The style secrets of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” told by their costume designer - Reel

“I was born, raised, and went to high school in Jamaica. I came to the United States to pursue a completely different field of study than fashion: food science and restaurant management. However, the school had a very large and highly regarded fashion design department. Most of my new friends were studying fashion, and that influenced me so much that I decided that was what I wanted to do.

I changed my career path, got a degree in fashion and branding. At that point, I didn't know anything about cinema or fashion in cinema . I didn't make the connection between the two until a friend told me about it. So I went to the cinema, looked at the clothes, the costumes and wow! Then I did a small show as an intern and that's how my career started.

I was fresh out of college, in New York. I spent a lot of my career in that city, starting on Broadway as an assistant. Gradually, I started making costumes and working in film, as a supervisor, on films like Martin Scorsese's " Goodfellas " in 1990.

Anyway, I started designing costumes for film and television in the 90s and from there my career started to take off. Basically, it's nothing more than being in the right place at the right time, knowing how to put the right amount of passion and determination into your work . It's a synergy, a combination of things that I think brings us to where we are. It's a bit like when you bake a cake: certain ingredients have to be there for something to happen and I think it's our responsibility as human beings not to let the cake burn.

“Regarding “Breaking Bad,” I was contacted through my agent to work on season 5, which aired in 2012. It was very exciting because I always wanted to work on a series of this type. Twist of fate: it happened! I had already done the costumes for series like “Vampire Diaries” in 2009 or “The Originals” in 2013 , which were connected to each other.

It's nice to know that producers and directors appreciate my work, so when a prequel or sequel comes along, they reach out to me. It's very rewarding. I also like having the opportunity to continue my relationship with a team and characters . Creatively, it's very exciting to be invested in the continuity of a universe.

I wasn't the first costume designer on this project, but when I arrived, I still had to do the last season, which was very long. It was an incredible opportunity to be able to put my own style stamp on this story . For example, when new characters arrive.

Walter White's situation in the story had also changed, and it continued to change rapidly. All of this gave me the opportunity to design a new look and a new environment for him. Truth be told, just about every character goes through dramatic changes in Season 5, and those changes need to be reflected in their clothing, just as we all do in real life.

When our position changes, our clothes change too. Your clothes tell everyone where you are in life , even if sometimes we don't really consciously want to show it. That's a reality. It was a good introduction for me, to change some things and design new things in the show. I worked very closely with the creators, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould."

“One of the things I did for ‘Breaking Bad’ was create a color palette for the main characters, based on what their situation (or disappearance) was going to be . I think that was a whole new approach to working with costumes: approaching the story through color.

Colors are essential. They deliver messages that our brains respond to. In a way, you can judge a series by the colors it uses, and thus know what will happen in it. For my part, I completely believe in the idea that we are what we wear . Of course, we try to hide it.

If one day you are feeling down, you might want to wear something bright and beautiful that will cheer you up. The color in clothing can change your attitude , whether in one direction or another. People react to it, unconsciously.

Whether you watch a TV series or read a book, you are being presented with characters. However, color is an aspect of art and creativity that is too often neglected, especially with contemporary media such as television, cinema and the Internet. This is not the case in the arts or fine arts, in the classical sense of the term. We have relied heavily on painters throughout history. But what is the painter's greatest tool? Color!

“ Everything is important to me in costumes: the cut, the style, the fabric . But at the very beginning, what interests me most is the story, understanding what is going to happen. Once I have that in mind, I would say that it is the materials that come next because that is the basis of the work.

I look at what I have to create, how to adapt it to the needs, depending on the garment and the story. But sometimes the design comes first. Then I have to go back to the fabric, then the color. It can change but all these elements are very important. Obviously, the choice of fabric can create big differences depending on whether it drapes and adapts (or not) to the characters' bodies. And then of course, you have to consider the color, what the actor has to play. All these elements are equally important but there can be significant changes depending on the garment. My favorite fabrics are silk and wools .

They are so versatile, they hug the curve of the body, etc. Then I would say synthetic materials. I also love leather, because I love shoes. It is a real passion of mine . If a beautiful French shoe brand reads this article and wants to collaborate with me on a shoe line, call me: I have always wanted to create shoes! I like organic things in general: leather, silk, wool. But on the other hand, I also love synthetic materials and technical fabrics for their properties and durability . You can shape them as you wish, etc. All this is very interesting to me.

