The White Lotus fashion deep dive: the meaning behind the clothes.

Alex Bovaird, the genius that you are!

It’s no secret that the costume design team of the White Lotus, lead by Alex Bovaird, holds significant power in the storytelling of this show. Not only that, but it’s thanks to their brilliant easter eggs, foreshadowing, and personal development of characters through costume that the show has basked in so much cultural buzz – with influencers, journalists and video creators all jumping at the chance to develop fan theories and find out potential plot indicators all through the use of costume.

The fashion in The White Lotus not only satisfies people with a detective complex, but it’s also delicious eye-candy for many a fashion person. It’s one of those things that brings people from many ends of the spectrum together: some watch it for the fashion, the brands and the opportunity to snag a piece IRL, while others obsess over the details, the nuances and the hints (while some of us do both!)

The White Lotus has managed to unite people from all over the world on Sunday nights, reminding us why art is so valuable, but most importantly, I think it has jumpstarted and revived careers for people who, for long, hid in the sidelines of the spotlight. Everything from the casting, the cinematography, the music, and, of course, the costuming, are a perfectly choreographed performance resembling that of a disciplined and neatly presented Russian ballet, and I wholeheartedly believe that each person in the cast and crew deserves all the praise they’ve been receiving. However, as a costume design geek and Alex Bovaird worshiper, I’m going down, down, down into the rabbit hole (and taking you with me!) as I analyze the many layers of costuming in Season 3. Am I excited? You have no idea. Let’s get to it!

This post contains: spoilers (duh), Alex Bovaird’s own words regarding costume choices, fan analyses outside of my own, and my own personal theories.

The Ratliffs

According to Alex, the family is supposed to look like a Ralph Lauren catalog: a façade they all put forward, trying to look like the perfect family with the perfect lives… Victoria with her comfortable, luxurious outfits, rose-colored glasses and classic Gucci bag, Tim with what has been named by fans as “Ratliff Blue,” Piper with her puritan dresses, Saxon with his preppy, “douche” look, and Lochlan with his convoluted efforts to match into his family’s style.

But here’s where it gets interesting, Tim, and his children seem to oftentimes be in a coordinated rotation of the same 4 colors: blue, yellow, salmon and white, perhaps as a nod to the solid grasp that Tim, as the patriarch, is supposed to have on the family. It seems to me that Tim has the most influence on this children, while Victoria breaks away the most in terms of colors and patterns while matching using subtler elements.

When it comes to the Ratliffs as a family, I think their ensembles are a little bit more varied than just the “Ratliff Blue” – and I think it’s how their combinations play out that gives meaning to the family dynamics. That being said, I do agree that the blue stands for the structure, the hierarchy and the notion of this perfect, respectable and successful family.

Saxon

Saxon arrives dressed like a douche (not my own words!) with predatory behavior. As we see his character develop (which unfortunately happens after sexual trauma), Alex Bovaird said this is where she chose to tone down the douche-y look. She wanted him more relaxed, more approachable, and almost handsome. His classic “country club” look tones down as his predatory attitude also tones down. But his colors are still more aligned with his father’s, and we barely see Saxon in a green or a purple, which are more Victoria’s colors, even though he seems to be her favorite child.

Piper

I think the biggest hint of Piper’s real character was the stark difference between how she dresses around her family and how she dresses when she’s out in the world, or on her own. When she’s with them, her sleeves get shorter and the neckline gets deeper, she shows collarbones and decolletage and shoulders. Her hair is often down. She wears more pastels than neutrals and some of her outfits are exquisitely embroidered. She also often matches with the salmons/pinks, blues and yellows of the rest of the Ratliffs. But when she’s out on her own, or in a setting where she’ll be mingling with other people, she opts for longer sleeves, longer hemlines and narrower necklines, often in neutrals: white, baby blue, beige. Desaturated. Modest. This shows the difference between who she really is (a Ratliff, after all) and who she thinks she is (someone better than this lavish, material lifestyle). Then, when she comes to terms with who she truly is, accepts that she’s a princess, and lets go of her Buddhism fantasies, Alex said this is when her colors get more saturated and her prints more floral (and, I believe, where her attitude gets a bit more breezy, as well!)

There are deleted scenes in which Piper has a romance with Zion, eventually leading to her losing her virginity to him, which was also an influencing factor to her wardrobe in the final scenes, however, as Alex said (and I agree with her!) the wardrobe changes ended up going perfectly with the final cut of the show.

Lochlan

Fans have pointed out that if Piper’s colors tend to lean terracotta, and Saxon’s tend to lean blue, then Lochlan often shows up as a mix of both. In Episode 1, he pairs a blue t-shirt with orange swim shorts, right after Saxon and Piper argue over which one of them Lochlan will hang out with. A constant theme with Lochlan is that he doesn’t know who he is, or what he wants – in the dinner scene where his family’s discussing which college he should go to, he’s wearing what looks like a dark purple-ish polo, which contrasts heavily with the coordinated colors the rest of his family is wearing.

One very important development in the show is that of Lochlan’s move from “prey” to “predator”, and from “speak no evil” to “see no evil” (the difference between these two, for me, is that “speak no evil” is an active refrain from hurting others, but “see no evil” doesn’t imply that there aren’t any evil actions being perpetrated – just that the person is blind to them or chooses to ignore them). In the final shot, Lochlan is the one wearing the sunglasses, a blue top (maybe signifying that he didn’t change much from when he arrived, also in a blue top), and shorts that mirror Saxon’s outfit in the first episode. Saxon, on the other hand, is wearing pants (similar to the ones Lochlan was wearing when they arrived) and he moved to the position of “speak no evil” because he’s in the process of learning and un-learning through his reading.

