In Behind The Seams, writer Marie Lodi explores the intersection of fashion and film, spotlighting the iconic style moments that shaped cinema and the never-before-heard stories behind them.
For anyone who has ever lived in Los Angeles, the new HBO series, I Love LA, can hit a little too close to home. It's unapologetically accurate— the coffee lines that never end, the beach trips that turn into day-long odysseys, and, of course, Erewhon, which, as one character says, "isn’t a grocery store" so much as "an experience" (or a $20-smoothie fever dream). Created by and starring Rachel Sennott, the show captures everything we love—and love to hate—about LA through the eyes of Sennott's Maia, a 27-year-old talent manager assistant, and her circle of friends, played by Odessa A’zion, True Whitaker, and Jordan Firstman.
Sennott, who moved to LA from New York (like her character) in 2020, drew inspiration from legacy HBO shows that came before, including Girls, Entourage, and Sex and the City. As with New York in SATC, Los Angeles is more than a setting. It’s a character in its own right—and so are the clothes. Christina Flannery, the show’s costume designer, brought Sennott’s West Coast Gen Z world to life through vintage gems, local designers, and clever, self-referential pieces reserved for the extremely online.
After wrapping The Righteous Gemstones and the Sydney Sweeney boxer biopic Christy, Flannery was eager to take on something that proved her range. "I wanted to show these young kids that I can f***ing pull some fashion looks out of my ass—that I can do archival design and really get down with the millennial and Gen Z crowd," she tells Coveteur. "I really dove deep...I wanted to educate myself, do a lot of research, and carve out brands that each character would have access to or follow—what they’d see in Vogue—and go from there." Even keeping up with current fashion, Flannery was adamant about not chasing trends. She and Sennott both wanted the show’s look to feel timeless. As Flannery explains, Sex and the City’s first season became her benchmark: stylish without alienating viewers and authentic without trying too hard.
Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
In the first episode of the series, Maia is celebrating her 27th birthday when her former BFF-slash-influencer, Tallulah (A’zion), shows up unannounced—a harbinger of chaos carrying a (stolen) Balenciaga bag. It's the beginning of Maia's Saturn return, the astrological coming-of-age that can shake up one's career, relationships, and sense of purpose. Flannery first dressed Sennott in sweet, feminine silhouettes and lighter palettes inspired by '90s icons like Claire Danes and Reese Witherspoon in Cruel Intentions, with a touch of Secretary. Later, she says, Maia's look transitions into more of an early SATC Carrie Bradshaw vibe, with one look directly referencing Sarah Jessica Parker's character: Sennott wears a bodycon version of Jean Paul Gaultier's famous newspaper dress.
"Her tops were a little bit more reserved, but there was still a late '90s Marc Jacobs cherry top with a bullet bra that was probably from the '50s or '60s," Flannery says of Maia's look. "We still wanted to put those fashion moments in there, slowly and slowly, until she completely starts to elevate, and then it's just this weird juxtaposition with her trying to keep up with Tallulah."
Maia’s closet is a mix of vintage designer treasures and It-girl staples, including Vivienne Westwood corsets, Betsey Johnson cardigans, and pieces from Dolce & Gabbana, Dior, Pucci, and YSL, paired with rising names like Dilara Findikoglu and LA-based Eric Charlotte. Flannery even slipped Sennott into a white, bedazzled “Cynic” tank from LA's Fashion Brand Company—a tribute to the one Carrie Fisher wore in the 1979 cult film Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video. "I use [Fashion Brand Company] on pretty much everything I do," says Flannery. "What they’re doing is so unique and special and one of a kind. And I love their size range."
Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
In one episode, Firstman has a hilarious line where he says, “Ugh, I hate inside jokes. It’s like, why not me involved?” It feels like a fitting nod to I Love LA’s hyper-local sense of humor, but that same insider energy runs through the costume design. Not only does Flannery spotlight LA-based brands, but also real local institutions beyond the classic Dodgers cap worn by Maya’s boyfriend Dylan (Josh Hutcherson). The show is basically a fashion scavenger hunt for Angelenos, packed with Easter eggs and inside jokes that Flannery (a former LA resident herself) deliberately wove in.
