By the time Hacks reached its fifth and final season, Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) was still Deborah Vance — big earrings, bold looks and all. But for costume designer Kathleen Felix-Hager, it was Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) whose wardrobe told the story of just how much the young writer had changed since Season 1. As Ava became more confident and established in her own life, her clothes grew more sophisticated, incorporating lessons she picked up from Deborah along the way.
That evolution came into focus in Felix-Hager’s Emmy-nominated Episode 3, “No New Tricks,” which also gave the costume designer one of the season’s biggest challenges: creating a dress literally made from playing cards for Deborah to wear to a premiere. Constructed in three pieces and using real playing cards, the look became one of the series’ most memorable fashion moments. Here, Felix-Hager talks to Deadline about creating the showstopping dress and using fashion to reveal the more vulnerable side of Deborah and Ava.
DEADLINE: How would you explain Deborah and Ava’s clothing trajectory from Season 1 to the finale Season 5?
KATHLEEN FELIX-HAGER: Well, Deborah’s style hasn’t really changed. I mean, she’s been pretty consistent throughout the seasons, but definitely there was a shift in Ava’s style evolution. So I think by the time we see her in the finale, she’s like the grown-up version of Ava Daniels. She’s a fully realized person. She’s her own person. She has some sophistication to her wardrobe at this point.
She’s sort of taken pieces that she’s learned from Deborah, in a way. Not that she has Deborah’s style, but she’s paying more attention to her clothes. She’s buying more investment pieces. She’s styling herself in a more grown-up way. So, I think that’s been the shift really for Ava, since we saw her in Season 1 and Season 5.
DEADLINE: Was there a conversation you had with the showrunners about doing anything differently for the finale season?
FELIX-HAGER: Not specifically, but I know we all felt a sense of really wanting to do justice to the show as a whole. For all the departments, I think we all felt the desire to leave it all on the table. I wanted to do these characters justice and to make Deborah the most Deborah Vance she’s ever been, to really explore how Ava grew up in her costumes and reflecting that in her wardrobe choices.
But, especially in the finale episode, I really feel like just Paris was beautiful, all the colors of all the coats, and that was really fun and creatively satisfying to paint the prettiest picture we could paint of this. Also, because Deborah was going there to say goodbye. She was going there to like her last hurrah, so I wanted her to feel her most beautiful, her most colorful. Even though she was making a decision, in theory, to end her life, I wanted it to be very life-affirming and very bright and hopeful.
DEADLINE: For Deborah and Ava, what are some pieces in their wardrobe that they cannot be onscreen without?
FELIX-HAGER: Definitely for Deborah, it would be earrings. She cannot leave without a pair of big old dangly earrings. And Ava’s most beloved pieces are her vintage Levi’s. That would really be something that she didn’t really leave the house without. She wore those Levis a lot, and it was like, you know, you have your favorite pair of jeans.
DEADLINE: Let’s talk about your Emmy nominated episode, “No New Tricks”. First up, that gorgeous card dress. What went into the idea of this?
FELIX-HAGER: In the script, it just said: Deborah Vance shows up at the premiere in a dress made of playing cards. So, it was up to me to interpret what that meant. And I did have a conversation with the showrunners and I was doing variations of different things. And they said, “No, it has to be a dress literally made of playing cards.” And I was like, “OK, that’s very specific.” [Laughs.]
I did a few sketches and I knew shapes that work well on Jean, so we wanted it to be a splashy moment. We constructed three pieces: a strapless red gown, a playing card skirt made of real playing cards, and they’re all bedazzled, which were hand sewn on and then the Bolero jacket. I knew I wanted this layer [of cards] around her face. So those were also real playing cards. They were just blown up into a bigger version. But my tailor, Rory Cunningham, constructed it, and I have the sketches, and it was really fun. It was the first thing that I had to do at the beginning of Season 5.
DEADLINE: This episode also has Christopher Briney, who plays the musician character, Nico Hayes. What went into styling him?
FELIX-HAGER: He was lovely. Fun fact, he does not have tattoos. Our makeup artist did all those tattoos on him. The moment where he and Deborah show up for the date and they’re in very similar Versace shirts was also a very fun moment. It was a little tricky to find a shirt that was going to work for both of them, and also make sense for the scene and not be super, super jokey. So, I think it really worked out. That black sheer shirt was a fun rockstar moment for his premiere party, which is the one he wears when he meets Deborah in the card dress – so good.
