“The Idol” Depicts Hollywood’s Pop Star Problem Through Teeny Bras, Cutout Bodysuits, and Sheer Robes
Spoilers ahead for season one of The Idol.
Love it or hate it – The Idol is undoubtedly this summer’s go-to spectacle. Similar to every series that’s held HBO’s coveted late night Sunday slot before — Euphoria and most recently, Succession — the television network’s new eye candy is ushering in discourse from every angle, already embedding itself as the most talked-about show to ever hit the platform literally.
Self-described as “the sleaziest love story in all of Hollywood,” the five-episode series, helmed by the showrunner Sam Levinson, chronicles the music industry’s deepest and darkest secrets from the point of view of an aspiring yet oh-so troubled pop star Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp). After her career falls on life support following the death of her abusive mother, she eventually finds solace in, what many would describe as a modern-day cult leader, Tedros (Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye). But like everything in Hollywood, that would come with a sacrifice. In as early as the first episode, viewers begin to have their qualms about various aspects of The Idol and rightfully so, like Tesfaye’s spine-chilling, parasite-like character, the eyebrow-raising “sex” scenes, and down to the moan-filled theme song “World Class Sinner/I’m a Freak” (which we have to admit is actually quite catchy), all of which are meant to onlookers uncomfortably shift in their seats.
The most dazzling part of The Idol, aside from the star-studded cast, is the wardrobe, which falls nothing short of the glitz we typically associate with the high-rise life. The risqué outfits worn by the cast are brought to life by award-winning costume designer Natasha Newman-Thomas, all of which fall nothing short of the indie sleaze we know and love today, as seen via itty bitty bralettes paired with high-waisted shorts, skin-baring cutouts, and lots and lots of lace. Some looks even reference beloved pop culture icons, like the red silk and black lace robe worn by Depp, nodding to the late Marilyn Monroe. Barely-there silhouettes aside, the cast’s woes are camouflaged with sunglasses and cigarettes in hand, arguably the show’s biggest accessories aside from the statement jewelry and designer handbags.
Newman-Thomas tells Bazaar.com that ultimately, the looks in The Idol mirror the tug-of-war of power and fame, and how it inevitably erodes you. She wanted to bring that vision to life from the very start, saying, “Whether you're on screen or not, your body is a billboard and you get to say it's how people get their immediate first impression from a glance. There are just so many signifiers and nuances portrayed through clothing and in everyday life, and we try to bring those into the costumes of the characters. I hope that helped create every one you see on screen and tell a little bit of ‘a story within the story’ of who these characters are.”
Newman-Thomas, who’s worked on projects like Childish Gambino’s 2019 music video “This is America” and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ 2022 release “Spitting Off the Edge of the World,” breaks down the intention behind some of the biggest outfits of the season so far.
The outfits are already so telling of each character even in just the first few episodes, especially Jocelyn. What message did you want to convey with her outfits especially at the beginning of the series?
We're trying to simultaneously convey youth and power, and how she's able to harness her sexuality and turn that into power, but in a seemingly nonchalant, carefree way. She's very comfortable in her own skin and confident, but she’s not necessarily derivative of other pop stars you’ve seen before. She’s still in that echelon of creating a fantasy, though, which I feel like a lot of that special, intrinsic something to the whole “pop star” persona is building this untouchable realm.
Right now, viewers see that Jocelyn is understandably broken after her mother's passing and that she is “re-discovering” herself, her artistry, and her overall confidence in her new boyfriend Tedros. What can we expect in terms of outfits once that switch in her character finally unveils itself in the episodes to come?
As Tedros enters her life, especially by the third episode, he mentions changing her style. There's definitely an evolution of his influence on her personality and music that comes into play, and will continue to unfold, so it’s a natural influence on her style as well. I don't want to give away too much, but let’s just say there are a lot of power shifts throughout this series and I think they're all reflected in how she chooses to present herself.
Moving on to learn more about the show's “villain” a.k.a. Tedros — there's a stark contrast between him and Jocelyn. What inspired you when building his wardrobe, and how does his style juxtapose hers?
They both have something in common when it comes to their aura because both characters want to express their [seemingly unwavering confidence] through their clothing. If they're lacking any bit of that persona they’ve built, they want to bury that and put on a front instead to display and maintain that level of power. Tedros definitely has that trait and it's revealed through the silhouettes he wears. For instance, he’s seen showing off a little bit of his tattoos to prove that he's more tough when he comes out of the car after the shopping trip in Episode 3 and he pulls his zipper down to expose his chain. Then, you see Chiam (Hank Azaria) do the same thing and he pulls his chain out. All of these subtle dynamics are instigated through the clothes.
This is the internet's most popular topic at the moment, so I have to mention Tedros' rattail hairstyle. Why do you think that aspect of his character is getting so much attention, and what does it say about him?
It’s part of the big separation between the Tedros character and The Weeknd. Having such a stark contrast was really important in differentiating that because we're dealing with someone who is a pop star and already has such an iconic look to him, and the team wanted to separate them. I wasn't super involved in the decision as that's more of a hair department thing, but when they asked me for my opinion about the rattail, I immediately loved it. I thought it was a really smart idea to bring further development to that character.
It also seems that the side characters — Dyanne, Xander, Leia, and others — all have a unique aesthetic to them, too. We even see Destiny at one point in a head-to-toe monogram Gucci in Episode 2, while we see Leia dressing quite similar to that of White Lotus' Portia. Could you give us a breakdown of the inspiration for them and what you wanted to portray through their outfits as people orchestrating "behind the scenes" of Jocelyn's success?
