All’s Fair Is Back, & More Extra Than Ever

Fashion often says things we don’t have the words for. But on All’s Fair, it leaves nothing to interpretation. The costumes are as cutthroat as the characters who wear them. (Season 1 made that clear when Kim Kardashian’s character strutted around in a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier skirt that put her thong on full display.) Ryan Murphy’s series about an all-woman law firm returns today with its second season, and the wardrobe has only gotten bigger. “By the end of the season, we have literally bought everything there is to buy on Rodeo,” says costume designer Paula Bradley.

But before we dive into the clothes, let’s recap: Kim Kardashian, Naomi Watts, and Niecy Nash-Betts star as Allura Grant, Liberty Ronson, and Emerald Greene, the partners of Grant, Ronson & Greene. Glenn Close is their mentor Dina Standish, and Teyana Taylor is Milan, an aspiring lawyer who works for them. Last but not least, Sarah Paulson plays Carrington “Carr” Lane, the rival lawyer whose creatively profane insults became the most quotable lines. The Season 1 finale ended in chaos, with Dina getting arrested for murder, Liberty’s wedding falling apart, and Carr revealing her plan to take down the firm.

Inside The Scorpio Ball

This latest season opens with the Scorpio Ball, and Allura makes her entrance in a black velvet hooded cape, with two diamanté scorpions glittering across her chest. If it looks familiar, that’s because it’s the actual Tiziana Roma cape Elizabeth Taylor wore to Grace Kelly’s 40th birthday, the 1969 Scorpion Ball in Monte Carlo. (Only Scorpios and their plus-ones, like the Pisces Taylor, could attend.) Fellow Scorpio Kris Jenner bought it at auction and wore it herself to the show’s Season 2 premiere last month in Rome. Kardashian posted on an Instastory how Murphy decided to write an episode about Allura Grant throwing her own Scorpion Ball. “I’m the luckiest girl to have borrowed it from my mom,” she shared.

“Kris brought it to us in an incredibly precious way,” says Bradley, who spent a few hours photographing and measuring the original because she had to make copies. “It’s taken care of like a museum piece.” A veteran LA costume shop pulled threads to match and dipped beads in bleach until they darkened as if aged half a century. The capes took about three weeks to assemble by hand. “It’s like doing couture,” Bradley says, “except that this is TV, and we have a very limited amount of time.” The cape wasn’t the only showstopper in the scene — Boucheron decked out the cast in diamonds, except for Kardashian, who had her own massive stone.

Allura’s G-Strings & Carr’s Power Shoulders

For Allura’s wardrobe, Kardashian again enlisted her stylist, Soki Mak, who Bradley says did it “as fantastically as she did last season.” It’s still a mix of archival and modern pieces, and Bradley says Allura’s look is a bit more “toned down” overall, before catching herself: “But then I’m like, is she?” Case in point: the Gucci G-string she wears, a wink at last season’s infamous Gaultier moment. Gucci’s logo G-string first appeared on Tom Ford’s spring 1997 runway, and Demna brought it back in crystal for his debut “Primavera” collection this year. Kardashian wore that version at the Formula One Grand Prix this summer.

Bradley says Paulson’s Carr is still very much “the most edgy,” and her silhouette has only gotten sharper. Bradley leaned into Yves Saint Laurent for her “power shoulders,” creating an inverted triangle that nips in at the waist, but her signature bows are back too. And while she mostly wears black, gray, and cream, there’s one scene where she appears in Balenciaga’s oversize highlighter-yellow cocoon coat, straight off the runway. “I just was like, ‘We have to have it,’” says Bradley, who got Murphy’s approval. (“He just was like, ‘Of course.’”) Carr also had more custom builds than anyone else this season, and her earring game leveled up. “Sarah’s earrings became a thing until there wasn’t a big earring left to be bought,” she says, laughing.

Liberty’s Bold Turns & Emerald’s New Signatures

If Season 2 belongs to anyone, it’s Watts’ Liberty. “I want to say Liberty gets her balls,” Bradley says with a laugh. “She’s braver. She’s a bit edgier. She has a bit more comeback. You’re going to be surprised at Liberty this season.” After a first season of soft, pale neutrals, Liberty moves into darker territory, starting with a Valentino look at the Scorpio Ball. Watts still makes everything look effortless. “Naomi just walks into her clothes,” says Bradley. “She has that very quiet elegance in everything she puts on.”

One of the biggest costume changes was pulling back on Emerald’s trademark hats. Murphy flagged that they were too hard to light. “It was like, how do we do Niecy without the hat?” she says. The answer was belts. Most designer belts can be pretty minimal and logo-focused, so her team scoured Europe for statement belts. They landed on Sonia Petroff, whose jeweled buckles nod to the ’80s. Emerald is in more skirt suits than pantsuits early on, with Roberto Cavalli, Balmain, and Dolce & Gabbana in heavy rotation. Harbison and Sergio Hudson remain “a given,” continuing the commitment to Black designers that began in Season 1.

Her standout look is a custom lime-green jumpsuit. “She’s definitely serving,” says Bradley, which matches the woman wearing it. Nash-Betts sometimes shows up to set “themed out,” says Bradley. “She arrives, and she’ll have on a cowboy hat and chaps because she’s going somewhere afterward. Niecy’s life is so big.”

Dina’s Brooch Game & Milan’s Fun Factor

Close’s Dina gets “a little bit braver at the beginning” of the season, but she remains the firm’s picture of elegance. “Glenn is just so beautifully classic,” says Bradley. Her signature is a rotation of three Tiffany brooches, which required a safe and a security escort. For Taylor’s Milan, the costume is “always a lot of fun,” says Bradley, and her wardrobe leans heavily on Thom Browne with some vintage mixed in. The priority is keeping Milan distinct from the partners.

Case Closed

Dressing six leading women at this level takes more than a big budget. It requires finesse and a lot of stamina. Bradley’s team sources from everywhere, from Beverly Hills boutiques to designers across Europe, but they also pull from resale sites like The RealReal and vintage shops like What Goes Around Comes Around. “If we know that a boutique in Vegas has something special, then somebody is dispatched and driving there, or it’s flying in from New York or Chicago or London or Paris,” she says. “There’s nothing we won’t go for.”

The actors are part of the hunt, too. Before filming started, the cast was already sending Bradley images of runway looks and pieces they’d spotted. Paulson is the most prolific. “Sarah just loves fashion, so no matter where she is in the world, she’s taking pictures, making friends, sending you voice messages,” says Bradley. Nash-Betts also sends her lots of inspiration photos, and Watts, whose daughter models, brings her own connections.

For all the logistics, Bradley says the most satisfying moment happens on set. The actors don’t know what the others are wearing until they arrive for the scene, and they spend the first few minutes exchanging compliments. “They’re all very much like, ‘Ooh, you got that.’ ‘Ooh, those earrings,’” she says. “They’re excited for each other.”

That’s always Bradley’s goal. “They are all my children, every single one of them,” she says. “I want them to all feel amazing, and I want them to feel like the rock stars that they are.”