Belinda

Something I didn’t notice until I rewatched the season was how Belinda’s outfits mimic those of Tanya’s from Seasons 1 and 2. Tanya often wore these eccentric, floral caftans (which many were by the brand Camilla and I need to get myself a second-hand set asap). This season is the first time we see Belinda mostly out of uniform, and her use of flowy, floral caftans were an almost too-obvious nod to her “change of circumstances” that I don’t know how I missed the first time around!!!

The Ladies

The arrival scene might be one of the few scenes in which the ladies are truly coordinated. We see all three of them wearing a range of yellow, orange and blue hues (though Laurie’s outfit has more blue), and their outfits get subsequently more uncoordinated as the episodes go by, reflecting the growing tension between them.

We also often see alliances through the use of colors – In the dinner scene in E7, when Kate finds herself in the middle of the feud, she’s wearing a patterned jumpsuit that has maroon and blue, while Laurie is wearing solid maroon, and Jaclyn is wearing a blue dress (which was one of my favorites in the entire season). In E6, when Kate tells Laurie about Valentin and Jaclyn, Kate’s green earrings match with Laurie’s top.

Here are a few brilliant things that Alex did throughout the season with the ladies that are too good to pass up (but not my own observations/thoughts):

1. Jaclyn wears mask earrings to signify that they’re all wearing masks, as well as dagger earrings to foreshadow what would happen with Valentin.

2. In a few episodes, we see the ladies sharing things.

3. Jaclyn’s outfits almost always have a brand, this is because they (the costume department) liked to think that maybe she, as an actor, would be getting all these clothes from brands to wear on her vacation.

4. Laurie is supposed to look a bit uncoordinated, her nail color seems off (which Carrie Coon also was also adamant about), she has a trendier designer bag (the scrumptious olive Loewe Squeeze bag) that she maybe bought recently for the trip to fit in with her girlfriends, and she generally looks like she’s putting on an active effort to coordinate with them.

5. Kate is the more “prissy” out of the the three – and according to Alex, one her favorite characters to dress (can you blame her?!)

6. In the pool scene, Jaclyn is wearing a leopard print ensemble reflecting her true intentions with Valentin and her need to be the center of attention.

Rick and Chelsea (RIP)

I have to say I don’t have many original thoughts to add to the conversation of Rick and Chelsea’s outfits. Chelsea’s wardrobe has been carefully deconstructed from Day 1 by fans – including the brilliant “Stay Golden” necklace that served as the biggest easter egg for the finale – shoutout to Tara Gonzalez for noticing that so brilliantly! (And did anyone notice she wears what looks like a snake print dress in EP1?!).

When it comes to Rick, well, he’s just supposed to look like he doesn’t necessarily fit in the White Lotus. He’s also obviously going through a very dark period in his life. Funnily enough, he’s the best resort-wear inspiration this season, in my opinion. Why dress like an Ep1 Saxon, when you could dress like a Rick? He’s simply a thousand leagues ahead fashion-wise.

Chelsea and Rick also wear the most vintage out of the rest of the characters, and he’s supposed to look a bit raggedy, while Chelsea is more eclectic because they’ve been traveling for a while and she wears things she has picked up from local markets or vintage shops (according to Alex).

Chloe and Greg/Gary

Chloe

The classic young, hot girlfriend with a rich older man, Chloe looks exquisite most of the time, and that custom Jacquemus set will go down in history as one of my favorite tv show outfits, ever. Even though I think Chloe’s character is a creep, I enjoyed watching her and Chelsea’s friendship on screen: the way they both connect with each other and open up to each other immediately (a stark contrast to The Ladies, who are supposed to be friends since elementary school and each other’s closest friends, yet it takes them until the very last episode to finally connect on a non-surface level… though can we call that deep? I don’t know). Coincidentally, we only see Chloe and Chelsea in their most relaxed outfits when they’re both away from their richer, older boyfriends, perhaps alluding to the fact that neither of them come from money and they are just regular gals, after all (or simply because the situation merited it – the after party).

Gary

I couldn’t contain my laughter when we see Gary for the first time this season and he’s sitting in the corner looking like he’s wearing an orange prison suit. He also wears significantly less floral prints this season (EXCEPT during the dinner party in which he gives Belinda his initial offer in exchange for her silence!!!). This emphasizes how much of a façade he put on in previous seasons to “connect” with Tanya and give the impression of being in sync with her, only to benefit his own macabre plot. He’s also often shown in these ominous angles, overlooking everyone like a master puppeteer. I wonder if we’ll get some much needed justice for Tanya in Season 4?

Final Thoughts

I’ve loved to hear all of the theories and be part of the zeitgeist this season, and I’m so grateful when a show gives us this kind of collective excitement in the wardrobe department, since these roles often overlooked by mainstream media and I think it’s absolutely glorious when costume designers get their flowers. Maybe some of these theories, thoughts and observations we’ve created as a fanbase are spot on, or maybe they are far off – regardless, this has been a blast and I cannot wait for Season 4.

Which theories do you agree/disagree with? What things did you notice that I missed? What were you surprised by? Let me know!

xo,

– Sofia