More than the many dates or inappropriate brunch talks, “Sex and the City” has always been known for one thing: its fashion. That certainly carries over to its long-in-the-making sequel series “And Just Like That,” which premiered its first episode of Season 2 Thursday.
Centered on Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie and co. getting ready to attend the Met Gala, there’s a throwback fashion moment in Episode 1 that will make longtime fans of the franchise catch their breath: the Vivienne Westwood wedding dress.
“In one second, that showed you that Carrie is trying to move forward in her life,” costume designer Molly Rogers told TheWrap, nodding to the stagnancy she felt in Season 1 after Big’s death.
The moment comes after the episode shows Carrie being sewn into a poorly made garment from Jackie’s (Bobby Lee) wife for the gala. At the very last moment, Carrie concedes that the outfit isn’t going to work and she instead goes in something a little more fabulous: her wedding dress.
“When I read that — that they had written that she gets in a jam and she has to pull something out at the last minute — I had to think about it, but I thought it was really cool,” Rogers said.
As soon as Rogers and codesigner Danny Santiago learned of the scene, they had Carrie’s original gown from “Sex and the City” repaired at Vivienne Westwood. “We had to see if she fit in it. And it did, and we had to call and see if the bluebird was still alive and well,” Rogers said of the dress and its feathered headpiece. “It was just really a fun walk down memory lane.”
Rogers and Santiago even included an Easter egg for fans in the outfit.
“I don’t know if anyone’s noticing when she comes down the stairs of the stoop, I had her wear the pin cushion from the young designer on her arm as a bracelet,” Rogers revealed.
Carrie’s repurposed wedding dress is all part of the evolution of “And Just Like That” as a series. “Momentous loss dictated Season 1, and grief plays a big role in loss,” Parker told TheWrap of Carrie’s journey. “It would be, I think, irresponsible in some ways to just disregard that and reject it for the purposes of finding joy. The character of Big [Chris Noth] was very meaningful, not just to Carrie but to an audience. So I think we had to deal with it and found ways to do it with nobility and spirit.”
And just like her wedding dress, Carrie is in a very different place in Season 2. “A person resurfaces after grieving,” the actress added. “I don’t know that [Season 2] is better. It’s just more familiar because it’s a single person in this particular city who is pursuing discovery. And with that often comes joy and buoyancy and possibility and hope and disappointments.”
Aside from Carrie’s growth, it simply wouldn’t be “Sex and the City” without plenty more fashion moments to go around. A second “And Just Like That” fashion standout comes when newcomer to the franchise Nicole Ari Parker is gifted a breathtaking gown reveal of her own and her character Lisa Todd Wexley becomes one of the Met Gala’s very best dressed.
Dressed in a red Valentino gown complete with a 15-foot-long chiffon train and elaborate Philip Treacy headpiece, LTW realizes that she forgot to reserve a car for the annual gala. With no other options, she decides to walk, her husband Herbert (Chris Jackson) hastily gathering the elaborate train behind her. It all comes to a head when LTW crosses an intersection as fabric streams behind her, creating an instantly iconic moment.
The actress remembers it as a special highlight of her filming experience.
“When Molly Rogers told me what was coming in a crate, I just gagged,” she recalled. “It was classic ‘Sex in the City’… I felt iconic.”
“I always say to myself, ‘Thank God, there’s Italians in this world,’” Rogers said of the gown. She and Santiago saw Valentino’s couture show in Rome last July before they started preparing for Season 2. “We saw a version of that [gown], and we knew one thing: That LTW crosses Park Avenue. So they made the train even longer for us and made that in a red color just for her. I thought it really hit the mark.”
The first two episodes of “And Just Like That” Season 2 are streaming now on Max, with new episodes airing each Thursday.
