Helen Huang: The Fashion War Between Sofia Falcone and Oz Cobb in The Penguin

Gotham has never been as glamorous as in The Penguin. Matt Reeves’ Batman universe that started with the 2022 film recently expanded one of its most fascinating characters, Oz Cobb, in the HBO series–bringing a war between the ambitious gangster and Sofia Falcone through a visual spectacle of fashion design. Emmy winner costume designer Helen Huang crafted an incredible array of dresses and suits for the two protagonists–weaving into their emotional states through fabrics and color palettes in an unprecedented way.

Whereas in The Batman the silhouettes were inspired by the 1940s in terms of shape and color, the references given by Matt Reeves and The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc pointed towards 1970-80s aesthetics–specifically the movies Klute, The French Connection, and Scarface. Huang revealed that one of the biggest themes for the show was institutions, how they function with people who are very vulnerable. One such institution is the Falcone family, which the costume designer described as “very much old money luxury”, mirroring Italian-European sensibilities in terms of fashion–with cuts and fabrics beautiful but relaxed. Far from the rich side of Gotham, an urban, more practical style was envisioned for characters such as Victor Aguilar. In the middle of it is Oz Cobb, a man that starts from the bottom and slowly claws his way up to the top, which is showcased by his wardrobe choices in every scene. Helen Huang explained that for Oz, she wanted to capture the same energy that John Belushi had in the seventies–a t-shaped character with bigger suits, muted fabrics, and pointy shoes. The psychological idea was that Oz made all these little tiny decisions for himself as adjustments to make up for what he felt he lacked in physical presence. The cherry on top of it all is Sofia Falcone’s rebellious wardrobe that, garment after garment, broke the visual rules of these institutions with vibrant fashion statements. Huang compared and contrasted Sofia and Oz’s styles: “I really loved Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol’s muse, as a template for [Sofia], someone who has wealth and a beautiful closet full of vintage and designer but wears it in a very subversive way. In contrast Oz, while he does have his suits made, the materials are a little bit cheaper–not as elegant in reflection. I think it’s always been a have and have not kind of contradiction, even though their paths collide.”

Pre-Arkham Sofia and Her Driver

Chronologically, Sofia and Oz were sort of slaves of the Falcone institution–with Carmine’s daughter trapped in female stereotypes and the Penguin stuck in a less than prestigious role as her personal driver. Their social standings were meticulously represented by Helen Huang’s costumes: “In the beginning, we were thinking about how [Sofia’s] femininity would be, raised in a family where appearance does matter. She is the legitimate face of the family because her dad is never going to be, so we put her in a lot of florals, satin, very prim and proper–like the dress that she was sent to prison in. She was in a way dressing for men, but it was more like how men in her family see women … She can’t escape that type of dressing.” And for Oz, the costume designer wanted to create something very subtle for his driver suit: “It had off the rack top stitching, cheap welt pockets. We made the lapel smaller, and we purposely picked a wool that had some poly in it. It was very slender compared to his frame.” When Oz sells out Sofia at her father’s party in the fourth episode of the show, Huang approached his promotion within the family ranks with a slight fashion upgrade: “He really romanticized old Hollywood male characters, so we looked at 1950s suits with velvet on the top. It’s something that he probably would not wear in the show at all, but I wanted to connect to his love for vintage aesthetics, and it had to be something that Sophia noticed, which is why we picked the silver.”

The Bliss Deal

A decade later, Sofia returned home from Arkham after the death of her father, Carmine. All those years in the psychiatric hospital irreversibly changed her, and even though she hasn’t yet unleashed her revenge against her family and the murderer who took the life of the only person she could trust, her brother, the audience can already see glimpses of her rebellious self slowly coming out. During their short lived team up, the two characters exerted their power and persuasion through striking outfits. For Oz, “the suit in the combo was inspired by Scarface, but also by one of my favorite movies, Casino. Joe Pesci had a very light suit with a very dark interior. In a dark environment, white reads very well. We had to dye the inside shirt to get the perfect maroon, but the funny thing was that when [Colin Farrell] was doing all his actions, the maroon was dying the white suit … It was a nightmare! I’m just glad they let me do it because sometimes white is very tricky, especially in a low light environment.” Then Huang contrasted this flamboyant look with a deceiving one for Sofia–she is the one in control, but she is not yet ready to show her scars and release the beast that desperately wants to claw out: “The dress at the club is sexy, and although it has sheer panels and cut outs, the neckline is extremely high and the sleeves cover everything. It was just that right balance of giving the illusion that she’s covered up, even though it is still revealing.”

