It seems obvious and pertinent to start a series of posts dedicated to, from my point of view, the greatest exponent of fashion on television to date. I’m of course talking about Jodie Comer (absolute life crush♡) in her role as Villanelle in Killing Eve (sorry, Miss Bradshaw).
To give a bit of context, Killing Eve is a British TV drama series adapted by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (mother) from the literary saga Killing Eve published in 2017 by British author and journalist Luke Jennings. In a very summarised way, we could say that the plot is mainly based on the chase/relationship between the two main characters: Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), an MI5 officer and Villanelle (Jodie Comer), a hired assassin, while many other subplots happen at the hands of secondary characters that end up becoming very relevant to the main plot.
Villanelle, our main character, undergoes a complex character development throughout the different seasons, but if there is one thing that remains inherent over time, it is her eccentricities, and one of them is her great love affair with fashion. From her first appearance we can predict that costume design is going to be something of vital importance in the series in general and in Jodie Comer’s character in particular. We see her dressed by the most acclaimed designers, with even very risky, avant-garde proposals and with a delightful sense of fashion. This is thanks to the show’s costume designers and stylists: Charlotte Lucas, Phoebe De Gaye and Sam Perry.
I could go on and on about every single look that appears in each episode, but I’m going to make a small selection of a few that have made the biggest impact on me and that I wish I had in my own wardrobe.
For someone like me, who loves a good trouser suit and blazer more than anything else, I couldn’t not talk about one of my favourites of the whole series. In season one episode 03, Villanelle goes to a German nightclub (where she carries out one of the most shocking murders of the whole series) wearing a spectacular geometric print Dries Van Noten suit, military-style boots and, as a complement, a green scarf that she «borrows» from Eve. A blazer with a well-structured pattern and cropped trousers. This can also be interpreted as a small hint of what we might soon see over the seasons and of the character’s own personality. The suit is usually attributed to the man, to the masculine, Villanelle is presented as a tough, strong woman, with a lot of character, but all this under a super magnetic feminine aura/energy (because social constructs are ridiculous). With looks like this, in which it is palpable how confident she feels when she wears them, she conveys to us that she’s in charge, that she’s got it all under control and that she’s practically invincible.
In contrast to the previous outfit, I’d like to mention another one from the first season. A look that all the fast fashion shops replicated in a thousand different ways and that was so fashionable throughout 2019. It is, of course, the delicate pink dress by Molly Goddard. Transparencies, tulle, volume, straight neckline and balloon sleeves. All characteristic features of a delicate, feminine and very sweet aesthetic. Something that, in the beginning, could seem completely out of place if we attribute it to the Villanelle of the first chapters (where we have not yet seen her vulnerable or expressing her feelings). This is perfectly balanced by the combination with those famous black Balenciaga boots with cut outs.
Because she can be the sweetest girl in the world hanging out in Paris at 10 am and gutting you in a nightclub in front of the crowd at 11 pm. ☺
