Over $3 Million in Clothes Were Borrowed for “And Just Like That…” Season 2

There’s a deeply troubling moment in the trailer for And Just Like That… season two, when Carrie Bradshaw reveals that she has “repurposed” her kitchen. We see Sarah Jessica Parker’s now-widowed writer—known for her over-the-top moments, naked dresses, and jumbo floral brooches—going about the mundane act of poaching an egg. Times change, and so has she—the new season of the hit Sex and the City revival series seems to be bringing us an iteration of Carrie who’s using her oven for actual cooking, rather than as extra closet space. “Did you know that stoves aren’t just for storage?” she asks. Is nothing sacred?

Rest assured, season two promises all of the high-volume fashion moments you’ve come to know, love, and expect from this franchise. From what we’ve seen so far, we can expect loads of Fendi baguettes, heaps of dramatic hats, and—gasp!—even a certain iconic Vivienne Westwood wedding dress. To pull back the curtain on the return this week of And Just Like That…, we caught up with co-costume designers Molly Rogers and Danny Santiago and got to the bottom of what exactly we can expect from the new batch of episodes.

Who has the biggest style transformation this season?

Danny Santiago: I would say Nya (Karen Pittman), because of the fact that she’s out there dating now. She’s a professor, but she’s feeling sexy now—she’s dressing up more, she’s going on dates. She’s progressed in her style. She wore a lot of sportswear [in season one], but now she’s going out at night, she’s meeting the girls for drinks, she’s getting dressed up. There’s been a lot of progression in her costume.

Molly Rogers: Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) as well. Miranda is searching. I find it really interesting. Sometimes her fittings were as long as Carrie’s, because Miranda is going through changes, and I’m not talking about menopause. I’m talking about what she’s exploring. I also find her to be stirring her looks, but Nya is a great one as well.

Molly, you worked on every season of Sex and the City, and both you and Danny worked on the films, as well. How does costuming And Just Like That… compare or contrast to your previous work in this universe?

Molly: For me it remains pretty much the same. It’s such a familiar place. [Legendary Sex and the City costume designer Patricia] Field and myself and everyone that worked on the original series established a way of working and shopping and setting up a fitting room. Pat stamped the DNA into all the characters, and it’s just this road map that I feel very comfortable following. It’s a familiar coat I can put on. And having worked with Danny on the movies, Danny and I have so much in common with music and art and architecture. We often think in the same way and reach for the same handbag.

Danny: For me, the difference from the movies is, this is episodic. When we worked on the movies, it’s just one script. Episodic is just so much more involved: We’re working on not just one episode, but two or three at the same time. And whereas in the film we know the beginning and the end, this is a bit more of a chase.

Molly: We don’t have an idea of revisions in the scripts. Some things are kept secret from us in the costume department. Sometimes we’re thrown fun curveballs, too.