Study Notes: The Role of Clothing in Television Narratives

The Evolution of Clothing in Contemporary Television: A Narrative and Cultural Device

In the contemporary landscape of television seriality, clothing has transcended its traditional role as a simple decorative element of the mise-en-scène. It now functions as a sophisticated narrative, symbolic, and cultural device that contributes decisively to the construction of characters, the definition of serial storyworlds, and the relationship between the television text and its audience. The evolution of television towards forms of "quality television" and complex seriality has profoundly transformed the function of costumes, turning them into essential tools for building the visual identity of a series and activating interpretative practices among viewers.

Historically, the relationship between fashion and the audiovisual medium emerged in classic Hollywood cinema, where stars served as imitative models for the public, and their clothing helped spread social styles and behavioral patterns. However, in contemporary television, this relationship has taken on new characteristics. Costumes no longer just represent existing fashions; they actively participate in the production of the contemporary cultural imagination. Television series have become symbolic laboratories for the construction of social identity, where clothing plays a central role. Within the context of media convergence and digital platforms, serial clothing also enters transmedia circulation processes, contributing to complex cultural ecosystems involving social networks, fandom practices, and active public participation. Serial costumes become recognizable and shareable objects, extending the narrative experience beyond the screen and transforming into tools of cultural identification.

Significant examples of this dynamic include the series Stranger Things, where the 1980s wardrobe builds a nostalgic imaginary. The protagonists' clothes do more than reconstruct a historical era; they generate emotional experiences based on the shared pop culture memory of the United States. In this sense, vintage serves as a narrative strategy for world-building that bridges different generations. Similarly, series like Sex and the City and Gossip Girl demonstrate how clothing can become central to a character's narrative identity, defining cultural and behavioral models for the audience to imitate. In these cases, costumes are not just realistic elements but mediators between television narration and consumer culture.

Clothing as a Tool for Character Construction and World-Building

In contemporary seriality, clothing serves as a semiotic device through which narratives make psychological, social, and relational transformations visible. Especially in quality television, costumes guide the viewer's interpretation and ensure the narrative continuity of the storyworld. Because contemporary characters are no longer static or stereotypical but possess complex evolutionary trajectories, clothing provides a recognizable visual language that allows listeners to interpret identity dynamics without relying solely on dialogue or action. Costumes act as visual markers of identity, signaling social belonging, psychological shifts, and individual growth.

An illustrative example is the series Sex Education, where the clothing of adolescent protagonists is central to their identity formation. The outfits are not just age-appropriate; they are narrative tools that reflect insecurities, aspirations, and internal conflicts during the transition to adulthood. The stylistic variety reflects a pluralistic, inclusive youth universe where clothing is a space for identity experimentation. Another central example is Stranger Things, where the wardrobe reconstructs the 1983 setting while activating cultural recognition tied to collective memories of American pop culture. Items like graphic t-shirts and sports jackets build a coherent world that encourages spectator immersion from the first sequence. Clothing here also differentiates generational groups and represents the social hierarchies of the Hawkins community.

Furthermore, in The Queen's Gambit, the evolution of Beth Harmon's wardrobe tracks her personal and professional growth. Initially, her clothes reflect social marginality and lack of institutional integration. As she succeeds in the world of chess, her clothing becomes more sophisticated and structured, visually representing the construction of her public identity. This demonstrates costume as a narrative indicator of identity transformation. Finally, clothing supports serial continuity. Unlike film, television develops over many episodes and seasons, requiring visual elements that maintain character recognizability. Costumes anchor the viewer's narrative memory, allowing for quick identification of characters throughout various stages of their development.

The Symbolic, Political, and Transmedia Dimensions of Serial Costume

Contemporary serial narratives use clothing as a symbolic device that transcends the screen to enter real social space, becoming a tool for cultural, political, and identity communication. Unlike traditional television, contemporary series use costumes to activate audience participation and identification. Clothing functions as a "mobile cultural sign" that can be reinterpreted and shared in digital and public contexts, turning fictional symbols into part of the viewers' daily lives.

