As Emmy season heats up, the Starz original series Outlander laid out a strong case for its costumes and set design categories last week with the opening of the exhibition, “The Artistry of Outlander,” at The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills. Cast and creatives from the show, including actors Caitriona Balfe (Claire), Sam Heughan (Jamie), costume designer Terry Dresbach, production designer Jon Gary Steele and executive producers Maril Davis and Ronald D. Moore (who happens to be Dresbach’s husband), attended the exhibition preview. All were in attendance to celebrate the gorgeous costumes and elaborate sets, and to talk about recreating 18th century Parisian society for the show’s second season.
Unlike the more straightforward costume dramas or period pieces on television, Outlander blends the genres of sci-fi, romance and history, following a British nurse and World War II veteran (Balfe) as she accidentally travels back in time from the 1940s to the 1740s in Scotland and Paris. Instead of delving into a singular time period and setting, the show focuses on a multiplicity of eras and characters, which is a challenge for all those involved.
We learned several surprising facts during the walkthrough of an exhibition that includes Steele’s models, designs and life-size photography of sets, as well as a number of the dazzling costumes, including Claire’s famous “red dress,” detailed in Diana Gabaldon’s second novel Dragonfly in Amber, (on which this season is based). “Both Gary and Terry are such artists,” Balfe said during the preview. “It makes our job so much easier when you have all of that support. It takes away a lot of our job of trying to imagine ourselves in a particular place.”
1. The red dress might be a fan favorite, but both Dresbach and Balfe have an affinity for another.
Photo Credit: Getty Images for Paley Center
“This is our glory. This is the costume of the season,” Dresbach said as she stood before the gown modeled after a Dior-inspired dress. “Claire Randall—Claire Fraser—excuse me is a woman from the 1940s, and Caitriona Balfe and I worked very, very hard to retain that even through Season One. But she was given all of her clothes in Season One, and in Season Two, she actually went to a dressmaker. I looked at all of these fancy, frilly costumes and went, ‘It’s not her. I can’t do that with her. It’s not going to work.’ So I started looking to the ’40s and the most quintessential costume of the 1940s, and probably the most well-known costume ever—fashion-piece ever—is the Dior Bar Suit, which is what this is.”
“Costume-wise, I have so many favorites,” Balfe added later. “But the Dior is definitely a favorite and also the “dressage” one was beautiful.” (That’s the gown Claire wore in the king’s gardens when she and Jamie first see the return of nemesis Black Jack Randall.)
2. Dresbach’s team created a staggering number of garments this season. 
Photo Credit: Getty Images for Paley Center
“We made 10,000 garments this season,” Dresbach said. “That’s everything from a hat to a gown.” She went on to explain that Balfe alone had 30 gowns in the first six episodes, and the Comte St. Germain (Stanley Weber), a supporting character, had 15 costumes. “So when you multiply those by two months [to create them], it was not the most fun period of time.” She had nothing but praise for her young, and somewhat green, team who shared her commitment to historical authenticity. “The untold story of this season is the craftsmanship,” she said, pointing to a number of the costumes that were hand-painted for the show. “We have about 10 people of a staff of 70 who’ve worked in film and television before.” They brought in theater artists, sculptors, painters and translated their skills into costume design and creation.
3. Fight scenes aren’t costume designers’ favorites.
While Claire’s gowns are generally solo creations, Dresbach’s team has to make multiple outfits for the more rough-and-tumble scenes. “We have many many meetings about [fights]. And I’m always going, ‘Can we just hit him in the head with a rock instead of stabbing them, please?!’ Every time somebody gets stabbed, every time somebody gets shot, you have to make four of those.” She says that while designers on contemporary shows might be able to go to the mall and buy five T-shirts, it’s not that simple for the Outlander team. “Well, now we have to make five 18th century waistcoats,” she added. “So it’s taken a couple of years for everyone to get tired of me going, ‘You know what, that’s five more costumes, you better be sure. Don’t change your minds.”
4. Dresbach designs a lot of shoes.
Photo Credit: Getty Images for Paley Center
“I love 18th century shoes. They’re very sexy,” Dresbach said. One reporter asked about a pair of Jamie’s leather boots on display, which wouldn’t seem too out of place today. Always keen on historical accuracy, Dresbach noted, “That’s actually from a painting I found at The Met.”
