Being a costume designer for “Pluribus” was almost a very easy job.
During a panel discussion at SXSW, Vince Gilligan said while discussing the Apple TV sci-fi hit that he believes the hundreds of characters that make up the collective mind should be naked.
“We talked about not having to wear any clothes, but we don’t work for HBO,” Gilligan said, drawing laughter from the audience. “But we thought we couldn’t do that to all the extras. We couldn’t have them all naked.”
Lead actor Rhea Seehorn, who was sitting next to him, laughed and said: “Oh my god, thank you…can you imagine…if I ended up performing with 300 naked people?”
“Pluribus” is set in a post-apocalyptic world where all but 13 people on Earth have been taken over by an alien virus, merging everyone’s consciousness into one collective consciousness. Seehorn’s character, Carol, is constantly surrounded by eerily friendly Jesus People who speak in royal we-speak. In theory, they shouldn’t be shy about being nude, but Gilligan noticed that there was also a practical element to their attire.
“We thought they were wearing clothes to protect themselves from the sun and the cold and things like that,” he said. “But we talked about things like that for hours and hours and hours.”
Speaking about the costumes in “Pluribus,” Seehorn pointed out that when “The Joining” infects humans at the beginning of the series, people were wearing the costumes they were wearing at the time, including the work clothes of the characters who happened to be at work. (Remember when I told Carol that if she wanted an atomic bomb, she could probably have one?)
Costume designer Jennifer Bryan, who also participated in the panel discussion, explained how over time a character’s clothing can become more minimal and functional, or in other words, less individual. “Eventually the days pass and, of course, people have to change their clothes, and all those conventions about clothes disappear. There’s no reason for them to impress you with their clothes.”
In addition to Gilligan, Seehorn and Brian, Pluribus composer Dave Porter and executive producer Trina Ciopey also participated in the panel discussion. Katherine Pope, president of Sony Pictures Television, moderated the conversation.
