The Costume Designers Of And Just Like That… Take Us Inside Season 3

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We couldn’t help but wonder…what are Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago up to? There’s no TV show rooted in fashion as much as “Sex and the City,” which the duo can attest to as the costume designers for HBO Max’s smash hit companion series “And Just Like That…” Now in its third season, the program follows Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), Charlotte York-Goldenblatt (Kristin Davis), and Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) in their 50’s as they encounter new life phases and romances, personal growth, tragedies, and more. But this year, the show’s continued to make waves with Rogers and Santiago’s dramatic looks backed up by their impressive resumes, including SATC’s original six seasons and two movies, “The Devil Wears Prada,” and “And Just Like That…”‘s first two seasons. During a rare break, we caught up with the pair on dressing our favorite NYC ladies for season 3, Carrie’s viral premiere episode hat, how they work so closely together and how they’ll keep SATC and fashion fans satiated this summer.

Now that you’re in season 3 of And Just Like That…, do you have your fittings down to a formula—or is every day a new challenge? Molly: It is like a surgical procedure, I would say. I started the fitting format way back in the Sex in the City days. I forced Pat [Field] to do it a certain way, and we’ve done it ever since. It is so organized, and anyone new that comes into our department understands which way hangers go, how we preset things in front of bags. It is literally like surgery. Danny: The one good thing I think that happened this year was that we were able to go to London and do a fitting with with Sarah Jessica [Parker], because she was there doing a play. Before we even got here to New York, we were able to do a lot of shopping in London, which was an amazing experience. We found such great things, and met so many great vendors and people that were there, designers. We were there for London Fashion Week, and we were able to just get something fresh and new in front of us that we hadn’t seen before, and lots of new resources for vintage clothing. That was a lot of fun!

You also have an intense shoe section in your costume department! Molly: I mean, that’s a given. We have a handbag department. A lot of notions like ribbons and beads. There was a crystal glitter drag wall. All the things that you reach for when you’re trying to heighten something. Danny: We have a huge belt collection, of belts that we can pull from. We like to have as much as we can in the room so we can play. The more that’s there, the more that we have options to be able to to work in with the outfits and stuff, with the changes. Molly: There’s nothing worse than not having the right belt for a skirt and a blouse that you got styled on someone. Danny: We do have ideas of things, certain things that we sort of see, but it’s really all about working with Sarah Jessica when we’re in the room, and having those things to just pick up and grab and try it and see. There’s never a wrong. Everything’s open to discussion. We’re all there to create and be collaborative there. So, the more things that are there, the more we can play with and and create something amazing.

Carrie Bradshaw’s in a new chapter this season—she now owns a house, is back with Aidan, and writing a fiction book. How do her clothes reflect this shift in tone, especially compared to season 1 (when she was in a different place emotionally)? Molly: There was so much light in the Gramercy Park apartment. There were windows. There was a backyard. That affected a lot of things, like that first Simone Rocha transparent dress and coat. We knew that was going to be see-through, coming through the light, going towards the closet, going down the stairs, coming out through the gate on the stoop. There’s a big difference between Gramercy, lighting-wise, and wherever the hell that other apartment was. I always want to say the West Village, but I think it’s 62nd Street or something. Danny: The Upper East Side. Molly: That had a lot to do with…there was no flood of stairs at the old apartment, except in the hallway. Now she has a beautiful stairwell in her home, so we knew that was going to get some shoe action and some duster action.

