Major Crimes costume designer Greg LaVoi with actor Brian Boarello as he fits the Gold Storm coat for the first time. Photo Credit: Mike Zara

As part of our weekly series “Inside the Fitting Room” we spoke to Major Crimes costume designer Greg LaVoi to get an inside look at the fashion and costumes behind this week’s episode, “Off the Wagon.”

MajorCrimesTV: This episode was so fun and different, with the faux-trailer for the Gold Storm TV show, and the show-within-a-show you created. Tell us about how you designed “Gold Storm.”

Greg LaVoi: Mike Zara wrote this episode, and Stacey K. Black directed. And it seems like every time Stacey directs, it turns out to be an episode where I get to do a fun costume design. This one, when I read it, I was so excited, because we got to do a superhero!

LaVoi’s concept sketch for Gold Storm, and the final product

Once I had an idea in mind, and did a few sketches of what I wanted to do, then it was a matter of deciding if we were going to go with pieces that already existed and turn them into one outfit, or make our own, especially with the gold leather coat. So we sourced swatches of fabrics, and compared them to what was available for actual gold leather raincoats. Ultimately we decided to make it ourselves because it would both be easier to construct, and much more fun. So once we had the fabric swatch of what we wanted to do, and the sketch, I took that to the show-and-tell with the creative team for the episode, and they loved it, so it was created from there. And once the actor was cast he had some ideas about wanting it to flow and be more like a cape, so then it became a little bit more designed by committee. But the actual end result was just so cool, and to see it shot in the rain at the Paramount Studios backlot was just amazing. I loved it.

MCTV: And the mask?

GLV: That was bought on-line. My shopper on this episode googled “masks” and found it. It’s custom-made for us by a mask-maker, but we had no idea what it was going to be like. We had instructions from James about what it should and shouldn’t cover on his face, so to find all those things in one was hard, Terry on my team found it and delivered it and it was amazing. It had an ominous but also powerful look to it.

The rest of the outfit came together great as well. We found the lightning bolt buckle on line, and the sneakers were shiny gold leather with white soles and studs on them. All the pieces just came together so well on the end product. I love it.

MCTV: The trailer they released for the Gold Storm opening was great, and such a departure for the show. What went into creating the look for the rest of the characters in that?

GLV: To dress those folks in the trailer in the very retro Clark Kent-Lois Lane type stuff was amazing because they enhanced the colors for those shots. Stacey wanted us to play up some of the red and pop some of those colors because then when the girl was shot with the little white sundress on, the red would pop out of there. The other patron had a polka-dot sweater which was a J. Crew, that we shortened and totally re-made. So I think the sweater was white with navy blue dots and her purse was navy with white dots. The purse was my mom’s, a vintage Kate Spade that I put into stock.

MCTV: Another character who had a bit of a departure in their regular clothing this episode was Sykes. How did her undercover look come together?

GLV: Well, it was written as she was going undercover as an actress, so in the show and tell, we showed them a black leather jacket. And Stacey thought that since we had showcased red in the beginning of the episode, it would be great to put Sykes in red as well. Kearran originally wasn’t so happy about the red as it isn’t her favorite color, but once I let her know that the director had requested it, she was more willing. So we found this great IRO red leather biker jacket with silver-studded trim, then I put her in a tight little Bebe skirt and a Chanel bag and Christian Louboutin heels, so she looked the part of a Beverly Hills actress that’s coming in for what the doctor can give her (laughs).

MCTV: I love seeing these glimpse of Sykes all dolled up, and letting Kearran shine. This season has been great for that. Now, lets talk about Sharon’s outfit. To me, it seemed like her look was a bit different than what we usually see from her.

GLV: Yes. For her first home look, we had a beautiful emerald green Stella McCartney sweater in the opening, which was so beautiful with her coloring. It’s the first time we’ve used this sweater, but I just love it.

Then for her second look, she wore a tan chiffon, light gray and pink striped Theory blouse, and the jacket was a Rag & Bone denim blue that we’ve seen before, with the Alexander McQueen pants we’ve seen a few times this season. I wanted her to be a little more colorful, a little more “up” in this comedy episode, and I think it did the trick.

MCTV: It was interesting, because the only shots of her that came out ahead of the episode were the ones at home with Rusty without the jacket, and from those, it was surprising because it looks so different without the jacket.

GLV: Exactly. On its own it’s kind of causal but then you dress it up with a jacket and it’s great in the workplace. It’s fun to put Mary in blouses because we get to see them both ways often, with and without the jackets.

MCTV: And it seems like this time, instead of a color matching, she had a bit of stripe-matching going on with Andy Flynn?

