In the opening scene of the new series of And Just Like That . . ., Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw sits at her desk scrawling a heart on a postcard. Lending the moment a Carrie-esque sense of drama is her outfit: a blush tulle dress with rose-stuffed pockets from Simone Rocha’s spring/summer 2024 collection. Postcard complete, Carrie pulls on the coordinating parka to sweep down her grand staircase and out into another New York day.
That ensemble didn’t make it into Carrie’s wardrobe by accident. It was selected for her last year, when Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago, costume designers for the Sex and the City spin-off, made a sourcing trip to London. Rewind to February 2024 and I’m shadowing them for a day of costume hunting which takes in the Simone Rocha store on London’s Mount Street, where they spotted their series-opening dress. “Look how pretty that is,” Rogers coos as Odette Rocha, the designer’s business partner and mother, lifts the dress from a mannequin in the shop window. “We’ve got to show that to Sarah Jessica.”
Rogers and Santiago are on a mission: 10 days of designer appointments, fashion shows, store visits and vintage shopping — all in the name of sourcing the most fabulous costumes for series three of AJLT, airing now on Max and Sky Comedy. They scheduled this shopping odyssey to coincide with Parker’s run in the West End revival of Plaza Suite. Towards the end of the trip, Parker — or SJ, as they call her — will try everything on in a marathon fitting and offer her verdict.
Never mind that no one’s seen a single page of a script (none exists yet). “We know these characters so well, and we have a sense of the story of the season,” Santiago says. Rogers nods. “There’s a new closet, for one thing. Carrie has left a very beloved apartment and she has fancy digs on Gramercy Park, and they’re beautiful and she can afford it. So we can push the fashion even more.”
Rogers and Santiago are steeped in the SATC fashion universe. She worked on costumes under her mentor Patricia Field for the full run of Sex and the City and subsequent spin-off films; he was also part of the costume department for the movies. “It’s amazing to get to carry on the legacy of the original show,” Rogers says. “There’s a high bar of expectations we have to meet. We want to fulfil the viewer’s fantasy when they tune in.”
In AJLT as in SATC before it, fashion is a main character. Viewers who have known Carrie and co for almost three decades watch to see what they’ll wear next. Others press play prepared to criticise the fashion as unrealistic or outrageous, or a caricature of what real New York women wear. Rogers bristles at questions about where an apartment dweller would store all those gowns and shoes. “We’re not making a documentary. Suspend disbelief!”
“People are so attached to the characters that they’re very protective,” Santiago adds. “They have their own strong ideas about what that character should be wearing.”
Scouting clothes with the duo offers insight into the power of the show for fashion brands. At Jenny Packham’s store, also on Mount Street, senior staffers greet us with air kisses and champagne.
They browse with kid-in-a-candy-shop glee. Rogers gravitates towards a rail of beaded capes because “things like that are so pretty walking down the street at night in New York. I’m going to take a picture to remember this little twirler,” she says. To make formal pieces more Carrie: “It’s all about the mix. That’s what the show is known for — mixing and matching a beaded cape with, like, a pair of shorts.”
To plan their trip, Santiago and Rogers compiled a list of must-see designers and vintage dealers. They asked Instagram followers for recommendations. Then the fashion-show invitations rolled in (their visit took place over London Fashion Week).
Their itinerary for London is demanding — six appointments today alone. Still, they allow space for serendipitous browsing, and vintage has been a particular focus. “That’s where the treasures are.” The day before we met, they filled “tray after tray” with vintage and contemporary costume jewellery at The Hirst Collection in Notting Hill. The find of the day was a set of three sheep brooches in white, black and grey seed pearls. “So innocent and quirky on a little wool sweater,” Rogers says.
Back on Mount Street, Santiago leads the way into the Gina store. They don’t have an appointment and don’t announce their business. It only takes a few overheard mentions of the names Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda for sales associates to get the picture. Rogers tries on a pair of orange crystal-encrusted heels (“She tries the shoes, I try the hats,” Santiago says). “Look at those — they’re on fire!” Another pair she deems “a pretty shoe, but not tall enough for Kristin [Davis]”. They leave after taking details about how to special order the shoes they like with higher heels.
Rogers and Santiago decline to go into specifics about the costume budget, but “we have a television budget — we’re very conscious of what we’re doing,” she says. They borrow “the big stuff” (including ball gowns, runway samples and luxury handbags, many of which are on loan from resale site Fashionphile) and reserve their budget for vintage and items that really count. And they relish a deal — some of their best finds come from Neiman Marcus Last Call at Sawgrass Mills, the Florida outlet mall. Rogers adds, “Not only are we fiscally responsible, but we’re also creative.”
The next stop is the Belgravia showroom for Delos, a resort wear brand. Rogers wafts a hanger bearing a shibori-dyed emerald and sapphire silk pyjama set back and forth. “If there’s a moment where someone who spends a lot of time in bed is in this and we wanted a matching headscarf, could we get that made?”
Santiago and Rogers get a kick out of adding lesser- or unknown brands into the mix. “That’s part of the fun,” he says. “It’s always great when people can’t put their finger on what they’re wearing. We love to build in little surprises.” They also like to give emerging talent a platform — one of the reasons they enjoyed meeting designer Patrick McDowell (more than a year before he won the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design).
Five months later in mid-July, production is in full swing at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York. The costume department and its 30 staffers command a vast air-conditioned space filled with clothes, accessories, a fitting area, offices and a tailor shop. By now they’ve shot the opening scene in the Simone Rocha dress. “That really set the tone for this season,” Rogers says.
In a separate room for Parker’s costumes, Santiago shares some of his favourite finds from London: a strapless Erdem dress hand-painted in a custom blue colourway, a piece or two from the Vivienne Westwood auction at Christie’s . . . Four tutus hang from a ceiling-height rail. And there’s a corsage wall. Carrie wouldn’t have it any other way.
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