Hidden tales in Hill House's costumes

The Haunting of Hill House is a show meant to be watched, then rewatched with the Netflix version of a magnifying glass: ample use of the pause button and Reddit. Ever since Hill House premiered in October, bombshell revelations have poured in: There are ghosts lurking in the frames! The five Crain siblings represent the five stages of grief! Essentially, once the twists are unraveled and the scares jumped, then Hill House becomes a 10-episode playground of foreshadowing and clever winks.

Lynn Falconer, the show’s costume designer, knows this better than anyone. The characters' costumes are imbued with significance – and not just the Crains'. This applies to the ghosts, too. Falconer created costumes for Hill House's spectral residents throughout the 20th century, from the house's construction in 1918 to the Crains' stay in the summer of 1992 to the present day.

These are the biggest revelations from our hour-long conversation with Falconer, including the symbolism of Liv’s (Carla Gugino) robes, the ghosts’ backstories, and the potential for a second season.

On the story Liv's robes tell:
“The robes unfolded with the show's story,” Falconer said, adding another bullet point to the ever-growing list of things to pay close attention to in The Haunting of Hill House. Technically, Liv wears peignoirs, a type of sheer negligee that Poppy Hill (Catherine Parker) might have worn while brushing her hair in the 1920s, establishing a further connection between the two women.

Olivia

The robes represent Olivia’s declining mental state. “If you were to line up their actual linear sequence, the robes signal what might be happening to Olivia until she perishes. She starts out in a super rich teal velvet robe, mediates with the green printed robe, and dies in something very light and whisper-thin,” Falconer said.

Falconer revealed a fascinating tidbit about Liv’s ghostly state. “Liv’s red robe is the green robe. It turns red when she becomes a ghost,” Falconer said. The color red connects back to the Red Room, which takes hold of everyone in the house. “It’s also about love. Love and family to me,” she added.

On the surprising connection between Liv and the "Bent Neck Lady:"
Of all the Crains, Nell and Olivia are especially susceptible to to Hill House's deviousness. So, it's fitting that the women's wardrobes align. When Nell travels to Hill House as an adult and changes into a gown, she selects a garment that Olivia had actually worn earlier on in the show.“Olivia wears the Bent Neck Lady’s gown in episode 1, when Hugh comes into bed. That gown becomes Nell’s Bent Neck Lady under-gown,” said Falconer. "Nell is continuing the tragic legacy of Olivia by inhabiting her mother's pieces.”

Nell in her wedding dress

On the show’s most in-demand costumes:
Apparently, fans love Nell’s (Victoria Pedretti) wardrobe — especially her bohemian wedding dress and her long camel coat. “I get an email every day about that wedding dress,” Falconer said. Since the wedding sequence came up suddenly during the show’s shoot, Falconer was unable to design a dress. She and Pedretti ultimately selected a lace gown from Anthropologie’s bridal line, BHLDN.

You’ll have less luck tracking down Nell’s coat. “It’s from my vintage archives,” Falconer revealed. Falconer chose the coat because she senses it has a story of its own. “I don’t know who it belonged to. There were holes in it. It was moth-eaten. But it had a story – you just knew. It almost evokes Anastasia.” Some of Liv's dresses are also from Falconer's personal vintage connection.

Read more here: