Few and far between are Black romantic films with depth, relatability, nearly perfect main characters, and emotionally-grabbing plotlines. When one thinks of the legendary cult classics, Love Jones, Boomerang, and Brown Sugar might come to mind. Whether you want to believe it or not, the costume designs in each of these films are what etch them into our memories and the film canon, especially in America. Alongside the universal messaging, the world-building, and the lyrical scripts, the clothing also speaks loudly. Here enters the Nate Edwards-directed She Taught Love. Newly released by Andscape and Hulu, She Taught Love is entering the Black rom-com canon. Its strength lies in the punchy banter between titular characters Mali played by Arsema Thomas and Frank (Darrell Britt-Gibson). However, the level of care that lead costume designer Fernando Legadoé helmed cannot be overlooked. His capabilities were brilliantly showcased in the film.
Fern has previously worked on costuming for films including the Oscar-winning Moonlight directed by Barry Jenkins and was the creative producer and costume designer for Bridges. Notably, he also was the costume designer for the following television show: David Makes Man and Swagger.
For She Taught Love Legadoé expertly juxtaposed a Type A career woman and an artist-actor. Characteristically, Mali and Frank were opposites. Yet, Legadoé managed to intertwine their wardrobes, showcasing how their lives ultimately blended through the love that blossomed between them. Structured looks from Cult Gaia, Simkhai, and A.L.C. were a part of the modus operandi of Mali’s most significant moments. “It’s a classic love story that we wanted to add to and give folks a new, classic, fresh love story,” Legadoé shared over Zoom. “For me, when I go into the script, it’s like building that map as we dig into these characters and finding the color palettes.”
What ensued was a chic and powerful wardrobe for Thomas, who was a sports agent for most of the film. Her character didn’t hold back when expressing herself vocally—and her wardrobe reflected this completely. Eloquent, well-cut jackets and curve-hugging separates formed the crux of Mali’s outfits. Deep greens were a part of her clothing in the early parts of the movie, while softer hues such as mint green were introduced later. Roughly a year passed as Mali was dealing with an illness that she navigated amid her relationship with Frank. Her attire became more relaxed pointing to what Fern refers to as her “armor” being shed.
To convey the ever-dreaming Frank which Britt-Gibson played beautifully Legadoé tells me he focused on vintage items by Dries Van Noten, Junya Watanabe, and even Marni. This expressed the sense of fearlessness that the aspiring actor had, while also highlighting the effortlessness of his personal style, according to Fern. The costume designer noted that this character’s clothes choices were intended to appear as though he’d gotten out of bed and made quick outfit decisions while still somehow managing to be stylish.
The culmination of outfits created for Nate Edward’s brainchild blended efficiently with the film’s storyline. Legadoé explains that he didn’t want to overpower the intimate shots and poignant emotional moments being filmed. While he took bold risks at times, most of the clothing selected by him and his assistant costume designer Quinton Jaxon allowed the storytelling to flow seamlessly.
“I think in watching it you’re so engulfed in who they are as a couple,” he said. He allowed Nate’s vision to guide him while being of keying in on style moments that conveyed Arsema and Darrell’s emotions and their communication styles. Legadoé adds that to achieve this, he had to strike a balance where everything would be well-received: the intentional clothing, the striking cinematography, and the love-laden script.
Below ESSENCE catches up with Fern Legadoé to discuss the costume design in She Taught Love, a bit on his journey to costuming, and what he is hopeful will transpire once fans watch the Nate Edwards-directed film.
ESSENCE.com: For those who aren’t familiar with your work, what would you like them to know?
Fern Legadoé: I started [my fashion career] working [on shoots for] Vogue [and] Elle. I was an assistant to a stylist who was also a costume designer. He did Sex and the City, Danny Santiago. That’s why now being in film, I can merge the styling and the film because I came from the editorial world and I know how to [fuse these worlds]. Finding that balance of fashion but also realism. What’s the narrative? I think that’s where I’m [most] capable. It’s also storytelling.
Whether it’s a movie or a fashion show that I do, people are like, “I would’ve never thought to mix that.” But I think you have to have a specific eye to know how to mix things. I [worked on the set of] Burn Notice. I think I fell in love with the process of building the world. And then the possibilities that fall under that umbrella, where you can take fashion, you can take storytelling, like I was mentioning, to merge the worlds. I think it’s just so fascinating.
What was it like working with Arsema Thomas who played Mali?
Arsema is just so stunning. Everything we put on her was easy. To be able to play with her, and there were different silhouettes, and I love giving Nate to see if we have options of like, “This is all great. What do we do?” Because then, even then, every decision, everything, depending on what we pick, is a narrative, whether it will start with black or start, like we did, with green. Because that was also a conversation, how do we start and where do we end?