There’s a Dan Tana’s tee from Re/Done that references the iconic old-school Italian restaurant in West Hollywood (and also popped up in the new season of Nobody Wants This). A Viper Room shirt pays homage to the legendary Sunset Strip club once co-owned by Johnny Depp. The Bob Baker Marionette Theater hat is a love letter to the city’s beloved vintage puppet theater, a kitschy LA treasure since 1963. There’s also a hat referencing Jumbo’s Clown Room, the East Hollywood rock n' roll bikini bar that Flannery considers a rite of passage for anyone who’s truly "from here."
And then there’s the deep-cut LA reference that arrives in the form of a Wi Spa moment. The 24-hour Koreatown spa, beloved for its scrubs, steam rooms, and bibimbap, issues every visitor the same yellow (for women) or white (for men) tee and khaki shorts. Now, you can’t buy one of these shirts; you can only, let's say, liberate it. "The Wi Spa, for me, was iconic," says Flannery. "I was just like, 'get them on the phone. Do I have to go down there?' Luckily, we called and called, and finally, we got it cleared. So, that was great, and they gave us two."
Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
When Tallulah wears the Wi Spa shirt, it's the perfect character note, since she has a tendency to "liberate" items herself. Though, Flannery isn't entirely convinced her thievery is on purpose. "I'm wondering, is she a klepto or is she just an Aquarius?" she says. "Did she grab something and just walk out and forget it?" For Tallulah's overall look, Flannery channeled Australian punk queen Amyl from Amyl and the Sniffers, and '90s riot grrrl icons like the Lunachicks and Bikini Kill, dressing her in darker palettes—Rick Owens dresses, Hollywood Lowbrow and Paly Hollywood tees, micro leopard shorts, chunky Marc Jacobs platforms, and a recurring whale tail, courtesy of A'zion. "I love that character so much,” she says. "She's a little tornado, wherever she goes. So, her clothes were just very much weird and lived-in, in a way that's not really television-friendly necessarily, but definitely feels like somebody that you could meet, at like, Berghain, or some shitty ass bar at 4 a.m. in New York."
Alani (Whitaker), by contrast, is a "nepo baby with access," so Flannery gave her a lot of designer pieces to work with, including Prada, Jean Paul Gaultier, Attico, and a YSL fringe purse. (Fun Fact: Whitaker is a nepo baby in real life, as her father is actor Forest Whitaker.) Jordan (Firstman) is the group's resident fashion stylist, so there are plenty of standouts, like an ERL pink faux fur coat, a Dsquared cigarette holder hat, pieces by Diesel, Ferragamo, Magliano, Martine Rose, JW Anderson, and a rotation of slogan tees requested by Firstman. (One with this legendary Cher tweet and another with, "can I quiz you on ocean facts?")
Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
And then there’s Leighton Meester’s character, the girlboss mentor to Maia. There's some vintage Westwood and D&G, but the majority of her wardrobe is millennial power dressing 101: Tori Burch, Isabel Marant, some Mother jeans, and a denim corset. The corset was actually written into the script. “Which I thought was quite funny," Flannery says. "Because, again, that’s how the younger characters see millennials—they’re like, 'oh yeah, they wore denim corsets.' And they’re not wrong. It's true. We’ll throw a denim corset over something and call it fashion."In I Love LA, Sennott brings together sharp comedy, emotional honesty, and a deep affection for the city’s creative chaos—and that collaborative spirit defined the set, too. "Coming off Gemstones and how amazing Danny [McBride] is, my expectations were so high, and she literally met them," says Flannery of working with Sennott. "[Rachel] knows what the f*** she wants. She has great taste, she’s so funny and kind, and she wants everyone to succeed and have their creative liberties. It was a beautiful marriage of minds."
