Costuming The Magicians is all about character: Interview with Magali Guidasci

FILLORY — If you're like me and Quentin Coldwater, you're kind of obsessed with Fillory. And by that I mean the cancelled-too-soon SyFy show The Magicians that is my favorite television program ever produced. 

One of my favorite things about this very, very good urban fantasy show is the costume design. If you haven't seen a Margo the Destroyer gown that coordinates with her eyepatch, you have truly not lived. The clothes are fanciful and elaborate for those in Fillory, but very understated and specific for the characters who usually stick to Earth. Peter Pan collars, for example, belong to Alice Quinn, while Kady Orloff-Diaz is the owner of any leather jackets.

I reached out to the costume designer, Magali Guidasci, in search of a pair of Julia Wicker's earrings (vintage, unfortunately, and nothing I can hop online and buy), and we got to talking about the incredible clothes on this fantastic show.

"You support a character - building and styling within the story," Guidasci said. "Adding, with costume, a layer to it that can possibly add information about the character's emotional journey or how they copy with challenges or define themselves."

​As tempting as it might be to go with what's in style, Guidasci said it goes way beyond choosing things that look good or trendy.

"However, details are important," Guidasci said. "Little beautiful pieces that can bring delicacy to the character is a must. For our lovely Julia Wicker (Stella Maeve) the barely-there, elegant jewelry has been impactful to her character."

Making pieces that were particular to Fillory or the bombastic Marina Andrieski started to become second nature for Guidasci as the show went on. As she put it to SyFy:

"Once you have been with a character for a while, you know who they are and how they've evolved, so that if the writers were to send Eliot to the moon I would know exactly what Eliot would wear in space. "

Check out this delightful slideshow of the top ten outfits from The Magicians to re-live the incredible details and designs.