Leia's character (Rachel Sennott) is an amalgamation of every personal assistant I've ever come across in LA, and there are a lot of elements of that job that she embodies because you have to be semi-professional but comfortable. There can only be one diva in the room and even if you want to dress over the top, it's generally frowned upon and so for that character, it was all about finding that balance.
Obviously, she totally idolizes Jocelyn as a friend and a performer. There’s this scene when they all go to the club for the first time. I thought it would be really funny if Leia wore a dress that was sent to Jocelyn as a gift that she didn't want or something she used to wear that she was throwing away, and Leia was like “No, I'll take it,” and it becomes clearly a Jocelyn-reject item that she really cherishes. There are other little Easter eggs like that for Leia throughout the show.
As for Destiny (Da 'Vine Joy Randolph), that character is such a badass and mentally sharp so we wanted to reflect that in her wardrobe. She’s so put together, always ready to go, and is quite calculated, and she puts just as much thought into her appearance as she does into everything else in her life. We wanted to make her look good doing the dirty work.
I’m also curious to learn more about Dyanne’s character because she's not on screen as much as the others, but we see her as Jocelyn’s backup dancer who’s threatening to replace her. On top of that, the actress is none other than Jennie from Blackpink. How did you try to embody this aspect through her outfits and were there any reservations dressing Jennie?
It’s the same notion that there can only be one diva in the room. Dyanne’s character goes through a transformation as the backup dancer, and there’s definitely hints earlier on in the season that she's got that star power.
In terms of working with Jennie, she was such a professional and a dream to work with because she's just done this a million times so we’d put looks on and she just knew what's working and what wasn’t, and we were instantly on the same page about everything. Honestly, all of our actors were absolutely fantastic to work with.
When it came to Dyanne’s outfits, we all had a discussion with her team beforehand about the level of skin she was comfortable showing and all. For the scene where she’s doing her version of Jocelyn’s music video in Episode 3, I sent Jennie the sketches of her look ahead of time, just to clear it with with her and her team, and make sure that was all good since it’s supposed to be that specific bodysuit that Jocelyn wore for her take. It was really important that they had similarities and we wanted to use the same fabricator to mimic that outfit on Jennie’s character.
How did you go about sourcing the looks? Did you rely on your intuition more or did the cast help you develop the looks in some way?
I started by making mood boards for each character. Then while prepping for the show, we did preliminary fittings, and in doing so, we were able to go a little bit deeper into the sociology behind each of them based on our conversations with the actors, and understanding their visions for each character, as well as talking to Sam and understanding his vision.
Based on what he wanted to portray, and what the best ways to do that were, it helped us create our overall looks and more detailed signifiers for the characters. After building their closets and by the time we shot each scene, it became a collaboration with the actors. We had to plan in advance for some of the looks as some of them were custom made, like Destiny’s monogram Gucci set in Episode 2 and a lot of Jocelyn and Tedros’ looks, so those outfits required more time so we could make any alterations before it was time to shoot.
Out of all of the outfits in the series, what were some of your favorite ones?
There are so many looks that I love for so many of the characters. Leia’s outfit that she wore to the club was a standout for me because it was such a fun, under-looked detail. Obviously, the red robe that Jocelyn wears in Episode 1 was something I actually designed myself and that was such a feat in terms of design and construction for me. We had to make multiples of that because the rope gets cut, so it wasn't something we could just do a “one off” of. I had to make sure that the lace or silk I sourced came there with the correct yardage to make at least three or four so we could do that cutting scene multiple times.
There are other items I loved from the show like a pair of these vintage Alexander McQueen bumsters from Episode 2. We also sourced a Maison Margiela dress that we received multiples of thanks to the Margiela team who very generously sent us double of that style. It’s funny, too, because they have their signature tag with the four stitch marks, and Sam had us cut it out so it was a little bit painful for me. It goes to show that Jocelyn doesn't even need details like that while wearing designer or couture because she can make anything special. And honestly, we had so many beautiful pieces that I don't know even made it into the show.
Cigarettes and sunglasses seem to be the show’s biggest accessories so far. What were you trying to portray with the sunglasses worn both inside and outdoors, and also with the characters always having a cigarette in hand?
Sunglasses are such an intrinsic part of the LA lifestyle and it’s become a necessity. Since everyone wears them here, everyone has a few favorite pairs they always sport and of course, they want them to be really special because it's on your face, and that's the gateway into who you are. You want to tell — or hide — as much about yourself as possible and a lot of the characters in this show use their sunglasses to do both of those things.
When it comes to the cigarettes, it's a part of the whole bad boy-vixen character tropes that we don't see as much these days just because smoking is bad and frowned upon. But these characters have other things that are “bad and frowned upon” about them, and that's a choice that emphasizes the reality of the characters. When people like Jocelyn smoke, we see that always on edge as she's on a pretty regimented diet and lifestyle, and so anything that she has control of, she’s going to do as a form of release.
Would you say the sex scenes for Jocelyn and Tedros were challenging to style? What was the mindset behind navigating such intimate shots?
The goal while styling these scenes was just to keep everything as authentic to the characters as possible. Most importantly, we wanted all of the actors to be comfortable and didn't want anyone to be in an uncomfortable position since that’s such a vulnerable scene to film, especially when you're portraying those things. We just wanted everyone to have the correct modesty garments and anything that they needed to make sure they felt safe in the environment.
What are you ultimately trying to say about Hollywood, LA culture, and the pop music industry machine through the costuming?
As someone who’s worked with so many musicians over the years, I’ve come to realize these are people who resemble Olympian athlete level in talent, stamina, and artistry. They make it look so effortless because that's part of their job and we want to convey how difficult it actually is.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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