White Lotus does La Dolce Vita in Style
The White Lotus is back, this time they are taking us all the way to sunny Sicily, Italy where we are yet to find out who is murdered in this satirical social commentary masterpiece.
Since its premiere back in 2021, the White Lotus has become a fans favorite. A series that demonstrates how power be it racial, social or monetary dictates fate. This season we are invited to see how four different groups of friends, family and acquaintances have the most chaotic and plot twisting week.
Courtesy of Vogue
So far we’ve been treated to the first 5 episodes of the season and they just get better each time. Last season we saw how the inequalities of wealth, power and money affected the dynamics between each character. This time is gender, an exploration and social commentary on the male power dynamic. Each male character represents different versions of male toxicity, entitlement and abuse. But the women are the ones who take the cake as with each episode that passes we see how the marginalized gender survives in a male dominant world.
An A-list cast composed by the amazing Jennifer Coolidge, Haley Lu Richardson, Aubrey Plaza, Meghann Fahy, Sabrina Impacciatore, Beatrice Grannò and Simona Tabasco deliver outstanding performances and life to now iconic characters.
Probably the most fun part of watching the series is scrolling through Tik Tok after each episode to see fan theories, analysis and deep psychological analysis of each character. And no character analysis is complete without analyzing their personal style. Without a doubt Lucia, Mia, Portia and Tanya are the most interesting characters when it comes to fashion, they don’t just get dressed to enjoy their vacation their clothes actually speak for themselves.
Courtesy of HBO
“When people, especially Americans, go to Italy, they dress up a bit more. They bring their A-game,” Costume designer Bonaire.
Simona Tabasco, a Naples-born actress, is having her big Hollywood debut as she brings to life sultry, charming, fun and hardworking Lucia. A call girl that is driven by her dream of making a life for herself. A character that won us over as we all can relate to the struggle of wanting more than what we are told we deserve.
Lucia and Mía, her best friend, certainly have the most outrageous wardrobes of all the cast. We see a clear evolution as they make their way deeper into the White Lotus drama. Lucia and Mía both strat their self discovery journey as ordinary call girls reflected on their clothes, they wear “normal '' cheap skirts and shirts, until they gain access to one of the gustes credit cards and here is where the glamor comes to life. A glamor that symbolizes Lucia’s dreams.
Their glittery, short, sexy dresses are what Italian vacation dreams are made of. Especially the dresses the girls wore from the brand Clio Peppiatt which soon became Tik Toks most searched brand. Along with stunning La Perla swimsuits, Dior cover-ups and Prada sunglasses Lucia found herself getting what she wanted but we can also see she is slowly losing that fire and hunger. Could it be that she feels dominated instead of being the one in control? We have to wait and see, I am really praying she isn’t this season's victim as she is my favorite character.
Courtesy of HBO
Then we have Portia, a character that has been through scrutiny as not everyone likes her but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Twitter users have made it their mission to express their deep hatred towards Portia, I mean I get it she is very annoying. If you haven’t seen the series, Portia is an assistant to a millionaire woman who takes her to Sicily and is basically paying her to enjoy herself but Portia does the opposite. She sulks and complains about how much she hates her life and how she feels stuck.
Anyways, Portia’s fashion is also a hot topic as it is a complete mess. A perfect example of how costume really brings to life characters. Portia wears the most outrageous print and texture combinations, a visual demonstration of her inner thoughts and life situation. She wears chaotic combinations with a lot of Gen Z pieces like her beaded phone chain, chunky square sunglasses and thrift store kind of pieces like the multicolor Custo Barcelona tee , Brandy Melville graphic shirts just loud eccentric fast fashion items. She nails the “American tourist” look and a reflection of how unaware of herself she is. Portia is kind of dressing in costume, something her boss Tanya also does to perfection.
Portia may complain about her life and even look down on her boss but are they really that different?
Courtesy of Vogue
Tanya is White Lotus alumnae as she also appeared on season 1. Jennifer Coolidge plays this broken woman who as Portia is still trying to navigate through past trauma and is still trying to find self love through the approval of others, which is just not how it works. But still she does it while wearing her best La Dolce Vita style. Probably the most iconic look from Tanya is her all pink dress with matching scarf and huge sunglasses, she even says “Im Monica Vitti,”. Or her blue feathered Andreeva cardigan with white pearl buttons or the glorious silver and lace Alberta Ferreti she wears to the Opera with the most amazing cape. A luxurious wardrobe that might get her in trouble. Stay tuned to see what happens next.