Citrine Killer Dress and The Man of the People

Sofia’s citrine dress was a powerful fashion statement as she waltzed around after poisoning her entire family. Huang revealed that although they tried so many dresses, the filmmakers kept coming back to the citrine gown because Cristin Milioti felt so different and in command–with the sheer chiffon train creating a twistedly beautiful sequence as Sofia walks over the asphyxiated, dead bodies. “That was literally the first time you really saw a plunging neckline. I think the transition was very dynamic for the audience to see because her clothes have been so consistently beautiful. We tried on almost every dress you could buy. Lauren and the writers wanted it to be as dramatic as that moment … it was her sort of coming out look. We picked a dress that had a dramatic silhouette and also more color because the Falcone’s mansion is so dark. I really wanted a surreal, beautiful quality to it as she was doing all these terrible things,” she explained.

On the other hand, Oz kept his steady climb to power as he established his base of operations in Gotham’s tunnels–becoming a man of the people but still focused on his ultimate goal. In this mid transformation, his wardrobe becomes more utilitarian, showcasing his hands-on approach in this hard, crime life. Huang said about the Penguin’s 1940s naval coat, “I thought that Oz would probably be attracted to vintage military wear because he has that very traditional sense of masculinity. We took its essence, how heavy it was, all the shearling, and made it into a long coat. When Oz is in the tunnels, he’s dressing up in workwear to be a man of the people, but everything is still very calculated. It was a place where the Penguin didn’t go before and a very successful combination of garments because it was Oz at his lowest point still projecting this idea of himself.”

Sofia in Red and The Penguin’s Tuxedo

The culmination of the war between Sofia and Oz is represented by stunning costumes on both ends–first with Sofia (finally leaving behind the Falcone name and embracing her mother’s, Gigante) showcasing blazing reds in black outfits then ultimately Oz fulfilling his dream of becoming a legitimized gangster with Helen Huang’s take on the iconic Penguin tuxedo. The David Koma dress Cristin Milioti wore for the capture scene in the season finale “was pretty magical. The location was going to be dark, so we wanted her outfit to be powerful but not distracting. It was designed in a very simple way, and it fit her like a glove. That red scarf was whimsical in a way, but extremely psychological. I thought also in a gunfight, something as girly as a red accent scarf would look pretty amazing through all the action,” Huang said.

In the end, the Penguin escaped Sofia’s grasp, so she finally decided to leave everything behind and be free–burning down her family’s mansion in a daredevil moment. “When you do a fire sequence, everything has to be natural … We can’t buy anything off the rack because they tend to have something synthetic in it. Her arms had to be covered. I designed the coat off of 1990s coats and we had it made. It is actually simple, but the silhouette was very, very powerful. We thought again about making that plunging neckline for her, but then we wanted drama for the shoulder part, so we bought a lot of feathers to create that look. This line collar is extremely big in contrast with how short that coat is.” Huang added, “Lauren and I talked about how the outfit has to be Hollywood siren glamorous, like a swan song since she’s leaving town … it’s a surreal moment because then she’s back in her Arkham jumpsuit. She lost everything, visually and literally. We didn’t have a lot of time, I think it was made in a week and a half for that sequence.”

The Penguin’s final form as a successful man is a nice homage to his visual origins–tuxedo and top hat. Helen Huang created a look that was not just fan service–it opened doors to the future of the character. She shared, “Colin was at a Broadway play and was really enamored with the costumes in that. I was looking at it and thinking, ‘How can we take that and use that for the Penguin?’ It was a turn of the century play in terms of costume. We used the gold jacquard motif in his vest to really give him a pop. Kalina [Ivanov], our production designer was also doing his apartment in this very sort of gaudy, baroque-esque fashion, so we decided that the two combinations would be really good. It was really about taking him through the beats of this roller coaster ride, about his own psychology and version of himself he’s always envisioned.”

The fashion war between Sofia Falcone and Oz Cobb is an unforgettable one. The artistry of costume designer Helen Huang and her team created something truly special that elevated The Penguin’s storytelling with glamorous and daring fabrics and colors. Make sure to watch and rewatch the HBO series and don’t forget to follow Helen Huang on Instagram.

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