Leslie Kavanagh (‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ costume designer) on how Fred’s funeral had to be ‘a real showstopper’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
One of the most iconic moments in the history of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” took place in the second episode of Season 5, when Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) returned to Gilead to host the funeral for her late husband, Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes). As the show’s new costume designer Leslie Kavanagh explains in Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts panel, the funeral had to be “a real showstopper” because of what it meant for Gilead as a burgeoning nation. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Kavanagh reveals, “At the time when when shot the funeral it was the biggest undertaking of all of the seasons of the show, for the sheer amount of numbers of background and cast that were in full Gilead attire from head to toe. So that was a big challenge for us in the costume department, dressing everybody.”
The department head goes on to say, “The inspiration there was, how do we make this a real pomp and circumstance ceremony, because this is where Gilead is putting themselves on show for all the world to see, and where they’re really trying to sell that they are this great nation. So it had to be a real showstopper and it had to have a lot of extra kibbles and bits on everything, which was really fun to do.”
Switching gears to Serena’s “midnight teal silk velvet” funeral dress, Kavanagh declares, “The whole reason she goes back for this funeral is to emphasize or hope that she’s got power because she is pregnant with the Commander’s baby. She’s sort of making some power moves for herself, so I really needed all attention to be on her as a grieving widow. How will she receive sympathy from people watching, but also make power moves?”
Did Kavanagh feel any pressure joining a show like “The Handmaid’s Tale” that has such an instantly recognizable costume aesthetic? “When you come in already in a show that’s been established, there’s always those feelings of, ‘What can I do? What can I bring to the table?'” she tells us. “And the thing for me that was really fun and exciting is that the show has gone in a slightly different trajectory where June Osborne’s [Elisabeth Moss] journey has taken her into the free world of Canada. It was a really great opportunity to be able to explore what is her character now and her storyline … So who is June and how have all of her traumas and experiences informed her choices to bring her into what she is now in Toronto? It was really quite an honor in some ways.”
Kavanagh notes how the show’s original costume designer, Ane Crabtree, “really set the tone and the flavor and the feeling for these iconic looks. And I really embraced the challenge of, how can I work with what has been established, but also push the boundaries a little bit to put my own stamp on it?” The Season 5 finale streams November 9 on Hulu.
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