The Testaments costume designer on how Handmaid’s Tale fashion became a symbol of protest

15 years after The Handmaid’s Tale and we’re back in Gilead, with hit new Hulu/Disney+ show, The Testaments, taking us through the lens of a fresh generation of Pearls and Plums, as well as those among them plotting to take down its oppressive regime.

The Handmaid’s Tale has gone on to become a symbol of rebellion and female empowerment in protest settings, with its distinct, red hooded cloaks of the Handmaids marking that perhaps the fictitious tale isn’t so far removed from reality.

The costumes in The Testaments take on a similar role - this time for the Plums - a group of high schoolers preparing for what they’re told will be their role in life: as a well-trained wife, and mother, lived at the hands of powerful men.

The Plums' uniform bears striking resemblance to what came before - this time with a younger feel, bathed in rich, purple tones and in the form of sharp tailoring that still feels feminine, yet stoic.

Disney/Hulu

The show's costume designer, Leslie Kavanagh, says their look is a nod to the world the girls are immersed into: one of innocence and high-status, but where they're ultimately 'ripe' for the picking.

"They've grown up in Gilead, they are in Gilead, and they are looking out, not people that are outward looking in, so, of course, their whole view is skewed", she tells me.

"I was trying to bring a little bit more beauty to the costumes, because that's how these girls see their world - they don't see it as ugly and repressive, they see it as normal and beautiful, and this is where they live."

She adds: "My general theme for the uniforms and the girls really was an underlying floral theme, because this show is all about these girls blossoming and blooming, and then going on to hopefully meet their prospective husband."

It's a theme that we see throughout the show's looks, even in the most unlikely of places. One of those she references is episode three, where the wives-of-the-future learn the art of beekeeping.

Hulu/Disney

They're dressed in white head-to-toe linen hazmat suits complete with rattan face mask, sitting somewhere between stylish and downright dystopian.

For Leslie, it was about finding something that suited the aesthetic of the show, while leaning into the practicalities of having real beekeepers also wearing protective gear underneath for filming.

"These are beautiful young girls, so you're trying to figure out that that's who they are, but not showcase that you have a big, bulky bee keeping costume underneath?", she says.

"I went into the medieval times of what beekeepers wore, and got my inspiration from there. They used baskets to keep the bees off their faces, which I incorporated into the costume - it was a lot of layers of fabric to try to protect them.

"The silhouette becomes a little bit bigger naturally because you're laying all of these fabrics on top of it."

Hulu/Disney

However, Leslie still cites her favourite set of costumes to work on as those from episode 5, 'Ball', which upon its release was dubbed a "dark" and "disturbing" spin on Bridgerton by critics.

In it, we see Gilead's young women gear up for a ball - except this is no occasion for catching up with friends - rather, an opportunity for them to be sized up by the middle-aged Commanders for their potential as Wives.

To bring the heavily-choreographed dance scenes to life, it's estimated Leslie and her team would have had to individually design close to 50 gowns.

"It was made to each individual, including the background", she notes, adding that alongside the main cast, there were dancers and cameos.

"Everyone has their own designed dress, so it was a massive, massive undertaking for me as the costume designer, but it was also shot in a way that was so unbelievably beautiful and gorgeous."

Of course, we couldn't speak on the impact of the costumes across both The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments without turning to their real-world impact.

Hulu/Disney

The red cloaks of the Handmaids from Margaret Attwood's original story, first published in 1985, have gone on to visibly represent the silencing of women, particularly around issues such as abortion, and domestic violence.

Its impact, and whether it truly could've been anticipated is a conversation Leslie has had with Attwood herself, as well as the creator of the TV adaptation alongside The Testaments, Bruce Miller.

"It's so interesting because when Margaret Atwood wrote the book originally in the 80s, because the suffrage and the oppression against women - it's something that's happened historically throughout time", she says. "It's not new, but how it sort of ended up really resonating with things in the world."

"A lot of people seem to think that The Handmaid's Tale was predicting the future... it's just so weird how it all seemed to always happen.

"The episodes that would come out had some really strong parallels to what was happening in the world, it was bizarre", she concludes: "I don't think anybody anticipated that."

The Testaments is now available to stream on Disney+

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The Testaments: What to know about the Handmaid's Tale sequel as first reviews roll in

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