Best dressed woman on TV: The impressive wardrobe of Maggie Gyllenhaal as Nessa Stein in The Honourable Woman
Hollywood actress Maggie Gyllenhaal's stylish costumes in the BBC's new drama
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Your support makes all the difference.The stylish wardrobe of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s role in BBC Two’s hard-hitting political thriller, The Honourable Woman, has caught the attention of the eagle-eyed viewers.
The eight-part series, set against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, centres around Nessa Stein, played by Gyllenhaal. Stein is an Anglo-Israeli businesswoman recently ennobled in the House of Lords who devotes herself to philanthropic purposes across the Middle East, but hides a secret past from her time spent in Gaza eight years earlier.
Through the unravelling of her public and private life played out on an international, political stage, Stein parades in an increasingly impressive selection of outfits.
“Because the character of Nessa is so complicated and multi layered, we looked at all sorts of different people as reference. I suppose we started off by looking at other powerful and stylish women through history, Jackie Kennedy, Eva Peron, Margaret Thatcher, Cleopatra” Edward K Gibbon costume designer for the series told The Independent.
“And then we kind of threw all the reference away and started afresh. The way Maggie looked as Nessa was constantly evolving throughout the six month shoot.”
The series opens with Nessa clad in a Roland Mouret power dress. Her day to day look is a sartorial dream with tailored suits by the likes of Stella McCartney, Acne, Escada, Pringle and vintage Chanel.
“Silk blouses and wide legged pants based on 1970s Yves Saint Laurent originals were created by Hilary Marschner” explains Gibbon.
Outerwear includes coats by Mulberry, vintage finds from Jil Sander and a 1980s Gieves and Hawkes men’s coat.
Even curled up in her panic room at night she sports silk slips by haute couture Parisian lingerie designer Carine Gilson and London based lingerie label Bodas.
Shoes are by Acne, Christian Louboutin and Celine. With bags from Mulberry and John Lewis. “Nessa's wardrobe runs the full gamut from designer, through High Street, Charity shops and bespoke pieces” says Gibbon.
“The clothing is always the way in [to the character]” Gyllenhaal told WWD. “I never played a character that didn’t care about what they were wearing.”
The Honourable Woman continues tonight, BBC2 at 9pm.
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