“On ‘Breaking Bad,’ I had to research something that was already ingrained in people’s minds. That said, my mission was to make this final season special, with a different dynamic and direction. I already had defined models in terms of style, including the shirts and pants of Walter White’s character, his famous Clarks Wallabees shoes .

So within this model, I changed the colors. Walter White is making a lot more money than he was at the beginning of the series. It's something quite subtle: his situation has evolved, things have become clearer and he has gained confidence. Walter White then completely embraces the personality of his alter ego Eisenberg .

I have to say that Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, the actors who play Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, are down-to-earth and a pleasure to work with. They are almost like you see them in the picture. They have become good friends.

My job, especially for Jesse Pinkman, was to update the character. I did a lot of research on urban and hip-hop-inspired brands . I reached out to a lot of them, and they were excited to be on the show, because as you know, brands on television have become a thing in themselves.

I realized how important it has become for a brand to be present in the media, how much it is intensifying and how much it can expose brands to new markets that they are looking for. However, I didn't want to only feature big brands. I really enjoy discovering (and introducing) smaller brands as well. Of course, there were times when I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so I created it myself, with my team.

The clothes in “Breaking Bad” are contemporary. Many people assume that you can buy them in stores. But the reality is a little more complicated, because I can very well need eight copies of the same costume for a fight scene or a stunt. I then have to dress the characters accordingly and have the clothes custom-made, which I did a lot of for “Breaking Bad.”

For "Better Call Saul," some characters were a real challenge to dress, especially in some episodes, because the action required particular costumes. But I was lucky to work with excellent producers and writers with whom I was able to have a long working relationship. I was able to discuss with them, sometimes tell them when it wouldn't go with the clothes, that we would have to find something else. There was a lot of discussion and listening. That said, it's always a challenge when there are stunts, blood and bullets, especially with contemporary clothing .

A TV series moves very, very quickly, much faster than a movie during production. I don't get the script until a week before shooting begins. I don't have as much time as people might imagine. So we have to move very quickly. I have to design, have clothes made or find clothes and I look absolutely everywhere: in the best department stores, in thrift stores, at flea markets, etc.

Sometimes I don't find the right idea, the right cut, the right fabric or the right color so we search, we make. Most costume designers will say that the hardest part of this job is the action scenes . Because the stunt double won't necessarily have the same requirements as the actor. If you dress the actor in a shirt and his stunt double has to land on a building or do a car chase, you'll have to figure out how to hide his protective equipment so that he's safe."

“After I finished shooting season 5 of ‘Breaking Bad,’ my interest in designing custom costumes for the characters grew, especially for Bob Odenkirk’s character, who wears a lot of costumes. It was a very interesting situation because this show is a prequel to ‘Breaking Bad.’ It’s about how this lawyer, Jimmy McGill, becomes a kind of Pompadour peacock: Saul Goodman.

For the record, I've actually had real lawyers write to me and ask , "Oh Jennifer, I love your work, where did you get that tie, that shirt? I'm a lawyer and I want to dress like Saul Goodman ." And they really did, and still do!

I'll tell you an amazing story. The series is now finished and airing and I'm on another project. But two months ago, I got a message from a gentleman in Saskatoon, Canada. He told me that his son would like to be able to go to his graduation dressed as Saul Goodman .

"I know you're probably too busy and will never do it but I had to write to you and ask you anyway."

It was so funny and sweet that I did it. I sent him some crazy ties, he sent me pictures of the suit he bought from a local tailor. I then told him that the suit didn't fit him, that he should go back to the tailor and gave him some advice on how to make it perfect.

After all, if you're going to do it, you might as well do it right. He had a classic white shirt and I said , 'No, no, no, it has to be a colorful shirt!' So I sent him a lavender shirt with three fancy ties . This young man went to his graduation in Saskatchewan, Canada, dressed like Saul Goodman. It was so funny. "

“ Kim Wexler is just as important as Jimmy/Saul stylistically . She’s his opposite. However, her style is not as casual as it seems. When Rhea Seehorn got the role, we got together and I told her my vision of this young woman who has climbed the ladder.

She started out as a mail carrier in an office, went to law school, passed her exam, and became a lawyer. She's basically a good-hearted person. So how do you dress her? My idea for her, which Rhea totally embraced, is that she'd be the opposite of Saul. So to the Pompadour, she'd play the role of the quiet, pensive little mouse.

