WE MET THE COSTUME DESIGNER OF LENA DUNHAM'S TOO MUCH NETFLIX SERIES

If your idea of girlhood includes romanticising overpriced lattes, spiralling over questionable decisions and watching Girls on repeat, Netflix’s Too Much might just be your next obsession. Written and directed by Lena Dunham, the chaotic rom-com follows New York workaholic Jessica (Megan Stalter) as she tries to move on from a broken relationship by moving to London in search of solitude. Naturally, she meets a Brit called Felix (Will Sharp) and their connection feels impossible to ignore.

 

But behind the chaos lies a wardrobe that speaks volumes. Luckily for us, we got the chance to speak to Arielle Cooper-Lethem, the costume designer responsible for translating heartbreak and hope into carefully chosen outfits. We chatted about working with Lena, building characters through costume and styling a dog for the very first time. Scroll for the tea.

Hey Arielle! We have to know, what was it like working with Lena Dunham on this series?
Omg. Lena's a unicorn of a human being. When she wrote this script, it had a lot of costume written into it. When you get to work with a director that's excited about clothes – that's just your dream as a costume designer. She's truly someone who gets so excited by a new idea, too. It was really fun moving through that space with her because she gives you a lot to work with at the beginning, but then she also really gets excited by a new path you create.

How would you describe Jessica’s aesthetic?
Collected, Etsy and curious.

We loved watching Jessica evolve. How does her personality come through in her outfits?
She's deeply romantic. It’s as if she's always in a Jane Austen novel, or Notting Hill. She has this romance that leads her to places that are chaotic, but it's not the chaos that is the defining thing.

There’s loads of stars in the series like Will Sharpe, Emily Ratajkowski and Adwoa Aboah. Did they have any input in the costume choices?
Will is a great example – he’s an actor who really finds character through clothing. His character Felix doesn't have much, but he still wants to be defined. I had to think, how can we make his closet as small as possible, but give him pieces that feel like they're speaking about him? And then Emily’s character was a knitwear influencer with her own beauty line which could’ve gone in a million directions, but Emily was so fun, sending me loads of references. That’s one of the best parts of the job, the moment where you both meet somewhere in the middle.

If you could steal something from any of the characters' wardrobes, what would it be?
Megan Stalter who played Jessica had 150 costume changes, but actually Adwoa Aboah wears pigeon claw earrings by British jewellery designer called Tessa Metcalfe and her pieces are insane.

Ok, we’ve got to talk about Astrid the dog, who had some great outfits. Is this the first time you've ever had to style a dog?
Absolutely! It's the first time I have costumed a dog. Mia’s a girl dog, but she has a sibling called Muppet. And because the shoot days were so long, Muppet was a stand-in for Mia. A lot of the reason why the dog is in clothes is because we could cover the male dog’s parts for continuity. It was partly fun and partly practical. Astrid wasn’t a peripheral character; she was important, and we treated her that way.

NYC vs London fashion – which would you pick?
I grew up in New York City – it's part of the reason why Lena wanted me to do the job. She's like, "You're a New Yorker who moved to London for love, you're perfect". But Londoners go for it a bit more. It’s more underground, and clothing is identity. London is a city where you can see people and you’re like "Oh, I know what you're into – I know your vibe".

What's a key piece you'll be wearing all summer?
Oversized basketball shorts. They're so great. They have pockets. And they're perfect.

Watch Too Much on Netflix now.