Costume Designer Jenny Gering on Styling Suits’ Power’and Politics in Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’

The Diplomat is a visual feast. The show’s style shoots straight as the sharp dialogue, but during the walk-and-talks, video conference calls, and press conferences, the Deborah Cahn–created series exudes restrained glamour. Diplomats, decision-makers, and the lovably flawed Wylers, Kate (Keri Russell) and Hal (Rufus Sewell), often look spectacular.

Not because they’re wearing what’s hip and now — how many politicians do? — but because they wear suits with confidence. Again, it’s a feast, now put together by costume designer Jenny Gering.

Gering previously worked with Russell on The Americans, but season three of The Diplomat marks her first time on the Netflix series. “I tried my best to maintain the integrity of who these characters were,” Gering told What’s on Netflix, “but not to bring anything from the past with me because I can’t work that way. I think the producers wanted me here for what I had to offer. I had a framework, but I made changes and brought in whatever I have to give.” What she partly had to give was promotions — including, spoiler alert, Hal becoming vice president.

Recently, Gering spoke with us about crafting a world of suits, her process with the actors, and why Eidra Park (Ali Ahn) and Stuart (Ato Essandoh) belong together.

Thinking about some of your past jobs, whether it’s [FX’s] The Americans or [the Tom Cruise–led] American Made, you’ve depicted government workers before. How’d your previous jobs shape your vision for season three of The Diplomat?

I feel sometimes you kind of float along and do your job and don’t acknowledge what got you here and what gave you the confidence to be here. The Americans was a crash course, even though it took place in the early eighties, in understanding how to have people be present but disappear. Understanding the nuance between the CIA and the FBI in the field and out of the field helped me cruise right into this. These are very nuanced differences that, if you’re not used to them, can take a minute to get up to speed. There is a little bit of a learning curve.

What else does a learning curve on The Diplomat involve?

There are so many suits. Another thing that I’m grateful for is that I’ve done so many pilot stories about lawyers. So many suits. You have five or ten people in a scene, all in suits, and there isn’t room in that milieu to bring in color. It’s a specific look. How do you maintain people’s individuality? How do you tell each person’s personal story in what could be perceived as a uniform?

As a designer, you learn to bring in texture. You understand what a tie can say about a man. Tie choice can come off as a throwaway or can come off as deliberate. It’s situational, but those are the things that, over the years, to me, are now second nature. At the time, those things, as you’re learning them, can be a brain twister.

What characteristics of a character help you know whether, stylistically, they’re making deliberate or throwaway choices?

So much of it is determined by their actions. In general, if a character is feeling super vulnerable, I may cloak them in more layers. They would want that armor because clothing can function that way. Super obvious, but if I want someone to come off as maybe untrustworthy, I would use a less tactile fabric, something that has a bit of a sheen that provides a sneaky or slick vibe.

On the show, sometimes it’s a question of whether the character is wearing armor or if it’s just a façade and the suit is wearing them. When is a character comfortable in their uniform ,and when is it more of a mask?

It’s all in the writing. They’re so well developed that I always think of a real person as having a point of view. Even if they don’t care, that’s still a point of view, and that should come across in the way they wear their clothes.

But if it looks like the suit is wearing the character, then I have a problem because it won’t feel organic and it won’t feel real. For me, it’s so much about choices. We all get dressed in the morning. All of these choices are usually subliminal, but they do say a lot about us. It’s practiced. It happens over time. Every human makes these choices, whether it be a color, a shape, or a fabric.

I have a friend who absolutely won’t wear blouses. She just won’t do it. She says, “They’re uncomfortable.” Ah, I’m really figuring out this person would live her life in a fleece onesie if she could — but she can’t. So, she works around that; her choices are informed. She’ll usually be in a crew-neck cashmere sweater rather than a blouse because, for her, the main thing is comfort. For someone else, it’s attracting men; for someone else, it’s wanting to look professional.

It’s all about what is on the page and who this person is. Then comes the costume. Of course, it’s another level when the actor comes into it and they have their opinions. I always try to keep things as organic as they possibly can.

How were your early fittings with Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell? What organic decisions came out of those days on the job? 

Well, this was a strange situation, mainly because I started this job in season three.
Their characters already had a look, but Kate, midway through season three, has an upgrade in her status, therefore in her look on the show. It was a great opportunity to bring in richer, more tactile fabrics. I think, previous to that, she was as nonsensical as possible, but in her role as Second Lady, she’s got to step it up.