Jimmy thinks about the ties, shirts, and fancy suits he's going to wear . She thinks about what she's going to wear, too. But her idea is to just throw something on and walk out the door. He spends a lot of time getting the look right before he goes out . A lot of Kim's suits didn't really fit because I thought a young lawyer like her, with her budget, wouldn't be interested in spending money on custom suits.

Instead, she'll go buy a jacket on sale, a skirt that looks like it will match the jacket, a polyester blouse - when her situation improves, she'll switch to silk -, a pair of basic pumps . She can only afford one set of jewelry, a necklace and earrings. It's discreet. If you watch the show, you'll see that this is what she wears every day, season after season.

In season six, it's explained that there's a story behind her necklace and earrings. That said, when I bought them, there was no story! The writers decided to include one later. I helped inspire the story more than once. Sometimes the crew would come to me and say , "But Jennifer, why did you choose that piece or that outfit?" Sometimes I do it instinctively, sometimes I do it with a purpose, but I think there's always a purpose behind instinct. Maybe we're just not always aware of it.

There have been times when I have simply explained that this was what seemed most appropriate to me for a given episode and that I wanted my choice to be validated. You should know that in "Better Call Saul", I make the clothes for absolutely all the actors, even those who have no dialogue or who are in the background . As you can imagine, I was very, very busy on this series!

I have to be careful about what my main actors wear, that no one in the background wears the same thing while still being an integral part of this universe. The other challenge is also that the show is set a few years before our present time. When looking at brands and shopping for the show, I had to be very careful not to include style trends or materials that didn't exist at that time."

"I'm glad that there's a parallel between Saul Goodman and the character of Gus Fring because often when I'm interviewed about the show, people don't see the connection at all. They're both extremely obsessed with their appearance, but for very different reasons .

I often get asked about Saul Goodman's clothes, but not as much about Giancarlo's character. In reality, both characters are equally important. I think the difference is that viewers recognize the Gus from "Breaking Bad": he's always been like that. He's always been picky, dressed in a sartorial style . It's natural for him; it's part of his façade.

It's his way of presenting himself to the world, in a different light. Because he has another life behind the suit , which doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with his clothes. He's a first-class gangster. Well, gangster might not be the right word. Let's just say he's a businessman who's involved in criminal activities. There are a lot of people in that milieu who dress extremely well.

The "bad guys" in movies or TV shows are often well dressed. None of them dress like an average Joe. The ones who dress like gangsters are the ones who work for these types of businessmen, who drive expensive cars and wear the best suits . Gus has that look. I spent as much time on his suits as I did on Saul Goodman's.

In Gus' case, everything was perfectly cut and adapted to his physique. It was about being in the bespoke , in the sartorial. But unlike Gus, Saul is more in the demonstration. He wants to be noticed. Gus does not want to be noticed by his look or his clothes. His business and the very sartorial style that he wears, it is his uniform .

In "Breaking Bad," Saul is already a dandy and a peacock . "Better Call Saul" is about how he became who he is. In the first season of "Better Call Saul," I couldn't have him in flashy outfits . The question was, how do we turn this guy who delivers mail into a powerful, intelligent, and slightly crazy cartel lawyer?

When we wrote Jimmy's early story, he wasn't supposed to have any money. I suggested to Vince Gilligan that we present him more as someone who pretends to have money. Gus doesn't have to pretend: he has money. So what I did is I thought of his style as if it were that of a lawyer who is starting out but who wants to give the impression that he has already succeeded in everything and that he has a large clientele.

At the time the series takes place, the double-breasted suit was very popular and this particular suit gave and I think still gives the impression that the person wearing it has a certain stature, a certain status . So I made him wear a double-breasted suit. For the color, I decided that I would only give him one color and that was brown.

Brown, if you use it the right way, is a color that can mean insecurity, lower status. Brown is not a color that means power. So Saul wears a double-breasted suit, not as well-cut as it should be, a flashy tie, and a couple of shiny shirts , because he can afford them. And then shoes, of course, because that's very important.

Shoes are a testament to the status of the wearer . Saul could n't afford Ferragamos , even though those are the shoes he ends up wearing if we're talking about brands - I actually used Ferragamos in the series. But early on in his journey, I have him wearing shoes that are somewhat similar, of a much lower quality.

