‘The Pitt' and ‘The Residence' Costume Designer on Making Noah Wyle Look ‘Worn Out' and Sherlock Inspiration for Uzo Aduba's Look
Having worked on 'E.R' and 'Presidio Med,' costume designer Lyn Paolo felt she didn't feel the need to do another medical drama.
But when she read the scripts for 'The Pitt' by former 'E.R.' colleagues and producers John Wells and Noah Wyle, she couldn't turn it down. 'The scripts were brilliant, and they're all so passionate about the project and highlighting the people that take care of us.'
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The HBO Max series takes place within the course of one 15-hour shift at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. Paolo's challenge was to make her costumes look and feel real.
Paolo describes Wyle's Dr. Michael Robbie's look as 'downtrodden and worn out.' His Beers of the Burgh hoodie was 'trashed. His pants weren't new either,' Paolo says.
In comparison, the new people to the trauma center came in with a fresh and crisp look. 'We slowly aged everything all the way through the season,' she says, noting how there was a lot of meticulous detail.
Shoes were an important part of 'The Pitt's' detail. Paolo notes how each principal had their brand and 10 pairs. The number was necessary for the season's shoot and to show how the shoes aged over the 15-hour shift. But Paolo didn't just give actors shoes to wear.
'We consciously spoke to each actor individually and said to them, 'Tell me about your feet. What are the problems? What are the good things? What are the bad things? What can you see yourself wearing for nine months and knowing that you're going to be on your feet 12 hours a day, every day.''
She adds that every single character has their own distinct shoe.
But there was also meticulous detail on Netflix's 'The Residence.' 'It's a different kind of detail. Why are the Australians in navy blue tuxedos and the Americans in black tuxedos?'
'The Residence' follows Uzo Aduba as Cordelia Cupp, who is tasked with solving a murder at the White House, and everyone, including the staff and guests, are all suspects.
Production designer Francois Audouy recreated the White House right down to the yellow and blue rooms, as well as state rooms, leaving little room for Paolo to play with. With most of her color choices eliminated, Paolo would buy fabric swatches and hold them up against color palettes on the wall. 'We didn't want Uzo disappearing against a wall,' she says.
Paolo spent time putting together Cordelia's look, and getting it right was vital. She compares the process to a jigsaw puzzle. She knew she wanted something iconic. As a huge murder mystery fan, Paolo says she found inspiration in her love for Sherlock Holmes, 'I went back to the original Sherlock, Basil Rathbone from the 1930s, and just did all this research.' Eventually, she found a 1930s-style hunting jacket that matched Cordelia's quirky personality. In addition to that, Paolo also leaned on her love for Katherine Hepburn. 'I felt like a Hepburn pant, a man's brogue, and a tweed hunting jacket.' Of course, Aduba loved it, and that became Cordelia's signature look.
As with 'The Pitt,' it was all about detail for 'The Residence.' Cordelia needed to stand out and was the center of that world. But each group also needed to have their own distinct feeling. 'For all of our background artists, we couldn't use prime colors because I didn't know who was going to be in which room. So, we ended up manufacturing a lot of gowns for the ladies in metallics.'
Paolo's next challenge was dressing the men, especially since most were in tuxedos. 'There were tiny, subtle things like navy blue for the Australians, black for the Americans, and a mid gray for the staff.' She adds, 'It's all those visual tricks that we threw in there. Our creator, Paul (William Davies), didn't want anything flashy. He wanted Cordelia to stand out. And I think we got that. I think we achieved that with her look, and everyone else floated away.'
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