The "collaboration between cast and costume designer is where the magic happens," costume designer Dana Covarrubias told POPSUGAR of her work, outfitting Steve Martin [1], Martin Short, and Selena Gomez [2] in Hulu's new murder-mystery comedy, Only Murders in the Building [3]. "There's always a moment in the fitting where you get to see how your costumes are helping to transform the actor into the character they're becoming." That's the part we see play out onscreen as we watch Selena as Mabel Mora, Steve Martin as Charles Haden-Savage, Martin Short as Oliver Putnam, swathed in the looks carefully crafted by Dana — and rooted in the script. How she set about dressing Selena as Mabel [4] was guided by the cues there, she told us, "My first influence is always the script. Mabel, Selena's character, is scripted as a tough, no-nonsense single-woman living in NYC, but that's kind of all you know about her." Still that leaves plenty of room to play with the characters' looks and to build each of their respective identities with visual cues. "I thought about how I might be able to reflect that mystery element in each of the main character's looks. What are these characters hiding or trying to project and how are they using their clothing to do this? Charles (Steve Martin) uses clothing as a comfort, Oliver (Martin Short) uses clothing as a performance, and Mabel, Selena's character, uses her clothing as armor."
With that in mind, Dana then moved to the real world to flesh out the look: "After gleaning what info I can from the scripts, I take it to the streets. I go to where Mabel, Selena's character, would hang out (in my mind this was Brooklyn and Downtown Manhattan) and I people watch. I try to look for unique combinations that I haven't seen before. I try to find real people who are 'Mabels' and recreate these looks with my shopping and thrifting." In that way, Dana used both the written, carefully crafted identities of each of the characters to guide her while allowing those identities to grow and to take shape, both from what inspired her on the streets, and what inspiration each actor brought to their fittings. In Martin Short's case, the inspiration was quite specific: "[Martin Short's] character needed to be flamboyant — a performer at heart — but also grounded and not too over the top. We decided that Oliver was obsessed with Timothée Chalamet [5] — that's something that no one would ever notice or think about when watching the show, but just something that Marty and I came up with that we thought was hilarious and appropriate for his character. We would hold each piece up at fitting and say 'Hmmm . . . do you think Timothée would wear this?'" Now, I can't help watching the series and asking myself the same question. In fact, as Dana shared the insights behind the costumes and her craft, the show and its wardrobe take on new meaning — like the cultural connection between Mabel and her colourful coat collection.
Inside, there's more from Dana on the significance of crafting each of these onscreen identities and the details of how she did it. Read on for our full interview.
POPSUGAR: Where did you find the inspiration for Mabel's wardrobe—it's obviously very current, but also not totally tied up in trends or too trend forward — how would you describe her style?
Dana Covarrubias: Similar to how some animals use bright colours as a warning signal or hard exoskeletons to protect themselves from predators- Mabel is using her teddy coats, bright faux furs, and combat boots as protective armor and a warning saying: "Don't mess with me". As the season progresses she begins to drop her guard and her costumes soften and simplify. Mabel at her core is an artist, a painter, and a knitter. I wanted to balance her tough exterior with her more artistic side. We incorporated some soft, loose knits into her costumes, cosy paint-splattered coveralls, and drapey bohemian kimonos, but she would still pair these with a heavy, treaded boot (again a kind of armor). Like Selena and her character Mabel, I am also half-Mexican and I wanted to somehow represent that heritage in Mabel's costumes. I decided to use the Marigold as the core inspiration from which to draw this cultural connection. Marigolds play a significant role in Mexican culture and iconography- representing grief and resurrection as well as passion and creativity- which was perfect for Mabel. She's haunted by her past, held back by her grief, and hoping to resurrect into something new. Selena also looks amazing in the colour marigold! A lot of her colour palette came from that inspiration. I had a wide range of other references: from the classic noir mystery Double Indemnity, to Hitchcock's Rear Window, to the cover art from mystery book series The Hardy Boys, Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew. I also referenced cult comedy films like Clue, The Big Lebowskik, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, So I Married An Axe Murderer, and Fargo.
PS: What brands did you pull from most for Selena's character? Is there anything special she or any of the characters wore and kept?