There's one thing in the series that Vince Gilligan always regretted not filming for longer: Saul Goodman's shoes. You know, in Ferragamo loafers, there's a strap on the top of the foot. I broke it off, added a paper clip and reattached the strap with it. Most of the time, the camera doesn't go all the way down to the shoes, but I broke off that little piece of the shoe for the sake of realism. At this point, Saul can't afford a new pair yet.

In the first season, when he goes to see the Kettleman family, there's a scene, if you look closely, where Vince has moved the camera down and you can see the paper clip holding his shoes. It's a scene that Vince Gilligan would have liked to have lasted. From that point in the story, we started to develop Saul's interest in clothes .

If you watch the first season, you can see that Saul aspires to have that style, that he feels that he will be successful if he looks like he is successful . Gus Fring is already successful. He doesn't have to explain it through his clothes. What is different is that he is a meticulous type. That's the difference in style between these two men and their suits."

"When you look at the style of the characters in the cartel, which was also a lot of fun to work on, especially the shirts, it's the same thought process. Lalo Salamanca, for example, is such a psychopath that I had him wear shirts with flowers, with pretty prints , etc. But he's anything but that.

For him, it's about giving himself cover, making himself believe that he's a really cool and nice guy. He likes nice cars, he likes gardening and he has these flowery shirts that are really cool and really relaxed. But in reality, he's anything but a nice character. It's a trap."

Of all the looks and costumes I worked on in "Better Call Saul," Howard Hamlin's , played by Patrick Fabian, really represents the epitome of refined style . He's the opposite of how lawyers dress. I wanted to give him that strong sense of tradition and refinement.

In "Better Call Saul," there are three male characters for whom clothing has become of paramount importance: Gustavo Fring, Howard Hamlin, and Saul Goodman. If we take the time to think about it for two minutes in terms of men's fashion, we have three different visions of style: First, the traditional way, understated but with a touch of style - that would be the character of Gus Fring.

Then the traditional "augmented" way. That is, with an assertive, unchanging and at the same time completely timeless style , which seeks the best in terms of fabrics, cuts, etc. That would be Howard Hamlin. Finally, at the other end of the spectrum, we have a louder, flashier and more contemporary way. That is, a style that claims to have money, to be attracted to what shines and to be able to buy all the clothes we want. It is a way where the person chooses their clothes so that they are noticed and recognized. That is of course Saul Goodman . For most of us, it is most often a hybrid mix of these three visions of style."

“You might not believe it, but on my shelves, among my research books, there are Chanel, Saint Laurent, Madame Grès, Alexander McQueen, etc. You would be surprised how often I come back to the classic couturiers. They inspire me, especially the French . The essence of what they created is really the basis of today's fashion.

The Chanel suit? It's beautiful. I also love everything Saint Laurent, Jean-Paul Gaultier, etc. have done. Right now, I'm researching a particular creation and just yesterday I was still looking at Azzedine Alaïa's work. I have my favorite designers: Alexander McQueen without a doubt, Vivienne Westwood, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Courrèges, Fortuny, Chanel.

Chanel, I can personally relate to her, especially because she is a woman and she had to go through all sorts of challenges at a time when designers were predominantly men . As a woman of color, I identify with her struggles. Or at least I see parallels, in trying to be seen and heard, to have your voice heard and to be recognized for your skills.

Chanel is therefore a designer who matters to me because she broke this glass ceiling to become a kind of empress of style . She still is and always will be. All those who have followed and worn the house of Chanel since have managed to maintain this legacy. Otherwise, in terms of costume designers, I love Bob Mackie because he brought glamour, something flashy. What he did for example for Cher or for Carol Burnett, it was simply incredible.

“The family aspect is what’s so unique about television. It’s also been a blessing for me. There’s so much content and so many shows to put out on television these days, with streaming, Netflix, Amazon, all these big streaming companies and networks. It’s been great for us. You get to work with different groups of people. I’ve been very fortunate to stay on a show that’s been so successful for so long.”

I've always been in touch with Vince Gilligan, with Melissa Bernstein, my producer, and generally with all the people on the team. Many of the creatives who started with "Breaking Bad" went on to work on "Better Call Saul." These are people who, even though they're freelancers, work together for eight or ten years. Now that's very unusual and it really allows you to refine your work. The longer you stay with the same team, the more you understand each other . It's very, very valuable."