costume designer costume design costume designer in film Alex Bovaird
Courtesy of ALEX BOVAIRD

Alex Bovaird, costume designer in film and TV: on alchemy, storytelling, and The White Lotus

costume designer
costume design
costume designer in film
Alex Bovaird
Courtesy of ALEX BOVAIRD
costume designer
costume design
costume designer in film
Alex Bovaird
Courtesy of HBO
costume designer
costume design
costume designer in film
Alex Bovaird
Courtesy of HBO

Four-time Emmy nominee and costume designer in film and television of the breakout hit The White Lotus, Alex Bovaird knows the impact of the right outfit. Having been with the show since its first season, Bovaird has designed for the likes of Jennifer Coolidge, Sydney Sweeney, and Walton Goggins—among a long list of others—in varying climates and cultures across three continents, each time building a whole new world to transport the viewer. Having worked on films such as American Honey and Bird, Bovaird has learned the importance of storytelling in costume design, marrying the two so seamlessly that it’s almost unimaginable they were ever apart. Alex sits down with hube to talk about empathy, craft, and where the two meet.

hube: Both costume design and acting require a deep dive into a character’s inner world—a kind of radical empathy. Was this intuitive for you from the start, or did it evolve with time and experience?

Alex Bovaird:
The inner world of a character has always intrigued me. Understanding the story—and where the characters intersect with it—is essential to my role as a costume designer. Usually, the thing we have the least of is time, so intuition and speed come in handy. I’m definitely getting better with experience—the more bodies I’ve come to understand, the more resources I have in my mind, and the more tricks of the trade I’ve picked up, making me a stronger collaborator.

h: Clothes often tell the story of who we hope to be, not just who we are. When you build a character’s wardrobe, do you think more about their inner truth—or their self-delusion?

AB:
It depends on the character and their relationship to what they wear. Costume design helps tell a story—it signals who this person might be through their clothing. But just like human nature itself, there’s complexity in their choices. First and foremost: where did they get their clothes? What do they have access to? What’s around them? Do they think much about what they’re wearing, or do they not care at all? How were they feeling that particular day—and are their clothes a reflection of that? Are they overcompensating, are they hiding, are they projecting? These are all subtle aspects of mood and identity that get folded into the choices they make.

h: Tell us about creating Chloe’s (Charlotte Le Bon) custom Jacquemus look in the latest season of The White Lotus. How did this dialogue between you, Jacquemus, and the character unfold? Why Jacquemus—what did his aesthetic unlock in Chloe’s story?

AB:
I’d followed Jacquemus from the beginning, and the visuals they created through their shows and campaigns always felt to me like a fairytale 1970s dreamscape—whimsical and distant, which aligned perfectly with my inspirations for The White Lotus. My characters’ wardrobes are made up of many different influences and sources. Usually, there isn’t enough time to design specific looks from scratch for individual characters, because you rarely know who the actor will be with enough lead time to develop and produce them.

Season 3 was delayed by the industry strikes, which gave me a rare opportunity to create a capsule wardrobe for a character who was clearly defined on the page—though of course, there was still no guarantee the looks would suit the actress once cast. I sent Jacquemus my mood boards for Chloe and explained her scenes, her nuances, and what I was envisioning. They were huge fans of the show and were thrilled to collaborate, producing something truly special and unique to Chloe.

Using their signature Mediterranean chic as a starting point, we created a bold, elegant, and sexy wardrobe for her—infused with my own sense of tropical cheekiness and tailored to the context of her commanding presence at a five-star luxury hotel. When Charlotte was cast, the clothes were already made—so it was pure luck that they fit her perfectly. The pink look was just one of many great pieces. We always planned to bring it to market, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out.

costume designer
costume design
costume designer in film
Alex Bovaird
The White Lotus season 3
Courtesy of HBO
costume designer
costume design
costume designer in film
Alex Bovaird
The White Lotus season 3
Courtesy of HBO

h: From the lush tropics of Hawaii to the electric tension of Bangkok, you’ve shaped the evolving world of The White Lotus through costume. Was there a particular season, or a specific character, where the wardrobe unlocked something surprising even to you?

