Say what you will about The Witcher (and don’t forget to toss him a coin); it’s hard to argue with the quality of the costumes. It’s a testament to the costume design that even though Henry Cavill played one of the most recognizable superheroes of all time (Superman), all you see is Geralt of Rivia in his portrayal.
The dark leather armor with its intricate patterns, the straps, and buckles that give it a medieval feel – all of that works together to create a dreary atmosphere meant to pull the viewer into Geralt’s world. There’s a reason everything works so well, and that reason is costume designer Lucinda Wright.
Wright, who’s been in the industry since the ’90 and designed costumes, is a true perfectionist. She previously designed costumes for Doctor Who, and she’s hit a real stride with The Witcher. She recently spoke about what makes the costumes work, and how she uses them to tell the show’s story.
Wright came in after the first season, so she was very aware of the fact that things needed to look continuous.
“There had been a season before and I obviously sat down and watched it all because I didn’t want it to look like another designer just came in,” she said. Working with production designer Andrew Laws was also important; he’s been with the production for both seasons. The golden rule is that “sets and costumes should marry together and complement each other.”
Cavill is famously obsessed with the lore and details of how Geralt should be perceived, so Wright said she spoke with him in-depth about Geralt’s look and how to handle it.
“When I first met Henry, we sat down together, and he talked me through all the armor of the first series: what has been good, what’s not been good. Between the two of us, we worked on this for months to get it right. And it was great because he cares so much about it. That’s really refreshing with an actor.”
For example, Wright said that you don’t really want to notice the costumes, but some are going to be statements regardless. This was the case with Geralt’s warrior gear.
“I wanted to keep the studded look of the first season,” Wright said. “But I wanted it to be more fluid and more like a second skin and go with Henry’s body, so that he could move because he’s a killing machine.”
Another noticeable outfit is the bard Jaskier’s amazing red jacket. It actually looks kind of like his video game outfit. Was this intentional? Apparently, it was not.
“I never ever looked at the game. I purposefully didn’t. I would sit there with Lauren, I’d say is this character anywhere near it? And she would look [at the designs] and say yes or no.” As Jaskier points out to Yennefer “I’m an artist” and the attire definitely reflects his creative larger-than-life attitude.
There are a number of cool insights like this from Wright about other characters as well, so the whole thing is worth a read.
The second season of The Witcher is streaming now on Netflix.
Published: Dec 23, 2021 08:20 pm