“Loot” on Apple TV Plus stars Maya Rudolph as Molly Wells, who becomes one of the richest women in the world after divorcing her billionaire cheating husband, John Novak (Adam Scott). For costume designer Kirston Leigh Mann, who’s worked with Rudolph before on projects like “The Good Place” and “Up All Night,” the show is a “10 out of 10” on the fun scale. “Maya is amazing and she’s brave and she’s fashionable, so that makes it fun to design for somebody who’s walked into new money,” Mann reveals in Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts panel. Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Molly “likes to stand out” from all of those around her, Mann confirms. “We wanted to say that designers were in touch with her, people sent her things, and she is like a flower and she’s having fun with fashion the whole time.” She adds, “When she was married to John, maybe her life was a bit dull and she found pleasure and color in fashion. I definitely wanted to tease apart east coast wealth vs. west coast wealth, new money vs. old money.”
In the pilot, Rudolph’s character is wearing a stunning emerald green-and-blue dress that shimmers on the screen. “That Halston dress, I love that dress,” Mann smiles. “It was perfect for walking through that huge house in Los Angeles. There’s so many blank spaces and for her to walk through, that was like the sky and the ocean going through this house on the hill.”
Personally speaking, Mann’s favorite look for Molly from “Loot” Season 1 was the La DoubleJ white floral number she wore on the plane to Miami in the second episode. As she explains, “Maya was the only person I know brave enough to wear it, and wear it head-to-toe during our fitting. I said, ‘You don’t have to wear the whole thing together,’ and Maya’s like, ‘Let’s try it!’ And we went as far as having the matching handbag.”
Episode 6 featured a challenge in that all of the main characters appeared on stage together at the awards show gala, each decked out in their own different styles. “I’m very lucky that the writers have made the characters so distinct,” notes the designer, “so that each one of them gets to be the most glamorous that they would be, but that they all look unique and that their characters shine through … and that everybody feels happy and comfortable.”
Speaking of the ensemble, Mann discusses the vastly different looks worn by Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as Sofia Salinas and Joel Kim Booster as Nicholas. She says of Sofia, “We definitely wanted to make her more serious, that she’s a person that gets up in the morning and puts on a uniform. She’s not trying to be the flower, she’s not trying to be the showstopper.” As for Nicolas, “I initially felt like he would be an accessory to Molly and I think we worked it through the season. If you notice, they always kind of go together. He makes himself her handbag.”
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