Jolie Andreatta & Sara Rafferty by Meghan Markle.

Jolie Andreatta & Sara Rafferty by Meghan Markle.

Suits is one of the most stylish shows on TV and all that is thanks to costume designer Jolie Andretta, who is back working on the second season of the show.

We caught up with her to chat about how the characters would be looking this time around and what lies ahead.

- Suits Season 2 is about to be released on DVD and you are back designing the costumes so what changes are we going to see with the way that the main character dress this time around?

I think we are just tying to up the game as much as possible and use as much fashion forward pieces for a work environment as we can.

- How much do you draw on current trends when dressing the characters for the series? Or do you very much try to create your own style?

I love to cross market with fashion as much as possible but I do stay loyal to the look of the show and the characters. I will use anything and everything that I can find to create that look (laughs).

So I would say that it is a blend between what is happening in fashion and what is true to the characters. But I do really like the characters to be fashion forward seeing as they are in an environment of wealth.

- You joined Suits season 1 half way through the series so what was it like being there from the beginning of season two and really being able to develop the costumes for this series?

It was really an open map, especially for the women because they weren’t really developed much and I always felt that to show a man’s wealth you show it through the women.

So I was able to really push forward on creating on strong style for the women - I think that is what I really enjoyed the most. But then I made the men a lot more romantic.

- You have slightly touched on my next question as the female characters just look fantastic so how do find the balance between what is work appropriate and yet what looks stylish?

Oh I can push the limits sometimes (laughs) and I am told to pull it back - not very often as they trust me, which is brilliant.

I think that it is also the partnership with the actresses themselves and how they wear things that really helps balance pushing the limits. It is really important how they carry the clothes.

- Gabriel Macht and Patrick J Adams take on the central characters Harvey and Mike but they do spend most of their time dress in suits - which I imagine can be quite limiting at times. So how have you been able to give these characters their own individual style - without them simply being a man in a suit?

I think it does really come down to their personalities. Gabriel is truly such a romantic guy and he really carries himself elegantly. So with him it is more about textures and framing him up so it is not distracting from his look.

So we work with a lot of different textures and getting variety in there. We are starting to but a couple of other details in there such and tie clips - you will see more and more accessories on the men this year.

Then with Patrick, who plays Mike, he is much more like a Burberry character so he is fun, spunky, and young. He doesn’t come from wealth but he is developing that and he is really becoming very conscious as an actor and a character about what he wears.

So it is really in the cut with him to create that slender, long and lean Burberry. We love Burberry by the way (laughs).

And I have to talk about the character of Louis he is definitely more of the dandy type and so he can pull off a lot more colour. He is the comic relief in the series and so we can do a lot more with him.

We have also got some great British actors with us such as Conleth Hill, Michelle Fairley and Max Beesley - they are all from your side of the pond and we love having the British influence on the show.

We are using a lot more Savile Row combinations, which is really great for the men. I think it really changes up the men’s wardrobe.

- Many of the cast say that you are able to convey the personalities through the costumes so how do you achieve this?

Just working with them closely and getting to know their personalities is key. With actors in general you can create a fabulous style per show but you have a real gift with their personalities as they really bring the clothes to life.

- How much of a collaboration process is it with the actors? Do they thrown in their own ideas for what they think their character should be wearing?

We have got to the point where they are more than welcome to throw ideas and concepts and I will make them work for the character.

But to tell you the truth they are getting pretty comfortable with letting me to put them into almost anything (laughs). I am so insanely lucky with the trust level.

But there is plenty of room for them to come in and push the boundaries or bring them back in as their influence and input really is invaluable.

- How much do the directors have a say?

There really is such trust. Every once and a while they will make a request for a certain colour. The episode we are on just not the director came down and he was starting to talk about one scene and I showed him what we were going to use and he was like ‘oh my god I really wanted colour’.

So we do try to keep ahead as much as possible on things like that. Ninety per cent of the time they will go with whatever turns up on set (laughs).

We do have concept meetings and production meetings so I do get their information ahead of time so if they do have any requests we can work on that.

- It there any cast member/character that you have particularly enjoyed working on in season 2 because we see their style change so dramatically?

I just love Gina Torres as anything and everything put on her looks fantastic. We have a really nice collaboration and she is really the one that really pushes the style the most - that really balances all the other people.

There is just that particular layer that pushes the look of the show forward. Also she just wears clothes insanely well, I couldn’t ask for anything better. But I do have to say that all the cast are wonderful.

- Finally what is next for you?

I have designed a sweater line, it is something I do between the shows, and I also have a jewellery line. And we will be getting out there sooner than later and I am just looking to push forward on that.

Suits Season 2 DVD is out now.


by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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