- [Narrator] This is Beth Harmon.
You know her from "The Queen's Gambit."
You may remember this outfit, or this one,
and of course, this one, but are they accurate?
We got this fashion historian.
- Hi, I'm Raissa Bretana, and I'm a fashion historian.
- To walk us through what "The Queen's Gambit" got right,
and what they got mostly right about these looks.
- "The Queen's Gambit" is a Netflix limited series
that chronicles the story of fictional
American chess prodigy Elizabeth Harmon, also known as Beth.
As she rises to prominence in the international world
of chess, she struggles with alcoholism and addiction.
And these ups and downs of her journey
are visually represented through costume.
Berlin-based costume designer Gabrielle Binder
illustrates the evolution of the character
from troubled orphan to glamorous chest phenom,
all while creating a distinctive look for the show
through the consistent use of color and pattern.
To achieve this, the costume department made
most of Beth's costumes for the series
and used just a few authentic vintage pieces.
"The Queen's Gambit" spans the 1950s and '60s,
and not only charts the chronological evolution of style
but also the nuances of fashionable dress
across different cities.
The limited series is based on a 1983 novel of the same name
by Walter Tevis in which the protagonist is described
as not particularly attractive.
However, the creators of the television adaptation
decided to glam up Beth's character,
partially due to the insistence of actress Anya Taylor-Joy.
- [Narrator] Let's get into the looks.
First up, Beth's plaid pinafore.
- This look appears in episodes two and three,
which take place in Lexington and Cincinnati in 1963.
At this point in the series,
Beth is just starting high school.
As an adolescent who spent much of her childhood
at an orphanage, she didn't have a lot
of role models growing up.
As result, she looks to imitate the women in her life
by adapting their styles of clothing.
Beth purchases this dress at Ben Snyders,
which was a real life department store
that operated in Lexington, Kentucky for several decades
during the mid-20th century.
Beth sees the dress on a mannequin at the department store
on her first trip with her adoptive mother
and it becomes the embodiment of aspiration.
She later buys it using the cash prize
from her first tournament victory,
which is significant because this is the first time
she's able to choose what she wears.
This look captures the quintessential mid-century
school girl style, although it looks to be more influenced
by the 1950s than the 1960s.
This can be attributed to the differential pace of fashion
based on locale.
A small town department store would not likely be stocked
with the latest, most fashion-forward offerings.
- [Narrator] Let's draw this look layer by layer.
First up, the undergarments.
- For undergarments, she would be wearing a simple white bra
and a pair of cotton panties.
Beth does not wear stockings or pantyhose,
which is appropriate for her at this point of the series
because she's being depicted as an adolescent school girl.
- [Narrator] And then the slip.
- As a modesty layer, Beth may be wearing a full slip,
which would be about knee length.
We see her wearing a simple white one
when she's deciding what to wear
for her classmates get together.
- [Narrator] That brings us to the shirt.
- The crisp, white button up shirt
is a long-standing staple in school girl style.
Beth's has three-quarter length sleeves
with turned up cuffs, an open collar,
and decorative buttons at the center.
- [Narrator] And then her dress.
- Pinafore-style dresses usually feature
a jumper-like bodice with open sides
that requires a shirt to be worn underneath.
The pinafore is a garment
that has been traditionally associated with school uniforms,
especially those made out of plaid textiles.
Another significant aspect of the plaid pattern
is its allusion to the grid-like pattern of a chess board.
Throughout the series, the costume designer
has selected black and white garments
with checked or linear geometric prints
that visually connect Beth's character
to the game of chess itself.
Black and white geometric prints
were especially fashionable in the 1960s
when op art began to influence textile design
and fashion photography.
- [Narrator] Next up, her shoes and socks.
- We are made aware of Beth's insecurity about her shoes
in the second episode when she finds herself surrounded
by classmates wearing black and white saddle shoes.
This style was very popular for teenaged school girls,
and Beth's desire for them is another instance
of her aspiration that takes the form of clothing.
At the end of episode two, it can be interpreted
that Beth purchased the coveted shoes with her prize money.
However, it is later revealed
that the purchase was actually a chess set.
When we see Beth and her mother arrive at the hotel
at the beginning of episode three, we see
that she did purchase the shoes for herself after all.
She wears the saddle shoes with white bobby socks,
which are folded over just above the ankle.
- [Narrator] Finally, her hair and makeup.
- At this point, she is fresh faced
and pretty much makeup free, which helps to establish this
as the beginning of her beauty journey.