Keri and I talked about bringing in richer fabrics and more of that – I’m so sick of this term – “quiet luxury” vibe. In the politics on this show, it’s really important that the politicians and their ancillary friends not alienate or divide, that they look sort of affluent but don’t make people uncomfortable. All these boxes need to be ticked. And so, it was just a great chance for us to take the bones of what we had and then make it feel more luxurious.

How’d Kate’s suits change with her new role in the administration?

Perhaps I changed the silhouette of her suits to be a little bit more drapey, a little less severe, a little more elegant.

How’d you want Hal to upgrade? 

For Rufus, it was almost the opposite. Hal may have worn a tie once before he was VP, and that was part of his charm. He marched to the beat of his own drum. He had great style, but he also just did his own thing. As the VP, that’s out the window. The suit is wearing the character, because you do have to look a certain way. I think I made five suits for him in varying shades of blue and textures, but they’re very simple, elegant, and lovely. Those suits fit him beautifully, but are very straightforward.

Kate tells Hal that he makes sense as VP, that he looks great in a suit. It’s both a compliment and an insult, as well as great writing. Why does Hal, in your mind, look great in a suit?

I have to give Rufus a lot of credit for this because Rufus can wear a suit. He also has great taste. I felt that there was some of Rufus in Hal. When we’re in fits, he has good opinions and good insights, and we work very well together because we typically agree on what works and what doesn’t. But he is willing to take chances. He’s like an old-timey movie star in that way.

He has that flair that came across in Hal, and it does come across in Hal as the VP. When I am designing a suit for him, we have many fittings, and he sees immediately what needs to be changed. I’m like, “I’m getting to it; we were just about to do it.” But he’s right there with me. He knows. We’re very in sync, but really, he does have such a good eye.

Before we get to Grace Penn (Allison Janney) stepping into the role of POTUS, let’s talk about Kate dressing her before her swearing-in. 

Well, that was really funny. My first question to showrunner Deborah Cahn was, “Have you really done this?” And she claims that yes, it works in real life, and I believe her. It really made sense just to take something that looked silky and try it. We had a couple of different pieces of fabric tops that we could cheat, but the real thing was the best way to go. Honestly, there’s just not a whole lot of scuttlebutt behind that because it will work. It was just about finding the right piece.

So, President Penn and the first man (Bradley Whitford), how’d you want to define them in their new roles?

When Grace becomes president, her vibe really changes. As vice President, she had a much more feminine vibe, brought in a lot more color. It made sense for her role as vice president. She looked great, but the focus was really not meant to be on her as the president. The choice was to make her graduate to a much more uniform moment.

Again, still elegant and still professional, but the color ran away. We’re sticking with gray and navy. She’s working in an environment that is mostly men. While she still looks feminine and lovely, it projects a lot more strength than the VP’s costumes did. She’s come out of the background and is pure power, and that’s really what the goal was: to project power.

For you, what costumes naturally project power?

Oh, Kate and Grace, both of their costumes. I think it’s possible to look beautiful and elegant and refined but also to have a level of seriousness. There’s something about wearing a suit, not worrying, not fussing. It makes me think of the argument between girls’ schools and boys’ schools, because there’s an argument for little girls going to school and not worrying about what they look like with uniforms, that sort of thing. I think the idea of a uniform – one that is aspirational and a pleasure to wear – can work in a woman’s favor.

Eidra Park exudes power, even when she’s observing. And when Stuart and her sit on a park bench, they look beautiful together, but also very different. Do you enjoy their contrast?

I think I’m not trying to do that with their costumes because the writing already really gets that across. They are so different, but their chemistry is so great. They should be together. You don’t know why — it just works.

Thinking about their costumes, it’s more about accentuating the differences or playing into who they are as people. It’s not highlighting differences, just playing into them as characters. Stuart is fastidious — a bit of a dandy. I think that he maybe lets his wardrobe do the talking for him sometimes.

Eidra is a powerhouse. I would say that, on the surface, there’s a lack of softness. Her clothes are straight lines, linear, with a bit of color that we bring in — which is fun because so few people get to wear color on the show. It plays into a bit of the rogue. She’s in charge of her world.

You get the sense of control, but there’s consistency to how she presents herself.

Yeah, yeah. It’s true for all the women on the show. Grace, as we know from last season, understands the importance of appearance. She is married to that. However, she’s not letting it distract her. She’s not letting it take precedence. It’s part of the whole package. I think that’s something that Kate is learning as she spends more time in that world.

The Diplomat season 3 is now streaming on Netflix. Season 4 is coming soon.