One of the most powerful examples is The Handmaid’s Tale. The handmaids' costume—a red tunic and white headpiece—serves a potent symbolic function both within the story and in real-world society. Inside the storyworld of Gilead, the attire represents the subordination of women in a totalitarian regime, acting as a tool of social control that erases individual identity and reduces women to disciplined, functional bodies for biological reproduction. However, this costume's power extended into reality, where it was adopted by feminist movements as a symbol of protest against the restriction of reproductive rights and institutional control over female bodies. This illustrates how serial clothing can directly contribute to contemporary public discourse and activism.

Similarly, the Italian series 1992 uses costumes to reconstruct the political and cultural imaginary of early 1990s Italy during the crisis of the "First Republic" and the rise of the Tangentopoli scandal. Clothing mediates between historical narrative and collective memory, allowing viewers to recognize the social tensions of that era. In Emily in Paris, costumes negotiate cultural differences between American and European models—specifically American spontaneity and color versus European tradition and aesthetic refinement. Furthermore, in Sex and the City and Gossip Girl, clothing builds aspirational imaginaries based on the link between fashion, personal identity, and social success, influencing global consumption patterns.

Identity Construction in Late Modernity: From Walter White to Group Identities

Within contemporary seriality, clothing represents the transformations of individual identity in "late-modern" societies characterized by social instability and pluralistic identity models. In this context, costumes do not just represent psychological traits; they visualize processes of personal growth and social role redefinition. A prime example is Breaking Bad, where the evolution of Walter White's clothing tracks his transition from a frustrated teacher to the criminal figure Heisenberg. Early on, he wears anonymous, neutral colors reflecting his lack of power. Eventually, he develops an iconic visual identity—the black hat and dark sunglasses—which serves as a visual indicator of his moral metamorphosis.

In Mad Men, clothing constructs the historical and cultural dimension of 1960s America while highlighting identity tensions, such as the emancipation of Peggy Olson. Her changing style tracks her journey from a subordinate to an autonomous professional in a male-dominated advertising world. Collective identities are also built through costume, as seen in Money Heist (La casa di carta). The red jumpsuit and Dalí mask create a group identity for the robbers that became a global political symbol used in real-life protests. This demonstrates how serial clothing can express political participation.

In the series Euphoria, clothing represents contemporary youth identities as fluid and unstable. The characters' outfits reflect the tensions of building an adolescent identity in a digital society where there is high media exposure of the body and constant negotiation between private and public life. Finally, contemporary costumes often challenge traditional gender norms, proposing more complex and articulated identity models than the television of the past, confirming the strategic role of costumes in defining the modern serial imaginary.

Clothing as a Device for Cultural Memory and Historical Reconstruction

In the fourth chapter, the focus shifts to how clothing serves as a fundamental tool for historical reconstruction and a device for activating collective cultural memory. Serial costumes do more than provide a realistic background; they participate in constructing a shared historical imaginary. This reconstruction is never neutral but is a narrative mediation between the past and present, using clothing to make temporal distance perceptible or to interpret the past through contemporary cultural sensibilities.

In Mad Men, formal masculine suits represent a model of authority and social stability from the 1950s, while the evolution of female styles tracks the transition of American society from "Fordist modernity" to postmodern culture. In The Crown, the costumes provide an accurate historical reconstruction of the British monarchy and the second half of the 20th century. Specifically, Queen Elizabeth II's attire builds her stable institutional image while highlighting the tension between her public role and her personal identity. The Italian series 1992 performs a similar task for the early 90s, translating the transition from an analog Italy to a contemporary media society into visual terms.

Furthermore, contemporary television often utilizes a "nostalgic imaginary." In Stranger Things, the 1980s are reconstructed through a careful citation of visual aesthetics from the cinema and pop culture of that era. The vivid colors and athletic wear of the young protagonists create a familiar environment for viewers, turning nostalgia into a narrative tool that connects different generations. This confirms that clothing is an essential narrative device for constructing history in contemporary television.

