The Fearless Four
Smart, funny, and fly-as-hell Harlem is the new Prime Video series that follows four fashionable women at the top of their game in New York’s sultriest borough.
Tracy Oliver, the writer of the box office darling Girls Trip, and Deirdra Govan, the costume designer of Sorry to Bother You, have teamed up to capture the essence of New York’s most soulful borough for the Prime Video’s series Harlem.
Capturing Harlem’s vibe—colorful, bold, and global—requires invoking the patterns and the silhouettes of clothing that evoke effortless cool and confidence. In Prime Video’s latest series Harlem, created by writer and the executive producer Tracy Oliver, the costume designer Deirdra Govan brings to life the styles of four Black women who are reimagining their careers, their social lives and their politics. Meanwhile, their romantic lives are similarly full, with eligible suitors and one-night stands. “Having lived in a brownstone in Harlem while [the neighborhood] was going through its first round of renaissance, I know these women intimately,” Govan said. “What makes Harlem style unique from other boroughs in New York is the amalgamation of cultural influences, including a strong French component. But most of all, the style prioritizes authenticity.”
Over the course of ten episodes, Camille, a young anthropology professor at Columbia University, played by Meagan Good, and her core group of friends—Tye (Jerrie Johnson) Angie (Shoniqua Shandai), and Quinn (Grace Byers)—navigate their experiences with femininity, sexuality, intimacy, and self-actualization. Like true New Yorkers, their exacting fashion choices capture that big city ethos, booked and busy!
“Camille is a professor who dresses in fly suits, so there is outward confidence, yet there is also an inner insecurity we wanted to portray,” Govan said. During the day, Camille walks to work on 125th Street in a tailored, burgundy coat and fierce vintage boots.Yet at night, she softens in the privacy of her own home, changing into a silk wrap. There is a duality in her style that is essential to evoking the aspirational but functional sensibility of the social media generation. “It was important for us to collaborate with the actors and bring their own experiences as Black women to the screen as well, and Govan did the work of helping us see the ideas through,” Oliver said. “With Tye, played by Jerrie Johnson, we wanted to authentically represent a queer masculine-leaning woman, depicted by a queer masculine actor, who also wears florals, and when she chooses, dresses as feminine as her girlfriends,” she said. As a result, some onscreen fashion choices were drawn from the actor’s real wardrobe. For instance, Tye’s slim fit floral suit paired with a dapper merlot men’s dress shirt—a costume directly taken from Johnson’s life.
Big, bold, bright, glamour, sexy, fun. These were the adjectives Oliver placed on a mood board to describe the singer and the life-of-the-party Angie, the squad’s most honest friend. The role allowed Shandai the opportunity to fully express her vitality and whip-smart talent. Seen often gossiping with Camille, she stuns in waist-shaping jeans, boldly-patterned blouses, and trendy but functional winter coats. “With Quinn, played by Grace Byers, we were creating the woman who, like many of us, still seeks approval from mother,” Govan said. “We played with silks, linens, sustainable fabrics; she is sophisticated and elegant in her golden oak blazer, with class and sex appeal.” For Black women, negotiating aesthetic expectations is part of how one invents her style. And in this series, there is no shortage of fashion statements.
“We had the unique opportunity of challenging the status quo, by creating Black female characters who were fluid, in sexuality, and fluid, in style.” –Deirdra Govan, (Costume Designer)