The Handmaid's Tale Costume Designer Leslie Kavanaugh (Interview)

Eyes On Gilead: A Handmaid's Tale Podcast

SBS Audio

The Handmaid's Tale, Tv & Film, Podcast, Podcasts, Tv Shows, After Shows, Sbs

4.7 • 650 Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Join us for a deep dive into the finer details of The Handmaid's Tale's costume design, with Leslie Kavanaugh, who took on the task of creating the looks for season 5 and 6. Leslie talks the evolution of the wifely colour palette, the creation of the plums, June's Canada and Mayday garb, and Serena's New Bethlehem outfits and colour theory. Enjoy this bonus episode as you await the finale of The Handmaid's Tale. (Interview recorded on The Handmaid's Tale set in Toronto in December 2024).

Transcript

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0:00.0	I couldn't be religious and gay. It was impossible. I was being marketed as some sort of like teenage it girl. When a girl kissed me on my 18th birthday, a whole other world opened up to me. I was a minor nuisance. Eight Australians will tell you about the choices that have led them to unexpected places.
0:22.9	These are some of the stories you will hear on Let Me Tell You, a podcast where real people tell incredible real stories.
0:30.4	Look for Let Me Tell You and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
0:37.1	I'm a designer that really likes color and texture.
0:39.8	I'm not afraid of that stuff.
0:41.0	And texture is really, really important to me,
0:43.1	specifically on a show like this,
0:45.6	where it's a darker, somber type thing.
0:48.3	So I choose to use a lot of fabrics that have really nice textures
0:52.6	to give pull and dimension when you're in those
0:55.1	things.
0:59.8	Welcome to Eyes on Gilead, an SBAZE
1:04.1	Welcome to Eyes on Gilead, an SBS podcast dedicated to The Handmaid's Tale.
1:09.4	There is a lot going on in this show, and we think it helps to talk it out.
1:14.0	I'm Fiona Williams, and I'm head of curation at SPS On Demand, and I'm joined by my friends,
1:19.3	colleagues, and fellow resistors.
1:21.8	Haiti Island, channel manager of SPS on Demand.
1:25.0	Hi.
1:26.0	Natalie Hambly, journalist turned gemologist.
1:29.1	Hi.
1:30.6	And Sona Kada, host of All In The Mind podcast on ABC Radio National.
1:35.3	Hi.
	...

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