‘Only Murders’ Costume Designer Dana Covarrubias Reveals Character Color Blending and Hitchcock Inspirations

I cannot tell you how obsessed I was with the costumes from season one of Hulu’s sensational mystery, Only Murders in the Building. Mabel’s fluffy, marigold coat! Oliver’s plum jacket! The abundance of scarves! Costume designer Dana Covarrubias not only deserved her first Emmy nomination for the first season, but she ups the ante in the comedy’s sophomore outing.

You could not log onto any social media and avoid seeing people chattering about the clothes of the residents of the Arconia. Every single character has their own unique style and Covarrubias designed a staggering amount of character-driven clothes. Even though the work was a big undertaking, the costume designer explained how surprised she was at the fan response.

“It was beyond anything I could’ve imagined. Knowing that I was working with such stars I knew anything they wore would get attention, but I didn’t expect to be seeing people dressing their babies and dogs in Oliver’s jackets or Mabel’s clothes. I knew that what we were creating was very special, because John Hoffman, as our leader, is so supportive and creative has a beautiful imagination. I did not expect the cosplay element, because you see that with Marvel shows or things with a more sci-fi element. It’s so flattering and beyond my expectations.”

While Mabel and Oliver have flashier costumes, Steve Martin’s Charles is more dependable with his wardrobe. He wears a lot of darker colors and tends to fit more into his surroundings, and Covarrubias explained that he is mourning the end of his relationship with Jan. There is one item of clothing that Covarrubias and her team decided to play with, though.

“Each character is grieving something in their past and, in season two, they are starting to work themselves out of that. We worked on in extending the color palette this time around, but Charles finds comfort in repetition and wears a lot of the same thing all the time. We wanted to show some growth there, though. Because season two starts the same day, it didn’t make sense to make a massive change. As they become closer, they are moving away from things that haunted them in their past. We are showing that with palette. One of the things we incorporated was different hatbands. Whenever Charles would wear a hat, the ribbon would be a solid grey or navy in the first season. It would go with the hat. This season, we decided to shop a ton of different ribbons. They were in his palette, but it would have a peek of color to show how he would come out of his shell. It was sneaky. It wouldn’t feel real if he was wearing bright yellow.

When the Only Murders podcast first formed, the series relied on the quirky differences between Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez to pepper the humor. Now that they have gone through some dramatic and life-changing moments together, they are closer and Covarrubias wanted to blend their color palettes to show unity.

“The other symbolism we worked with in season two was have all three members of our trio starting to wear each other’s colors. They all had colors established in season one, and we switched them up. Oliver is wearing a lot of yellows and that marigold color was Mabel’s signature for season one. A few times Charles would have pops of crimson or raspberry, and that’s more something for Oliver. Mabel wore the rainbow this season, but we had her in more blues that is more akin to Charles. We had them all coming into each other’s palette-world. That was one of the things that John pitched to me for this season. They aren’t fighting, and we are seeing them gel as a group.”

When Mabel accepts a DMed invitation to an art show, she is greeted by the mysterious and sexy Alice, played by Cara Delevingne. Not only does she have a relaxed, easy demeanor, but Alice makes quite the impression with her plunging neckline and maroon, Thierry Mugler-inspired jacket. We later learn how much Alice puts on to be taken seriously in the art world, and that façade is something that Covarrubias had fun with in season two.

“With Alice, I immediately thought of Oliver, and I thought it was funny that he is the one who ends up calling her out. They are so similar, and he is able to pick her out. A con artist can see a con artist. He tells all these stories, and you assume some of them are real, right? Like Oliver, I wanted Alice to be a showman in a way that makes her feel powerful. I wanted color and texture like a peacock. She is someone who is saying, ‘Look over here! Look over here!’ while she is distracting you with something else. We knew that was a goal with her, but we knew she’d also be a love interest for Mabel. We wanted her to have some sexiness, too. Not only is she an artist, she’s a boss. We were thinking of a sexy version of a tuxedo, so that’s where we found that jacket. She’s also supposed to represent a part of New York that we don’t always see with this show: a sexy, young artist type.”

How can we talk about season two without the bold, imposing presence of Shirley MacLaine. When the door opens to Bunny’s funeral, Leonora Folger (what a great name) enters in grand fashion, a classic black-and-white coat complimenting her black hat. Not only did Covarrubias get the chance to dress a living legend, but she was able to really show off the influences to Alfred Hitchcock.

“Dressing Shirley MacLaine was a dream come true. Terrifying, but so exciting. That’s such a fun part of being a costume designer. You are shoved into a room with a living legend, and you have to roll with it. She was so collaborative that the fitting felt like I was in a workshop class or something. We took about an hour talking before we even put on any clothing. She wanted to make sure that she had a deep understanding of where Leonora was coming from, and I might pull something off the rack to show her what I was thinking. Shirley was very much involved with physicality of the character, and working with her was such a joyous experience. With Hitchcock, I wanted to honor duality and characters not being one thing or another. He did a lot with shadow and we incorporated a lot of grids this season. With Lenora, we were inspired by the blog, Advanced Style. It’s so amazing, and I’ve been a fan of that site for many years.”

A lot of viewers tune into Only Murders just to see what Gomez is wearing. In episode one, she wears an oversized, blue sweater that looks like you can melt into, and episode seven features a striking, canary yellow jumpsuit. Needless to say, the costume designer knew she had to go above and beyond with Mabel’s outfits.

“I think we upped the ante in terms of palette. Season one concerned me with the imagery of seeing Selena standing next to Martin and Steve, because they needed to look like a team. I didn’t want it to stand out as a pop star icon with these actors. Her beauty really shines through anyway. With season two, because her character is starting to explore her artistic side, we had more freedom of pushing away into a more mature, sexy style. Finding her own strength, creativity, and power through her wardrobe was something I wanted to show. It’s such a delicate balance–you want the clothes to be aspirational but they need to be real. My number one job is balancing that.”

I wanted to snatch so many things from season two. Oliver wears mustard, leather gloves and a blue scarf adorned with leaves that I quite literally need in my own closet. What would Covarrubias swipe for herself?

“There is a coat that Mabel wears in episode nine that is a black, patent leather trench, and it has an almost chocolate brown, teddy-textured lapel. I would rock that.”

Only Murders in the Building drops weekly on Hulu. It is nominated for 17 Emmys this year.