DC: Puma sneakers, Sies Marjan coats, Frankie Shop suiting, Stella McCartney boots, Doc Martens boots, Lotuff Leather for her hero black backpack, Rellery for her necklaces, Sheertex for her tights, Proenza Schouler boots, Rebecca Turbow for belts. Our go-to places to shop for Selena were Outnet.com, Realreal.com, &Other Stories, Aritzia and various Brooklyn thrift shops (Beacon's Closet is my usual favourite). I thought that these were all places that Mabel would actually shop. I didn't want to go too high end though, because that wouldn't be true to her character. We tried to shop second-hand as much as possible.
I found a beautiful distressed vintage denim coverall that Selena wears in the scenes when she is creating the mural in her aunt's apartment. Our very talented Ager/Dyer Kyle O'Connor then distressed it further, adding paint splatter and other art-related stains to them — to make them look like her go-to outfit for when she's creating her art. Selena loved these and she took them home with her when the show wrapped.
PS: What's your favourite look in the show and why?
DC: I think my favourite would have to be Selena's look from Episode 4 — the look that she wears when she goes to meet Tina Fey [6]'s character. It's an oxblood vinyl trench from ASOS worn over a beautifully tailored vest and matching trouser from The Frankie Shop, paired with a chic white turtleneck from &Other Stories and a creamy pointed-toe Simon Miller boot. The look is very 70's badass detective. I love how it feels very modern and very classic at the same time. This was the aesthetic we wanted for the entire show.
PS: What was the collaboration between the cast like? How did the actors help to shape their character's looks with you?
DC: All the actors on Only Murders In the Building [7] were highly collaborative. Selena really trusted my team, giving us a lot of freedom with Mabel's looks but we also used a lot of her personal style as inspiration for her looks. Steve's personal style was also the basis for Charles' looks. In my first meeting with Steve we discussed all his favourite brands and we used a lot of those for Charles- Paul Smith, Isaia, Cole Haan, and Zegna. We also had his shirts custom made by Anto Beverly Hills, who has been making Steve shirts since The Jerk. Marty and I had so many discussions about how to achieve the right tone for his character Oliver's looks. His character needed to be flamboyant — a performer at heart — but also grounded and not too over the top.
![PS: As you crafted each of the central characters, what pieces become essential to their looks? What piece defines each of their unique styles?
DC: [For] Steve's hero costume piece, his stingy-brim fedoras because they connect him to the Brazzos silhouette of his past — which gives him a sense of continuity and stability, and also because they help shield him from the world.
[For] Marty, his scarves, because they add movement and theatricality. They're like the theatre curtains on the proscenium of his costumes.
[For] Selena, her black Lotuff Leather backpack. A NYC girl needs to have her hands free so she can grab a subway pole, hold her phone and eat a street taco at the same time, or defend herself against an attacker — or be the attacker — if necessary.](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/JFA88rkd34ziVchh81dmcRklmvo/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2021/09/07/800/n/1922564/e2e8784bc4e27931_oms1_101_cb-2653rt/i/PS-As-you-crafted-each-central-characters-what-pieces-become.jpg "PS: As you crafted each of the central characters, what pieces become essential to their looks? What piece defines each of their unique styles?
DC: [For] Steve's hero costume piece, his stingy-brim fedoras because they connect him to the Brazzos silhouette of his past — which gives him a sense of continuity and stability, and also because they help shield him from the world.
[For] Marty, his scarves, because they add movement and theatricality. They're like the theatre curtains on the proscenium of his costumes.
[For] Selena, her black Lotuff Leather backpack. A NYC girl needs to have her hands free so she can grab a subway pole, hold her phone and eat a street taco at the same time, or defend herself against an attacker — or be the attacker — if necessary.")
PS: As you crafted each of the central characters, what pieces become essential to their looks? What piece defines each of their unique styles?
DC: [For] Steve's hero costume piece, his stingy-brim fedoras because they connect him to the Brazzos silhouette of his past — which gives him a sense of continuity and stability, and also because they help shield him from the world.
[For] Marty, his scarves, because they add movement and theatricality. They're like the theatre curtains on the proscenium of his costumes.
[For] Selena, her black Lotuff Leather backpack. A NYC girl needs to have her hands free so she can grab a subway pole, hold her phone and eat a street taco at the same time, or defend herself against an attacker — or be the attacker — if necessary.