AB:
I have been extremely fortunate to work with Mike White, whose sensibility in clothing has matched mine, so I haven’t had to compromise my vision with any of the characters, which in my experience is rare. I think the journey with Jennifer Coolidge/Tanya McQuoid has been very exciting and fulfilling. Tanya is a messy, complicated and colourful character, and it was Jennifer’s idea to have her only in very chic black and be very fitted and proper like Jackie O—so the process was a journey and a personal entanglement that was highly charged and satisfying. The outfits she wears in Hawaii were cinched and yet flowy at the same time, garish but still romantic, over the top but perfectly right. The animal prints echoed the surroundings and the themes, clashed and matched with the sets, and even inspired the opening credit wallpaper motifs. Jennifer is one of the most sensual actresses I’ve dressed. I loved and empathised with her character and with her personally. Even after our looks were celebrated, it was still challenging when we came back for Sicily. We upped our game.

h: What does your research process look like when you begin to build a character’s wardrobe and the wider cinematic world around them? Are you guided more by visual references, literary ones, or something more abstract—a feeling, perhaps?

AB:
I immerse myself in the scripts for a while and start to make mood boards for all the characters and for the world we’re building. I love contemporary photography and old fashion magazines, but I also build playlists and watch films that match the tone of the show. All of this bounces around in my head, and then I go out into the world looking for things that encapsulate those tones. Once I know who the cast is, things become more refined.

h: Is there a character you’ve dreamt of dressing, or a world you long to build through costume? What untold story do your hands ache to bring to life in fabric and form?

AB:
I would love to work on more period projects—the research is so fascinating, and building wardrobes directly from my brain rather than shopping is a process I truly relish. I recently designed costumes for a film set in 1715 and am currently studying the Puritans of New England in 1680. I’m a traveller at heart, so being transported anywhere but reality is a true yearning—ideally somewhere bold and daring, like Paris in the 1920s, London in the 1960s, or Africa in the late 1800s. I’d love to do a film adaptation of L’Invitée (She Came to Stay) by Simone de Beauvoir. Anyone down?

h: What’s the wildest or most unexpected reference you’ve ever pulled into a costume design—something that would surprise even the director?

AB:
There are always personal things that nobody really knows about. On The White Lotus season three, Chelsea is wearing a T-shirt to the Full Moon Party that I designed with the artist Scooter La Forge—it says ‘Bombed out me Box’. When I was in Thailand in the 90s, we travelled for a while with a Canadian guy called Stephen who was reading Trainspotting. We all kept saying ‘Bombed out me Box’ in a Scottish accent, which is from the book. I wrote it on her T-shirt as it made me smile, and it was a tribute to the spirituality and magic of Ko Phangan where we filmed. I’d not seen Stephen again, but he saw The White Lotus and tracked me down on Instagram—he said he jumped up and down when he saw it on TV.

h: Do you think a costume can ever change the actor’s performance—almost like a key unlocking a hidden room inside the character? Have you witnessed that moment happen on set?

AB:
I think the costume is crucial to discovering who the character truly is—I’d say that moment often happens in the fitting room. We don’t always find it straight away, but when we do, it’s a brilliant alchemy, and I’ve witnessed it many times. The right shoes or the right clothes maketh the man.

h: What’s your guilty pleasure when it comes to costume design—something totally over the top you secretly love doing?

AB:
I am a people pleaser at heart, so my goal is to make people happy—the actors, my costume crew, and most importantly, the director. I try to include special details for the leads so it feels like a unique collaboration. I just want to hear them say, “I love my costumes.”

h: What has been your favourite collaboration from your costume design career?

AB: I am deeply fond of American Honey by Andrea Arnold. We shot in script order with a cast that had mostly been scouted in Walmarts and trailer parks, and we travelled in convoy through the plains and prairies in the heartland of the USA. I loved working with the kids and getting to dress this wild bunch of characters out of my motel room. It was deeply satisfying to tell this story about a weird subculture of runaways–and Andrea as our Pied Piper, she’s so fearless and true.

costume designer
costume design
costume designer in film
Alex Bovaird
The White Lotus season 1
Courtesy of HBO
costume designer
costume design
costume designer in film
Alex Bovaird
The White Lotus season 2
Courtesy of HBO
costume designer
costume design
costume designer in film
Alex Bovaird
The White Lotus season 2
Courtesy of HBO

Interview by ISABELLA MICELI