NBC's series Hannibal set itself apart in the way it used visual world-building to accentuate its story. Many viewers may not have noticed these subtle details, but they elevate the show by adding an extra level of nuance and care to the overall series. Showrunner Brian Fuller drew from Thomas Harris' gothic, psychological novels rather than the well-known movies The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, and Hannibal. The result was surreal horror, layered with a multisensory, stylized beauty.

The character of Hannibal Lector was barbaric, a cannibalistic murderer, and yet he exuded elegance. This was showcased through the interior design of his home and office, his mannerisms, his personal style, and, not surprisingly, his cooking. Though he was a psychiatrist, Hannibal the cannibal utterly lacked empathy. This contrasted sharply with Will Graham, whose intense empathy and vivid imagination made him an effective investigator but also compromised his sanity and set him up to be Hannibal's primary victim.

Related: Why Mads Mikkelsen Wasn’t Sure About Playing Hannibal

Hannibal Needed Its Incredible Costume Detail

Hannibal season 3 cast

What distinguished Hannibal most visually was the costuming. These choices were deliberate, and Christopher Hargadon, the costume designer for Hannibal, used clothing to convey deep character traits and plot shifts. Small details are rife in the series, such as Franklyn Froideveaux, a patient of Hannibal's, mirroring Hannibal's dress to show his increasing obsession with Hannibal. Frederick Chilton, the general administrator for Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane where Will was housed for a time, does the same thing as he gradually mimics Hannibal, but Chilton's audacious ill-fitting plaids didn't measure up. His bad taste was glaring against Hannibal Lector's impeccable taste.

Most television shows put costumes on their characters by simply choosing something that will look good, not bothering to use costumes to enhance the show’s storytelling. Hannibal could have been done with ordinary suits and "cop fashion," like any of a hundred procedural crime dramas, but it would have lost a key component: the visual impact of the characters' wardrobes. Hannibal Lector in a cheap suit wouldn't have been nearly as terrifying. It was his sharp, controlled, and structured appearance that spoke to his methodical, yet artistic, nature, and together they made for a deeply unsettling villain.

How Hannibal's Costumes Reveal Character And Plot Details

hannibal mads mikkelsen

Every character in Hannibal had a "look," that clearly identified them. This look would subtly change given the mood or environment the character found themselves in. Will Graham, early on, dressed mainly in earthy tones, practical and functional, though as the story progressed, he began to trade his fly-fishing vests and rumpled jackets for tailored wool coats and sweaters, mirroring Hannibal as he became more and more drawn in. Will's early rough-shod, throw-on-anything appearance reflected his battle with his inner demons. He was terrified and disgusted with the darkness within him. As he came to accept and embrace this darkness and Hannibal, his clothing became more put together, more polished.

Hannibal Lector's wardrobe was dominated by patterned three-piece suits, elaborate ties, pocket squares, textured shirts, and slim-legged pants. His clothing was another way for him to control his narrative and how people perceive him. His own psychiatrist, Bedelia du Maurier, referred to Hannibal's dress as his "people suit." He would change this deliberately to fit in, such as when he visits the FBI in episode one of season one wearing a beige suit and sweater.

Related: American Psycho & Hannibal Use The Exact Same Horror Character Trick

The women on Hannibal are no exception to the costuming rule. Alana Bloom, a former student of Hannibal's, was capable and confident, but her clothing also began to emulate Hannibal's suits. She transitioned from feminine wrap dresses to blazers with sharp lines. Freddie Lounds, a cutthroat journalist, wore a variety of prints, primarily those of dangerous and predatory animals. In one scene, she appears in Hannibal's office wearing a jacket that looks like marbled meat. This was Freddie Lounds "armor."

In Gavia Baker-Whitelaw's Behind the Seams episode Dressed to Kill: The Costume Design of NBC's Hannibal, she decodes the clothing choices in Hannibal and illustrates how they greatly accentuate the storytelling. The dark operatic drama of Hannibal needed a dose of color, and each carefully selected costume provided it while revealing subtle details in character and plot.

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