Murder-mystery comedy “Only Murders in the Building” is back for season three and once again, Selena Gomez‘s character Mabel Mora finds a way to nail fall fashion in New York.
When the first season aired in 2021, costume designer Dana Covarrubias was tasked with making Gomez stand out, not as the pop star she is, but as her character in the series. It was a challenge, given Gomez’s fame. And with that, came nailing down the perfect look in the pilot.
“Everyone knows her. So I wanted to be able to create another character for her that people could sort of think of and separate in their minds,” Covarrubias told FN during “Only Murders in the Building’s” immersive experience held at United Palace in New York last week. “We were very specific on making sure that the costumes were really different than how she dresses in her day-to day-life. For the pilot, we know this would be the most featured look. We had long conversations, like many days long, about what it should be. I didn’t know how big it was going to get, but we definitely knew it was a choice.”
The signature look included a yellow beanie, faux fur jacket, yellow sweater, plaid pants and a pair of red headphones with sunglasses. Not only did Covarrubias create a tangible style aesthetic for the fictional character, but she also inspired real-life consumers at the same time. Since then, “Only Murders in the Building” has become the go-to inspo for autumn wardrobe essentials.
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This season, Mabel can be seen in men’s suiting, trench coats, loafers and oxfords. “What’s changed with her is that she’s gone from not really knowing who she was in season one, and what her path was in life. In season two, she was exploring her artistic side so we went a little bit more colorful, romantic and flowy in costumes. Now, she’s really left on her own to be the main detective of the group so we wanted to reflect that in her costumes as she’s taking on more of professional detective work.”
In season three, Mabel and her counterparts, Charles (played by Steve Martin) and Oliver (Martin Short), are investigating a murder behind the scenes of a Broadway show. Ben Glenroy (Paul Rudd) is a Hollywood action star whose Broadway debut is cut short by his untimely death. Aided by co-star Loretta Durkin (Meryl Streep), the trio embarks on another case, while play director Oliver attempts to put his show back together.
Staying on theme, Covarrubias said the goal was to go “really big” for Broadway.
“I had to think about what in reality they could have produced within the story of our script. And Oliver is producing this thing, they don’t have any money to create crazy Broadway level costumes. But at the same time, I thought we could do some version of it,” she said.
For Mabel, who is not in the Broadway show, keeping her costumes realistic was also top of mind. Shoes-wise, the character is dressed in wearable footwear such as Dr. Marten’s and lugged-sole boots. “I want her to be a person who’s wearing realistic shoes for New York City because people know we can’t walk around in heels in New York, you’re on your feet all day,” added Covarrubias.
While Mabel is often dressed in practical clothing, the costumer still looks for her to stand out and that comes from her sweater collection. She said, “I’m always looking for the sweater to have some element to it that is different — a different pattern or it’s a different texture or it’s an interesting weave, or oversized in a specific way. There has to be just some element that’s interesting.”
