being the tremendous.' The very first thing that got here to thoughts was this new, retro, 2019 on the time, Rosie the Riveter. In order that's what we landed on. Or, if Mo was DJing someplace on a '90s evening, how about we make a throwback, letterman jacket to Salt-N-Pepa – stuff like that."
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Costumes Credit score: NBC/Getty Pictures
Nonetheless, Higginbotham admits that issues aren't at all times really easy and smooth-sailing. Since restricted shops promote high quality plus-size clothes, particularly within the luxurious area, she's typically tasked with reinventing fast-fashion when dressing Mo.
"We've achieved some loopy fittings the place we've mixed items from corporations like ASOS, Trend Nova, or Eloquii and constructed round that, generally simply in higher materials that had been higher constructed," she says.
"Generally I'll have a look at one thing and I'll say, 'It's cute, however how can we make it higher? How can we take it this subsequent step additional? How can we elevate it?'" provides Newell. "There was an episode earlier within the season with this snakeskin gown we received from ASOS, which was off-the-shoulder and it got here possibly to my knee. And I mentioned, 'How about we minimize it and make it a prime, and add a ripped jean underneath it?' Actually taking it additional to create this very structured, snakeskin, on a regular basis assertion piece that you might put on every time."
Attending to mess around with vogue can be a childhood dream come true for the actor.
"Rising up thicker and greater than everyone, and never at all times seeing plus-size fashions or model icons round, I get excited by having the chance to do this," he says. "Going into some shops, the plus dimension fashions are simply not it. Generally they only actually say, 'Oh properly you're plus dimension, right here's a muumuu.' And to not have to do this -to get enthusiastic about garments and categorical the way you're feeling, and displaying that your dimension doesn't make you retro – is phenomenal."
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Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Costumes Credit score: NBC/Getty Pictures
Nevertheless, designing and choosing out enjoyable, standout outfits is basically solely half the battle for Higginbotham, particularly on a present like this. Not solely does she have to fret about characters expressing themselves and their temper by way of no matter they're sporting – whether or not meaning specializing in coloration, form, construction, or tiny particulars – she additionally has to fret about making these garments work by way of dance routines.
"The actor goes to be in these garments for generally 12 hours, and it's type of grueling. The present has singing and dancing, and so they're performing. Particularly for Alex, I’ve to ensure that he's okay. He loves a excessive heel, however I'm like, 'Oh my God, what's the choreography?'"
Newell doesn't disagree, however admits that's normally the very last thing he considers in fittings.
"I'm like, 'No, I could make it work.' Then I'll get there and have on a six-inch pump and be like, 'Hey, so I can't try this anymore, sorry.' I bear in mind one dance quantity, I couldn't transfer my arms up previous my shoulders, and I used to be similar to, 'That's not conducive to the choreography.' However you understand what? I appeared cute."
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Costumes Credit score: NBC/Getty Pictures
In some ways, these six-inch heels even find yourself serving to out in the long term.
"Heels actually change the way you maintain your self. You type of put a heel on and, immediately, you puff your chest out, arch your again, and also you're extra current," he says, speaking concerning the significance of vogue in relation to performing. "I at all times hear it from all of my favourite actors, 'I actually didn't discover the character till I put the wardrobe on. I didn't discover the character till I put the costume on.' The story is the garments generally, and loads of the occasions, the garments inform the temper and the tone. You possibly can act depressed, but when your wardrobe appears to be like depressed as properly, with out even having the sound on, you may inform that it's one thing unhappy. For those who're jubilant and completely satisfied and your garments mirror that, it's the identical factor."
