Matlock Costume Designer Hope Hanafin Was Retired—Then Kathy Bates Called
Hanafin created a world of workplace armor, Etruscan earrings, and three-piece suits for the twisty CBS procedural.
Welcome to the wild and wonderful era of Emmy Awards: Phase 1, a time before nomination voting when the arbitrary rules governing what is timely are set aside, and we can discuss projects that were released weeks or months earlier and deserve to be top of mind again. (Sidenote: You can take these as my personal recommendations for viewing until networks start sponsoring content. Life’s too short to write about nonsense without getting paid for it.) Matlock premiered on CBS September 22, 2024.
Costume designer Hope Hanafin was retired when she got a call. Longtime collaborator Kathy Bates wanted to know: Could Hanafin come do a new CBS series that Bates was starring in called Matlock? And like the character of Mattie Matlock/Madeline Kingston herself, Hanafin found herself back in the game when she thought she’d left it behind.
After years of working together, “This was a true joy,” Hanafin says. “We would just start crying in the fitting room when I could take things off the rack and put them on her, because that hadn't been our experience.”
Working with Bates again was rewarding, but Hanafin was also drawn to a show that Trojan horses so many important socio-political issues within a populist network procedural. And then there was the chance to work in Los Angeles, which Hanafin is firm about being a major selling point. The reasons why L.A. is unparalleled in terms of production infrastructure have been covered in depth elsewhere, but Hanafin brings up something more than just the skill set you can find in Hollywood.
”One of our guys got a call that his son wasn't dressed properly for the end-of-school performance or whatever,” she says. “We had school uniforms, so we rushed him to school, and it was all a sham. The reason they called is that his son was getting the award for the kindest child in the district. Now, if you are on location, you don't get to be there for those moments. And I think the fuller life you can lead makes you better in this business. There's just no question about that.”
Based on her work on Matlock, Hanafin has lived a full life indeed. Her take on Bates as Mattie Matlock versus Bates as Madeline Kingston is as complex and layered as any episode of the show.
“At home [as Madeline], she's more relaxed, the fabrics are more luxe,” Hanafin says. “That jacket is an armor that she puts on when she goes to work [as Mattie]. All the jewelry she wears at home is based on museum pieces or is a museum piece, because her husband's an art historian. I was looking for a visual link between the two of them, so it's things that he would've gotten her on sabbatical or on a trip. Instead of wearing Cartier or Tiffany, she wears the Etruscan earring or the Renaissance drop.”
(This is why I always laugh when people prioritize coverage of period costumes over contemporary, and a big reason I started Meet Me at Crafty. What could influence our unconscious reaction more than the subtleties woven into “everyday” clothing by costume designers?)
A sense of clothes as workplace armor extends to Skye P. Marshall’s Olympia, as well, who is usually dressed in a stylish monochromatic suit. Hanafin initially struggled with that choice when showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman asked for it. “It took me a minute to understand that, because I thought, ‘How fun, I can dress her in a thousand things with that hair and skin and figure,” Hanafin says. “But I went for it. So her coats match her suits match her shoes match her Telfar bag. It was to be her armor. When she goes, as a Black woman, into this law firm in New York, she armors up. But she is still the most colorful person ever in any scene.”
But there are many more characters to Matlock than just the powerhouse female stars—including Olympia’s two Season 1 romantic interests, Elijah (Jocko Sims) and her ex-husband Julian (Jason Ritter).
“They're so different in builds,” Hanafin says of the actors. “We had the luxury of making suits for the amazing Elijah, and then to take it a step further, we made the suits three-piece or double-breasted. Then when [Olympia and Julian] were getting back together and Elijah returns for the Christmas party in the three-piece suit, I just wanted him to come in and look more gorgeous than ever.”
Three-piece suits for high-powered attorneys are one thing, but in a procedural, the costume department also dresses everyone from a wealthy consultant to a bodega owner. “All those day players come from outside the world of corporate America, most of them,” Hanafin says. “So it's really an adventure to do all of those folks. That's one of the fun things about procedurals, which I've never done before: You do get to dip into different worlds each episode.”
And in one very Matlock-specific instance, Hanafin got to dip into the world of Madeline’s sister, Bitsy (Julie Hagerty), a talkative Southern woman of a certain age who inspired Madeline’s performance as Mattie.
”Part of it was the scale of the blouses. [Bitsy] wears those little floral prints, and the awkwardness of those pants that end mid-calf,” Hanafin says. “We didn't alter things, so they hung awkwardly. I’ve worked in Atlanta a lot, and I've spent a lot of time in the south. And there's just another aesthetic. If you're there for a while, you start wearing those clothes. It wasn't hard to dip into, and Jennie and folks signed off on it in a minute. It was feminine, but still practical.”
Bitsy was headed back to Georgia by the time the two-part season finale aired, an episode that held extra meaning for Hanafin. “I realized this is the last time I'm ever going to watch something I did that's new,” Hanafin said. Yes, Hanafin retired again, but the Matlock cast is in good hands for Season 2 with Hanafin’s Season 1 assistant Hannah Jacobs.
“She was my assistant years ago on a couple of things, and then she got a job as a designer,” Hanafin says. But after the double whammy of COVID and the strikes, she was ready to team up again as Hanafin’s assistant on Season 1. “It really was a collaboration between the two of us. And I had her in all the meetings and was sure that she had a relationship with all the actors and the directors, and Kathy adores her. I'm just so thrilled. Nothing makes me happier than when people who've worked with me as assistants have moved up. It's just the greatest thrill.”
Hope Hanafin is a CDG Award winner and a two-time Emmy Award nominee. She submitted Episode 13, “Pre-Game,” for Emmy consideration. Her credits include 500 Days of Summer, The Newsroom, Gepetto, and Cupid & Cate. (As always, this partial list of credits indicates nothing more than my own idiosyncratic taste.) Her go-to at crafty? “ This is really weird. It's iced coffee with oat milk and a splash of seltzer, and I shake it up and pretend it's ice cream. With coconut LaCroix, because then it's like drinking an Almond Joy.”
Thank you for highlighting the crew and the wonders of working in LA. Il miss all the crafty meet ups Hope