Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton talks about Season 7 costumes and symbolism

It’s been over a year since Game of Thrones Season 6 ended, and the wait has been excruciating. Season 7 is two weeks away now, and the hype is at an all time high. While we are desperately trying to find ways to get through the last bit of wait before the season drops, cast and crew interviews are coming out at a pace that seems to be tweaked to keep the fandom satisfied. A new interview has Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton discuss the symbolism behind the costumes on the show, and what’s in store this season. Read on!

Speaking to INSIDER, Michelle Clapton spoke about her Game of Thrones costumes, the symbolism attached to to them, and what’s new for Season 7. She said :

“I love the details. Some people say, ‘Well, why don’t you make it more obvious,’ but that’s the joy of ‘Game of Thrones’ — you have to search things out.”

As you might have noticed from the Season 7 photos, both Cersei Lannister, the Queen, and Daenerys Targaryen, who wants to be the queen, have new costumes, which come in black and silver. Michelle was asked about this very thing, and she said :

“Well, we’ve had six seasons so far where we’ve explored different areas and it’s coming down to the crux now. And actually with Dany, subliminally it’s monochrome but there’s actually red there — a little bit of her house colors coming in finally.

And it’s coming to a point [where] everything is almost polarized. So I love the idea of all the women, and actually everything, is almost mono-chromed. It’s about winning the throne, all the challenges they have, the threats from over the wall, everything. Each of the women’s costumes have all become quite dark but there’s details within each of them that are incredibly important.”

She talked about Daenerys’ costume in more detail :

“You know Dany is now moved from the heat of [Meereen] and she’s come north, so we obviously see her covered much more than we’re used to. And then her army is the Unsullied, so we’re trying to blend it all in and make them become a force.

With Dany especially, people used to say, “Well, why doesn’t she wear red?” Now you do finally start seeing it creeping in through the scaling and embroidery on her dresses. It’s just a touch. And she now has this fantastic new chain we’ve created. I didn’t want her to have a crown, I wanted her to have a chain. And she has a red sash hanging from it, which is slightly scaled and pleated as well.”

She went on to talk about how Dany hasn’t gotten a crown yet, simply because she’s not a queen yet :

“Well, she’s not the queen yet. You can’t have a crown until you are queen. You can have the chain, but until you get the throne you’re not queen. I liked that she’s wearing everything she can to show her status but she can’t wear the crown because it’d be wearing it before it was due.”

She then discussed Cersei’s new look, and explained how it matched her current situation :

“With Cersei, at this point, she’s attained the throne and there’s a strength in her embroidery. It’s actually quite ornate and over the top and that’s a precursor in a funny way — it’s the last gasp before something else, in my sense. It’s a weird flamboyance, but it’s quite hard as well.

And we’ve also shortened her dress so it makes her less vulnerable. She can move and she can be a little bit like Dany in a way, because it’s not quite as restrictive. [Cersei] always had strong collars and strong shoulders, so I thought this [dress] should take it the furthest I can take it before it’s not there.”

Clapton finished up with a statement that pretty much explains all the costume changes you will see in Season 7 of Game of Thrones :

“From the brittleness of the glass on Cersei and the metal rings on Dany and the way that now others are wearing things to show their allegiance. We try to be really symbolic about everything everyone wears now.”

What do you think about the new costumes? Talk to us in the comments, down below!

 

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