Now that the Max limited series The Penguin is over, we feel it’s time to explore the show’s wardrobe, with or without latex couture involved. A grittier realization of a Batman/Gotham City spinoff has probably not been seen, and the clothes, as much as the story, tell the tale.
While surely there are some great outfits worn throughout the eight episodes by a wide range of characters, it’s Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb, and Cristin Milioti’s Sofia Falcone who enjoy the best fashion moments. Costume designer Helen Huang claims she came armed with vintage clothes for both (70% of the costumes are vintage), while still creating some bespoke items as the series progressed. As both main characters enjoy/endure a great arc across the scant eight episodes, lots had to be revealed, albeit subtly, under Huang’s influence. She also said the series’ creators referenced movies like the French Connection and Scarface, and as we all know there is no mistaking Gotham City for a stand-in for Manhattan. Huang referenced these films as much as famed New York street photographers like Jamel Shabazz and Richard Sandler for the look she was after.
The Penguin (and to be sure, Oz Cobb is only called by his famous nickname a few times during the run) walks distinctively because of a physical restriction that requires him to wear a leg brace. This surely affects and influences his costumes. Huang admitted that she had to make Farrell’s pants wider, which in turn balanced out to a narrow triangle-shaped silhouette for the character she was always working towards. He tends, though, towards some surely classy pieces, with a splash of color; purple being his favorite.
Milioti’s magnetic Sofia Falcone begins in very feminine, soft vintage pieces, akin to Edi Sedgwick’s look specifically, but her clothing changes as she slowly takes over her ex-crime family’s empire. By the middle of the series, what she wears takes on more texture and the colors she wears change. By the end, she is wearing Vivienne Westwood and surely amazing shoes that could easily be featured at any high-end latex fashion fetish party.
Surely, not just the clothes make the man, woman or Max series. But what Helen Huang managed with her wardrobe choices in The Penguin helps to make the show a new classic.