People have reacted really strongly to Carrie’s big plaid hat by Maryam Keyhani in season 3’s premiere. What’s the story behind sourcing that piece—and why was it chosen for that scene? Molly: Bored! Bored! Danny, answer that question. People have had strong reactions. It’s so deadly that they still are having a strong reaction of Carrie in a wackadoo hat! Danny: Why wouldn’t Carrie grab something like that before she runs out the door? She’s out to have fun, and it’s something that inspired her, and she grabbed it and she wore it. Molly: It’s a fabulous hat! Do people want to not see hats on her, and be bored out of their gourd? Danny: I just didn’t find it to be as severe and crazy as everyone’s taking it to be. Molly: No, because you like to see eye candy. You’ve got to poke your eyeballs out! Danny: It’s actually something that I had seen of Mary’s, and we called it in, and we had not only that, but we had other pieces of hers as well. It was sitting in the room, like how we just have everything in here. We tried on that dress, that Ozzie Clark dress, which we got in London from one of the vendors, Turner Vintage. Molly: You kept saying, “She’s eating an ice cream. She’s got to have this Ozzie on.” Danny: Because it looked like Neapolitan [ice cream]. The hat was sitting there, and she reached over and grabbed it and stuck it on the top of her head. And we were like, genius! It just was the perfect thing. Molly: Color-wise, it was perfect. Danny: It was perfect. She’s walking through the park having ice cream. Molly: It’s like a tablecloth fabric, a picnic! That whole outfit was a picnic. Danny: It was like a picnic, exactly.

What are some looks, Easter eggs, or special pieces we can keep an eye out for this season—both on Carrie, and leading ladies like Charlotte, Miranda, Lisa, and Seema? Molly: I’m surprised no one clocked LTW’s PJ’s in episode one. That was a big kiki in the fitting room. Nobody saw the print [of the L’Oreal] Elnett. We had a real hoot in the fitting room. We couldn’t wait to get that in. Danny: Kitty cats! Molly: Kitty cats are coming up—better watch out for them! There’s an outfit that’s head-to-toe one beloved designer, a friend of ours, that we all love. I’m sure people are going to know. It’s head-to-toe, and just so happened that it worked out that way organically in the fitting room. That’ll be something to look forward to. That’s about all we can say!

You’ve dressed these characters for events like fashion shows, premieres, funerals, and even the Met Gala. Are there any larger productions to dress in season 3? Molly: We were told at the beginning of the season by the writers that there was no “Big, bridge in Paris moment,” right? In the fitting room, we decided that every moment was our bridge moment. Every opportunity, every scene, was an opportunity to make it super special, since the writers were saying there’s not any big, viral moment like crossing Park Avenue in a red Valentino or anything. We really took it to heart, and put things together that we thought were super special, even if it’s a paint-splattered jean. It’s so cool to put it on TV. It doesn’t have to be haute couture. Danny: We just had our favorites, and we wanted to see where we could place them at. Molly: And we wanted to see if we could send anyone to the emergency room with a Maryam Keyhani hat!

How do you choose which original SATC pieces to bring back on-screen? And are there any dream pieces from the series or films that you haven’t brought back yet, but are hoping to use in the future? Molly: It would have to make sense in the script. First of all, you just don’t put that stuff out there because you know you have it. I think that devalues it. I’m sure there’s plenty of fan favorites that are sitting in storage, but to use them organically is so much better, story-wise. Danny: There’s a shoe Easter egg that comes up in a couple more episodes of this season. Molly: There’s some things I would absolutely retire for the rest of time. I don’t feel like I ever need to see that Dior Extreme sandal again. I’ve had my way with it. I’ve used it and abused it. It’s always in the closet, in a closet scene. Danny: That’s always something that you’ll see, too, when they do those closet scenes. For the fans, they really need to pay attention, because there’s definitely things there that they will remember.

We understand Sarah Jessica Parker has all of Carrie Bradshaw’s original outfits. Are there any pieces that were off-limits when filming? Molly: No. If it’s appropriate. Danny: She’s very open to it, as long as it makes sense. Molly: We were having a fitting in season three, and I pointed out to her that something had a cigarette hole in it and was a different color, sun-bleached on the shoulder, and that you would really see that in a close-up. And she was like, “I don’t care.” It’s been lived in and it has a history. She loves that, personally. I don’t think any of that stuff is “precious beyond.” It’s not like I’ve insured it with Lloyd’s of London, and it will not be touched by human hands, and you have to wear gloves to touch the Versace gown when we borrow it. That Vivienne Westwood gown…it’s been around the world a million times, that wedding gown. It’s not sacred. People are still touching it. It goes on tours, and it’s not in pristine condition.

