How Apple TV+’s Palm Royale season 2 uses funny, feminist fashion as a storytelling device
From vintage frocks to turbans, costumes worn by Kristen Wiig and others in the 1960s-set high-society drama are more than just eye candy
When Kristen Wiig steps out of a vintage Rolls-Royce in the opening scene of season two of Palm Royale, she is sporting a tall, yellow, fringed hat, gold platform sandals and sunny bell-bottoms, with fabric petals that sway with every determined step.
It is the first clue that the costumes on the female-driven comedy are taking centre stage.
The Apple TV+ show made a splash in its first season with the starry cast, high production values and ubiquitous grasshopper cocktails.
For season two, Emmy-winning costume designer Alix Friedberg says she and her team coordinated “thousands” of looks that reflected the characters’ jet-setting style. She says 50 to 60 per cent of the brightly coloured and graphic-print costumes are original vintage designer pieces, sourced by shoppers and costume designers.
“The looks are so iconic. Sometimes Kristen will walk in in something, and it brings tears to my eyes,” says Kaia Gerber, who plays Mitzi.