Initially when she came in, sweet as can be, just super soft, and beautiful, and immediately it was an instant connection. As a costume designer, I tell my actors all the time [that] “I’m a tool, so don’t ever feel like you’re going to be forced to wear something. This is a collaboration. I’m here to give you the range. I know the looks, I know what the director wants creatively, artistically, the fashions, so feel free to give feedback.” In creating that safe space, it allows them to share and give feedback and feel it, because I want them to feel comfortable. That’s how they find the character. If they’re not comfortable, if they don’t like something, I always open up the space for collaboration.
What was Arsema Thomas wearing for most of the film?
Mali’s main brand was Cult Gaia. Quinton [my assistant costume designer] had a connection at Cult Gaia in Los Angeles. A lot of the pieces that she wore were Cult Gaia outside of the archives. But it [all consisted of] perfect structuring, [and were] feminine enough, but also strong in the silhouettes. I hear that people love that denim-on-denim set that she wore. It was just enough structure, still color, still felt soft. It wasn’t too on the nose.
What did you want to come across with Arsema Thomas’ costume design?
The biggest thing that I had to figure out within her journey as a character from beginning to end, I think we wanted to make sure when and how we start bringing in the softness to the character, starting with the long coat with the pants. It was very structured in the beginning, but as things were happening, and with Nate, we were like, “We don’t want her to go dark and black because she’s sad.” Because that wasn’t that narrative. So, that’s where we changed the hues, and went into the minty greens.
Can you walk me through why Mali wore a curve-hugging Simkhai dress when Frank was meeting her parents?
Knowing who Mali is, who’s very structured, and it could have been real. It was one of those: Is it fitted, is it sexy, is it relaxed? Because it is a moment, and also mentally she’s going through a lot. So, it’s not just meeting my parents, it’s psychologically, and mentally where she’s at. She’s going through that journey with cancer.
I love playing with silhouettes. I think we had not seen her in something soft but fully covered. So it wasn’t like she was trying to be sexy. I didn’t want to show cleavage, I didn’t want to show legs. Again, it’s always about the balance and how much is enough. That’s why I started navigating towards that silhouette.
So, it was just about finding enough softness but still [being] stunning. I think for me, the color, that brown on her, I put it on her, tone on tone, it gets tricky, but that hue of brown, it just looked beautiful on her. Immediately, she put it on and we were all like, “Wow.” It checked all the boxes.
With Darrell Britt-Gibson’s character, was there anything very specific to him that you wanted to make sure came across?
I think with Frank, the goal with him, was to make sure it looked effortless, not forced. Because sometimes, especially with guys, it can look like you’re doing too much. So again, it’s finding that balance of it should feel like he just woke up and threw it on. Obviously, as you saw how his room is, things are everywhere, so should give that vibe, oh, he woke up and he threw it on and somehow it all matches, or somehow it looks good. But he didn’t sit there and take 30 minutes to put an outfit together.
And also shows you that everything he has is good stuff, because for him to grab anything and still be dope, essentially this is a guy who was aware enough [and] has an eye. We made sure they were vintage. That’s why we found a showroom in LA. A lot of his pieces are archives, like Marni, Dries [Van Noten]. As a character, to make it feel real, he’s probably one that likes to go thrifting. That’s the backstory we gave him. He’ll probably go on a Sunday, walk around, go to the market, find a piece, and he’ll spend an adult jacket. He doesn’t necessarily go to the mall.
Were there specific color palettes you utilized to convey certain messages in She Taught Love?
Instead of her going dark and being sad and going that narrative route with darker hues, [I thought] let’s lighten it up because she wants to live. That’s why she went to Frank and was like, “F— it, let’s go on this date.” I think that was the cue to really still have fun, and keep it light. I think that was the main focus.
Because even the dress, the [Cinq A Sept] dress with the blazer that she wore to the [work] event, being that it’s black, it was also a major decision, because we don’t want Mali wearing black. But because I was able to pitch and show that the sparkles showed the mesh of the palettes, it helped with the storytelling, even though there’s something there, there’s a spark. I think it was fun stuff that would complement the denim. And that’s why I went into the minty world and the lighter greens, and kept it airy and soft. The texture is nothing too severe.
Even when she wore the brown leather dress, that was like a halter for her to show that much skin, because it says a lot. I feel like as a person, we wake up, and depending on how we’re feeling, we’ll pick out an outfit. So, I always try to input that element in these characters.
In total what are you hopeful comes across with the costume design in the film?
I think [I’d like viewers to think of] timelessness. I’m very proud. Nate was saying, the goal is [for] folks 10 years from now to watch it and still feel relevant. And also as a shopper and stylist, that challenge was dope, because you shop with a different eye. Because how do you know what is timeless? We’re still having fun with shapes and styles. It doesn’t necessarily mean to be overly simple.