Your costume department is known for mixing a lot of vintage alongside new luxury pieces. Why is vintage shopping and sourcing so important to you, and to the show? Danny: For what we do and the how the characters are, I don’t think we ever want to give a full head-to-toe look of any runway piece, to mimic something that we’ve already seen on a on a runway. For us, we find a lot more inspiration, have a lot more fun, to be able to take a piece and create it in our own way and style it in our own way, to make it feel like it’s coming from that actual person, who that character is. They’re not wearing it to “be the brand.” They’re wearing it as something that they love, as a piece of clothing in the same way that they love a piece of vintage clothing that they found at a flea market or a vintage show or something. They have the same appreciation for it, whether it’s something very expensive, or when something’s cheap. They just appreciate the style of what it is, and being able to wear it again in a fresh way to make it modern. That’s what real people have. You keep your best pieces, your favorite things, and you save them. Molly: And then you go out and you see things that you want, and you wait until they go on sale, or you covet them and wait until they’re resale because you couldn’t afford them the first time around.

This is your fifth year of working on And Just Like That…! How would you describe your cowering style—and what happens when you disagree on a costume choice? Danny: It doesn’t really happen, I have to say. We see things a lot— Molly: Liar! Danny: We come from the same sensibilities, as far as what we feel is “fashion” and what we like in our in our aesthetics when it comes to fashion and clothing. We all seek out different types of things, but when we merge it together, we see it, we understand it. We understand each other’s eye. Molly: There’ll be times that SJ and Danny rise against me and fight for some saddle shoe that I’m violently opposed to, and it’ll make it in because I’m collaborative. If both of them love it with some skirt, I’m going to fight and then lose, and say, “Okay, you won.” Or Charlotte [Kristin Davis] sometimes will get Danny wild and rambunctious over the belt choices. It’s all in good fun. A lot of people cannot work with others. I know that about a lot of people, and I think we’re just out to have a really good time. It’s not finding a cure for Alzheimer’s. We’re putting together a fun look and a crazy hat to get people happy. There’s nothing argumentative about that process, especially when you have wonderful actresses in the room who just want the best outcome. I like to make fun and say, “Well, I pulled that, so it beats anything you pull.” That’s just teasing and fun. We always pretend like it’s a competition, but it’s not.

What are some of your all-tme favorite looks from the original Sex and the City show and movies? Are there any dream archival pieces that you haven’t found or brought back yet? Molly: One of my favorite looks—and there were a lot of them in the second movie. Those clothes were beautiful. First of all, it was turbans, and caftans, and everything is camp. Danny: They had the picnic out in the desert. That’s beautiful. Molly: It was really pretty. Everybody’s fantasy, until the Kardashians go and do it—then it’s everybody’s nightmare! There was a Jean Paul Gaultier archive robe that Kim [Cattrall] wore in the second movie that didn’t make it in the movie. Wow. You ever see the still of that outfit? It’s a gag. It is the most beautiful color. Favorites? Carrie in the J’Adore Dior T-shirt and the big hoop skirt. Danny: The Zac Posen skirt, which was actually an underskirt for a ball gown. That’s beautiful. Molly: That’s pretty timeless, and I would have to maybe vote for that, in the souk when she sees Aidan. Danny: Yeah, that was a beautiful, beautiful, outfit. There’s so many. I love from that movie too, the green Lanvin dress, the gown with the ruffled bottom on it. Molly: Another feeling like Gaultier, just this river. Danny: And it wasn’t really on camera very long. It was something that was quick, but it was such a beautiful piece. She walks through the room, and then you get the train just flowing back behind her on the couch. It was beautiful. There’s a lot.

All images: Craig Blankenhorn/Max

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