Costume Designer, Debra Hanson, Talks Dressing Schitt's Creek Fashion Queen and Matriarch, Moira Rose

 Moira Rose, the peerless once-wealthy Rose family matriarch on Pop TV’s hit comedy “Schitt’s Creek,” is an over-the-top television style icon for the ages.

Costumed by longtime Canadian designer Debra Hanson (Emmy-nominated with her assistant, Darci Cheyne), the multiwigged Moira is played to quirky perfection by Catherine O’Hara.

With guidance from showrunner and costar Daniel Levy, O’Hara leaned in to the campy Moira to offer Hanson and her team inspiration for the onetime soap star’s oddball couture as she and her family settled into Schitt’s Creek, the small town the Roses once purchased as a joke and their only asset after a business associate left them penniless.

“Moira puts great care into how she presents herself; she wants the world to see who she really is, which is, of course, an off-centered target,” says O’Hara. “I suggested Daphne Guinness [British heiress and high-fashion icon] as inspiration for Moira’s look but otherwise just stood there while Debra and her team and Daniel put me together in the most beautiful, formidable and hysterical way. “Johnny’s [Eugene Levy] impeccable suits and Moira’s wearable art tell everyone that these people are not going to give up who they think they are while being furloughed from their rightful positions,” she adds.

“I have to say there was a great deal of laughter in the fittings with Catherine O’Hara,” notes Hanson. “She tried everything, and by her response to it we always knew: ‘Nah, this isn’t quite it,’ or ‘Oh, my God.’ Most of the time, it was ‘Oh, my God. Put more.’”

Dan Levy also credits O’Hara with both Moira’s look and the vibrant and collegial experience. “I can’t pinpoint what exactly it is about Catherine that makes literally anything from a wig worn backwards to a complicated, high-fashion piece from Raf Simons work,” he says. “Fittings with Catherine were always fun because we could really experiment, and the weirder things got, the better she looked. We had this saying during her costume fittings that when it comes to Moira Rose, more is more. Too much is never enough. I’ll miss those mornings.”

Read full interview here

The Importance of Fashion in 'Schitt's Creek'

While the hit Pop TV sitcom “Schitt’s Creek” came to a close last November after its sixth season, the zeitgeist hasn’t given up on it — especially when it comes to its over-the-top designer fashion.

The show, created by father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy, introduced the world to the wealthy Rose family as they lose all their money and are forced to relocate to a small town called Schitt’s Creek, which the family purchased years earlier as a joke. While the family is adjusting to living in a motel with little to no money, each character stays true to their extravagant designer wardrobe, which is curated by costume designer, Debra Hanson.

In the series’ behind-the-scenes special, “Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell,” Dan Levy spoke about the role that fashion plays in the sitcom and how the show’s wardrobe came about. 

Here we look at seven interesting facts about the fashion of “Schitt’s Creek.” 

1. Daphne Guinness Was One of the Inspirations Behind Moira Rose

Moira's fashion inspiration was Daphne Guinness

Catherine O’Hara’s Moira Rose is arguably the most iconic of the characters, thanks to her rotating assortment of wigs and her lavish black-and-white outfits designed by the likes of Alexander McQueen, Givenchy and Balenciaga.

When first coming up with the character’s style, O’Hara brought in images of English socialite and fashion designer Daphne Guinness, whose style consists of mostly black-and-white outfits, oversize accessories and light-reflecting pieces, as a reference for her character.

“She came to me with some references, in terms of how the character would look and she was thinking of having this sort of accent,” Levy said. “I remember finding it all quite dazzling. Little did I know at the time just how much Catherine brings to the table.”

2. Moira’s Wigs Were a Special Request from O’Hara

Moira Rose’s lavish looks are oftentimes complemented with an equally eye-catching wig. In the special, O’Hara revealed that the wigs weren’t initially part of her character’s look, but rather her own special request.

“The wigs weren’t in it and the vocabulary wasn’t in it, that’s what I got to add,” she said. “I just asked if I could wear wigs depending on my mood. It works for fashion reasons, it works for hiding or revealing what I’m feeling, it works as a protective helmet, so it’s just too much fun.”

3. Fittings for Moira and Alexis Rose’s Characters Took Hours

Annie Murphy, who played Alexis Rose, revealed in the special that her and O’Hara’s costume fittings would often take hours. Murphy’s character, while not as campy as her mother’s, consisted of many bohemian-inspired looks from brands like Isabel Marant, Celine and Chloé.

4. Dan Levy Said Wardrobe Was the Most Important Element of Storytelling

A still from series 6

Levy explained that each character’s fashion played a critical role in the show.

“Wardrobe is probably the most important element in storytelling outside of actually writing,” he said. “We as people say so much about who we are and what we believe in and what we want and what we think of ourselves by the way that we dress. To me, wardrobe was like a huge focus, making sure that we thought through each of our characters and making sure the details were there.”

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