Beth sports a short, page boy hairstyle with micro bangs.
It is not a fashionable hairstyle,
and it is meant to make her look young
and not particularly in touch with the latest beauty trends.
If she were, she may have opted
for a more voluminous hairstyle with softer bangs.
She may have also accessorized
with a headband or a barrette.
Overall, this is an accurate character-driven costume.
- [Narrator] So here's what Beth would have looked like.
Let's move on to Beth's next look.
- This look appears in episodes one and six,
which take place in Paris in 1967.
When Beth arrives in the fashion capital,
she finally has access to the most up-to-date styles.
This dress was likely purchased on Beth's shopping trip
before her match with Borgov.
The boutique she walks out of is a fictional one,
and Maison Bonnet, which is written on the side
of the large shopping bag, is actually an eyeglass store.
This is the first look we see
at the very beginning of the series
before we do the flashback to Beth's childhood.
When we see it again in episode six,
we understand the reason
for the seemingly haphazard nature of this look.
Her much-anticipated face off
with Russian Grandmaster Borgov is derailed
by a wild night of drinking,
which causes her to lose the match.
Costume designer Gabriele Binder sights the work
of Pierre Cardin as the inspiration for this look.
However, there are specific design features
that make this costume particularly fitting
for this pivotal scene.
- [Narrator] Now we're going
to draw every layer of this look.
First up, the undergarments.
- For this look, she would be wearing the same white bra
and cotton panties.
This important match would have been an occasion
where it would be appropriate for her
to wear tights or pantyhose.
However, we know that she got dressed in a hurry,
and perhaps didn't have the wherewithal to put them on.
If she were wearing pantyhose, they could be dark
and textured in the style made popular by Pierre Cardin.
- [Narrator] And then the next layer.
- A loose-fitting full slip would be a smoothing layer
and maintain the boxy silhouette of the dress.
It is also plausible that Beth could be wearing a half-slip,
as she does at other points in the series.
- [Narrator] Next up, the dress.
- This design was inspired by the work
of Parisian designer Pierre Cardin,
who created modernist garments with a space age aesthetic.
His color block mini dresses were usually constructed
from heavier wool or synthetic double knits
which allowed the trapeze or A-line silhouette
to stand away from the body.
Gabriele Binder intentionally had this costume constructed
out of a fabric that was too light in weight
to support the garment's silhouette.
She chose a creped viscose that flowed with Beth's body
and accentuated her movements
as she frantically rushed through the hotel.
In the last two episodes of the season,
several of Beth's costumes look to be direct references
to garments by prominent designers at the time.
These include this dress, which also looks to be inspired
by the work of Pierre Cardin.
And this one, which is very similar to one by John Bates,
adapted from a costume he designed for Diana Rigg
on the popular television show "The Avengers."
One especially significant aspect
about this dress is its color,
which is a pale shade of green that is repeated
at different moments throughout the series.
When she arrives at the orphanage in the first episode,
she's wearing a pale green dress embroidered by her mother.
She wears this color again in the final episode
for her rematch with Borgov.
In this case, the light color helps her stand out
against the dark tones of the room
in which the Russian tournament is taking place,
but this same color helps her blend into the interiors
of the orphanage in episode one.
Here we see a bit of color theory at play.
The distinctive shade of what became known
as hospital green first appeared around 1914,
and by the mid-20th century this color was ubiquitous
at hospitals and asylums.
This green was thought to influence patient moods
and inspire serenity of mind.
The two-tone design of this particular dress
also mirrors the two-tone green of the tranquilizer pills
to which Beth becomes addicted.
One last thing to note about this dress
is the bow at the chest.
Beth's costumes always convey her innate femininity,
but the show's creators took care that it was never used
to her advantage in gameplay.
- [Narrator] And then the shoes.
- She runs through the hotel barefoot,
and we see her slip on a pair of shoes
just before she enters the room
where the tournament is taking place.
Beth wears low heeled black pumps that coordinate
with the black accents on her dress.
They appear to be slingbacks, but she could also
be wearing a youthful t-strap variation.
- [Narrator] That brings us to Beth's hair.
- The show's hair and makeup designer, Daniel Parker,
cites Natalie Wood as the source of inspiration
for Beth's look with the softly swooped bangs
and the curled ends.
This is a style that would be typically achieved
with an overnight roller set,
which Beth obviously did not do on this occasion.
At one point in the series,
we see her styling her hair by blow drying it,
and this would not likely produce the same results
as we see on screen.
- [Narrator] Lastly, her makeup.
- Beth's makeup evolves as her character matures
throughout the series.
Here it mainly consists of winged eyeliner
and pink lipstick.
This is a more subdued version of 1960s mod makeup trends,
especially in comparison to her Mariska Veres-inspired
floating eyeliner look from the depth
of her destructive spiral when she returns from Paris.
Aside from the fabric, this look is pretty accurate,
although she does look remarkably put together
given the circumstances.
- [Narrator] So this is what Beth would have looked like.
Next up, let's take a look at her white queen ensemble.
- This look appears in episode seven,
which takes place in Moscow in 1968.
This is the final look of the series,
which is meant to resemble the white queen chess piece.
It marks a symbolic end to her journey
to conquer the chess world as well as her personal demons.
This look is inspired by the work of Andre Courreges,
who was a significant designer
in the space age fashion movement
which saw the rise of futuristic styles
that coincided with the Apollo space program,
all leading up to the moon landing in 1969.
Courreges was especially known for his sleek,
all-white tailored ensembles.
The costume designer has cited French singer-songwriter
Francoise Hardy, a frequent client of Courreges,
as the point of inspiration for Beth.
- [Narrator] Let's break this look down layer by layer.
First up, undergarments.
- Once again, Beth's undergarments would consist
of a bra and a pair of panties.
By the late 1960s, underwear had evolved
into a style more akin to a hip hugger,
which did not extend all the way up to the natural waist.
By 1968, colorful and printed textiles
became more common in lingerie.
- [Narrator] Let's move on to the next layer.
- Beth wears a long-sleeved, black turtleneck sweater.
She wears similar sweaters throughout the series
with slight variations in sleeve length and color.
This garment hints at the era's edgier art scene
as well as the rising counterculture.
The black turtleneck became associated
with a beatnik subculture in the previous decade,
and it became especially fashionable following the release
of the 1957 film, "Funny Face," starring Audrey Hepburn.
- [Narrator] And then the pants.
- Beth wears a pair of straight leg, white trousers
with a crisp crease pressed down the center of each leg.
These are just one aspect of the look
that references the work of Andre Courreges,
who is known in the fashion world
for his futuristic white pantsuits.
The decision to put Beth in pants at this moment
could be symbolic of her triumph as a young woman
in what was a male-dominated sport.
- [Narrator] Next up, the shoes.
- This style of leather ankle boot was particularly
fashionable in the mid to late 1960s.
Flat, white ankle boots with a square toe
were the quintessential accessory
to any Courreges ensemble.
- [Narrator] And then the coat.
- Beth's knee-length white coat is made
from a thick cashmere wool and features a stand collar.
We see that it has a snap closure
with three large decorative buttons at the center front.
A tie belt cinches the waist at the center back,
but allows the front to flow away from the body
in accordance with the fashionable silhouette of the era.
This is just one of several coats worn by Beth
throughout the series that look to be directly inspired
by Courreges coats dating to exactly 1967 and 1968.
The little black dress she wears for one of her matches
in Russia is actually a vintage Courreges piece,
so it is reasonable to assume that she visited his salon
while shopping in Paris the previous year.
- [Narrator] Next, her hair and makeup.
- When Beth arrives in Moscow, her driver comments
that she looks like Ann-Margret.
- [Driver] You look a whole lot like Ann-Margret.
- Throughout the tournament in Russia,
she wears a hairstyle that is similar to that
of the movie star, with the side part,
soft waves and curled ends.
For this final scene the hair and makeup designer
helped bring focus to Beth's face
against the all-white ensemble
by concentrating all of the color
on her red hair and her rich, red lipstick.
- [Narrator] Finally, her accessories.
- Beth's white hat completes her transformation
into the white queen chest piece.
It is a sculptural domed variation on a beret
with a large pom-pom and made from a felted wool
similar to that of her coat.
Berets made a huge comeback with the 1967 film
"Bonnie and Clyde" in which Faye Dunaway
played Bonnie Parker and became an instant style icon.
Beth's variation incorporates mod and space age elements
with a touch of fantasy to help transform her
into the silhouette of a chest piece.
Beth wears short, white leather gloves,
another signature Courreges accessory, but she removes them
at the final moment when she sits down
to play the last game of chess in the series.
- [Narrator] So this is what Beth would have looked like,
a near perfect match.
Any final thoughts?
- As we can see, the costumes of the show
are richly embedded with meaning
as well as visual connections to the game of chess.
As with any coming of age story,
costumes play an integral role
in illustrating character development
in "The Queen's Gambit."
[bright piano music]