The Intersection of Cultural Industry, Consumption, and Audience Participation

Clothing in contemporary television serves as a bridge between serial storytelling, the cultural industry, and consumption practices. It creates a complex system of relationships between audiovisual production and the fashion industry, where series define aesthetic trends and identity models. This turns the spectator into an active subject who reinterprets narrative symbols in their daily lives. In Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw's wardrobe—filled with recognizable brands and a highly personal style—promoted a model of urban femininity linked to individual freedom and metropolitan experience. This established a direct relationship between TV seriality and contemporary fashion culture.

Similarly, Gossip Girl uses the "preppy" school aesthetic to build a youth imaginary based on class belonging and media visibility in Manhattan. These outfits serve as identificatory devices that influence the consumption patterns of younger audiences. In the age of participatory culture, viewers do not passively watch; they engage through cosplay, fan art, and online sharing. For example, the clothing in Stranger Things is easily reproducible, encouraging viewers to perform and reappropriate the series' aesthetics. In Money Heist, the red jumpsuit and Dalí mask became one of the most recognizable visual symbols of contemporary seriality, transforming from a narrative element into a global political tool. This demonstrates how costume connects the serial tale to contemporary material culture and active social participation.

Stranger Things: Visual Texture, Nostalgia, and the Evolution of Eleven

Stranger Things is characterized by a high "density of visual texture," inviting viewers to carefully observe objects and recognize cultural references from the recent past. This creates an "archive effect," where fragments of 1980s material culture become narrative elements. The series is explicitly set in 1983, and its aesthetic strategy combines historical reconstruction with cinematic citations—referencing films like E.T. and The Goonies. Costumes like puffy vests, straight-cut jeans, and vintage sneakers are not just props but identity signs that define social relations within the show.

A key narrative function of clothing is found in the character Eleven. Her identity evolution is tracked through her wardrobe changes: she begins in a hospital gown, signaling her status as a scientific subject and her estrangement from the world. When she is taken in by Hopper, she wears his oversized shirts and simple jeans—an androgynous look that reflects her social invisibility and lack of autonomy. A turning point occurs in the shopping sequence at the Starcourt Mall. Set to Madonna's "Material Girl," this scene shows Eleven choosing vibrant, patterned outfits for herself. This transition from external control to individual autonomy marks her soul’s maturation. This use of pop culture music and fashion demonstrates how clothing activates emotional and cultural recognition in the viewer while serving as an indicator of psychological growth.

The Handmaid’s Tale: The Visual Language of Power and Political Resistance

In The Handmaid’s Tale, clothing is a central device for building a dystopian universe. It acts as a visual language of power and social control, organizing the hierarchy of Gilead through a rigid chromatic system. This system allows viewers to understand the social structure without verbal explanation: Handmaids wear red (fertility and institutional violence), Wives wear blue (purity and domesticity), Marthas wear green (domestic labor), and Aunts wear brown (education and control). The Handmaids' white "wings" or headpieces specifically represent perceptual restriction and the biopolitical control of bodies.

However, clothing also becomes a space for symbolic resistance. The character June/Offred uses her body and clothing as a site for identity negotiation, showing that micro-practices of resistance can exist even within a totalitarian system. Outside the screen, the Handmaid costume has become a global political icon used by activists to protest for reproductive rights. This highlights the ability of contemporary seriality to produce symbols that intervene in the real public sphere. The costume's design is rooted in North American Puritan traditions, making the dystopian setting feel plausible because it is anchored in recognizable historical models.

The Virality and Expansion of Serial Fashion in the Digital Age

In the digital age, serial costumes have become "mobile cultural objects" that travel across platforms. They serve as a sign of immediate recognizability, condensing a series' identity into a single visual element. The rise of digital platforms has enabled viewers to interpret, reproduce, and reuse these costumes as tools for personal and collective self-representation. This is seen in the extreme influence of Sex and the City on urban fashion and Gossip Girl’s impact on youth consumption models.

The virality of serial fashion is tied to its synthetic nature—easy to share and reinterpret on social networks. Modern viewers have a material relationship with narrations through the purchase and reproduction of character outfits. This process turns the spectator from a passive recipient into a producer of meaning. Serial clothing, therefore, acts as a narrative, identity, and participatory device, linking the internal dimensions of the story to the social circulation of images and the formation of a shared cultural imaginary.