Fashion in Film: The Suits of “Severance”

What makes a good television show?

Excellent writing? Plot intrigue? Stellar acting performances? Superb production value?

There’s no one right answer. The truth of the matter lies somewhere in all of these aspects. A good television show should bear resemblance to an antique grandfather clock – each intricate component should turn together to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

It’s hard to think of a current show that encapsulates this idea better than “Severance”, the smash Apple TV original series from creator Dan Ericksen and executive producer Ben Stiller. As such, we’d like to explain why some of us at Doo Dah Apparel are crazy about this show, as well as what we’ve noticed about the unique intentionality of its costume design.

The show follows a collection of employees at Lumon Industries who have voluntarily undergone the “severance” procedure. Via an implanted brain chip, severed employees have their memories surgically divided between their work and home lives. The result is two people – the work person, or “Innie,” and the outside person, or “Outie” – with divergent memories sharing the same body. The duality of these individuals is the heart of “Severance”, and it’s something that’s explored through the show’s every facet, including through its characters’ clothing.

Many viewers have particularly responded to the wardrobe of Helly R, played by Britt Lower, a severed employee whose arrival at Lumon in the show’s first episode triggers a cascading series of events. Sarah Edwards, the show’s lead costume designer, who formerly worked on projects like “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” and “Ocean’s 8”, has acknowledged Helly R’s importance as a spark plug for the series. In an interview with Tai Freligh for the publishing platform Medium, Edwards said that she tried to emphasize Helly R’s role as a catalyst for the series’ action through her clothes.

“The colors were fairly neutral throughout, except for Helly [...] who I felt like was a real sort of focal character. We wanted to focus some of the attention on her, being the only woman in the group.”

From the moment we’re introduced to her character, Helly R’s outfits indicate this intention. One of the first shots of the entire series, for instance, is an aerial view of Helly R laying sprawled on a large conference room table. She wears a dark blue blouse tucked into a green skirt – and the sharp line where the two garments meet perfectly bisects her body. Even before we know who she is, her inner duality is manifested through her clothing.

The men of the severed floor stick to tidy suits and ties, hinting at a stringent dress code and highlighting the strictness and severity of their employer – this is no place for a “casual Friday.” This is in sharp contrast to their Outie counterparts, who of course wear a variety of clothing in the outside world. Mark S, for example, played by Adam Scott, is never seen without a crisp, professional suit and tie ensemble. Meanwhile, his Outie, Mark Scout, is rarely without a heavy winter coat. This plays into his Outie’s personality – as a recent widower, Mark is guarded and grieving, and he is having trouble connecting with even his closest family. Winter coat or otherwise, he’s putting layers between himself and the world that surrounds him.

Another source of intrigue is the unsevered Lumon employee Harmony Cobel, played by
Patricia Arquette, who oversees the severed workers. Mrs. Cobel takes particular interest in Mark S, becoming neighbors with his Outie while masquerading as a wet nurse named Ms. Selvig. Although unsevered, Mrs. Cobel still exhibits the same Innie-Outie dichotomy, skipping between steely-eyed intimidation at work and friendly warmth in the outer world. Edwards smartly adjusts her fashion as such, alternating between dark colors and blazers at Lumon to bright-colored sweaters on the outside. We’re forced to reckon with the two sides of this complex character as they play out through her clothing.

There’s so much to be said about the beauty, intricacy, and intentionality of the costume design in “Severance” – the use of complementary colors to establish duality probably warrants a blog post on its own! And that, in itself, is the hallmark of good television. When a show generates such rich conversation around its inner machinations – whether about its costume design or its character arcs, its musical score or its cinematography – it speaks wonders of its quality.

Don’t just take our word for it, though: If you haven’t yet seen this series, you can stream “Severance” for yourself on Apple TV+, with new episodes of the show’s second season releasing Fridays through March 21. Give it a watch and let us know what you think – we think both your Innie and Outie will love it!

Alec M (Innie) / Alec Matulka (Outie)
Doo Dah Apparel


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