When Carlos Rosario was first approached about costuming the FX showShogun,he was hesitant.
But it was his parentswho fondly remembered the 1980s iteration ofShogunwho changed his mind.
Ultimately, Rosario decided he didnt want to revisit the 80s interpretation of the James Clavell novel.
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In fact, he didnt want to revisit any Japanese films or TV at all.
I knew that for this one, we needed to start from scratch, he says.
For Rosario, the paintings from 1600s Japan were his main source of inspiration.
Hiroyuki Sanada as Yoshii Toranaga
At the end of the day, the paintings really represent the essence of the period without any filters.
(That was post pandemicI needed to put my energy into something, he says.)
The higher rank you are for the noble man, the more hakama pleats you have, he says.
Eita Okuno as Saeki Nobutatsu, Anna Sawai as Lady Mariko, Hiromoto Ida as Kiyama Ukon Sadanaga
Understanding what materials were reserved for the ruling classes was also important.
That was my way of saying only the most wealthy people in Osaka could afford cotton.
Inside the walls of the Osaka Castle, simply having shoes points to status.
Tabishave come back into a more international public consciousness thanks toMaison Margielas design.
But the shoe was a mainstay in Japanese culture dating back to theShogunera.
Townspeople, soldiers, and bureaucrats alike all wear the split-toe shoe.
Nobody would wear tabis outdoors, he says.
But obviously we are in modern times working with actors, so we wanted to keep them safe.
Many viewers surely couldnt help but stress as Yabushiges straw tabis struggled to grip onto the unforgiving terrain.
The show, with dialogue almost entirely in Japanese, is filled with scores of characters and existing lore.
There are so many characters.
But theShoguncostumes went beyond the challenge of understanding the historical period.
Rosario was just as concerned with each characters internal journey throughout the season.
They need to reflect that emotional journey that theyre going through.
When we meet her in the beginning, shes lifeless, so I wanted her costumes to reflect that.
It became very monochromatic.
I wanted winter to be represented through her clothes, he says.
You have all these graphics, these patterns of snow covering the grass of branches without leaves.