GLV: Yes, indeed. The Shandy match!

MCTV: Then towards the end we had another totally different look for her.

GLV: Yes, back to the classic Raydor look. A navy The Row, three-quarter sleeved single button sport coat, and then just an Armani lavender scoop t-shirt and her Armani pants.

MCTV: We got our first look at Sharon Beck being noticeably pregnant in this episode. How was that accomplished?

GLV: They made a prosthetic belly for that, to do the ultrasound. That wasn’t us, but then we had to worry about what clothes to put over it. But that was an actual prosthetic belly that was made for her pregnancy.

MCTV: This episode had some wonderful guest stars, and very memorable characters sprinkled throughout. How did you design those different looks?

GLV: For Sherilyn Fenn, that was an amazing outfit on her. She was in a sleeveless blouse, red and black polka dot blouse, and then a Theory black skirt with black jacket that she just adored. It was so fun to work with somebody iconic like Sherilyn Fenn.

And Missi Pile, that was a fantastic look too, and getting to design that whole pool party scene was a blast. The bathing suit was an Emilio Pucci bathing suit, and the shoes were Rene Caovilla that were amazing, and so fun to have that kind of look poolside. For her other scene, she was dressed in a Marie France Van Damme tank, silver lame, J brand jeans, and a Kooples jacket. I’m really loving Kooples this year for a lot of the different characters.

And Stephanie Courtney, who we all know as Flo from the Progressive commercials. She was a hoot to meet, and so iconic. I had her in a Bebe blouse and a Bebe skirt and a Calvin Klein jacket, and I love her because she’s curvy and she’s fun, and she was playing a great character.

LaVoi’s initial sketch for the design of the pool scene in the episode.

This really was just a fun episode to design, and the guest cast was wonderful. So many big personalities, and they all got along great, and were lovely to work with.

We’ll be back next week with more from the costume department, and a discussion of the fashion from the next new episode of Major Crimes. For more information about Greg LaVoi’s career, check out our in-depth 2013 interview here, and follow him on twitter @GregLaVoi.

Special thanks to TNT, Warner Bros, Greg LaVoi and the Major Crimes costume department for making this segment possible.

Major Crimes costume designer Greg LaVoi

As part of our new weekly series “Inside the Fitting Room” we spoke to Major Crimes costume designer Greg LaVoi to get an inside look at the fashion and costumes behind last week’s episode, “Moral Hazard.”

MajorCrimesTV: The last few episodes have each taken place over several different days, and thus each character has had several different costume changes. In contrast, this episode took place all over one day, and as such, everyone (with the exception of the Jere Burns character) had just one costume all episode. It very much helped make it clear that the episode was in the same day, and it really contributed to the intensity of that.

Greg LaVoi: Exactly. In something like this, it’s such a real episode, very reality based, so you have to believe that that it’s real, and that the clothes are part of the story, but not in an obvious way. I love going to a film or watching a TV show where you don’t even notice the clothes because then I think that truly is a successful designer, having success with the clothes, and making them very real to the story.

MCTV: Sharon Raydor and the rest of the team just had the one costume throughout the episode. What was she wearing for this?

GLV: Sharon wore a pin-striped charcoal-grey Armani that we got last spring at Saks. It’s just beautiful, it’s grey flannel, and who doesn’t look good in grey flannel?

The dress is a wool crepe shift dress, and it’s actually “turtle green”, not black, and it’s by Akris Punto. In the store it looked black, and then when we got it to the office it’s actually this beautiful turtle green…it’s just wonderful.

MCTV: Patrice’s sundresses were such a breath of fresh air in this episode – bright and summery. How did you decide on them?

GLV: Dawnn (Lewis) is honestly so much fun to dress because she knows her body, and she knows what looks good on her. The first time we met her, it was tough, because she didn’t know us, we didn’t know her. I knew what I wanted the character to look like, but of course there has to be a trust factor built up between myself and the actors. That’s so important with a costume designer and their actors, is to develop that trust.

But after I figured out how she worked, and how she liked to do fittings, it became much easier. She knows her character, and her body. So now what we do is put together a rack of clothes that I like, that would fit with the story and that I would be happy with having on camera, and let her choose what she wants to wear. Since nothing on that rack is something I wouldn’t want to see on camera, it gives Dawnn the ability to look through the rack and decide what she likes, and what she thinks is going to be best for her. So now, it’s gotten to where we have great fun in the fitting room, and so much of that is just because of having earned her trust.

MCTV: So, tell us about the dresses used in this episode.

GLV: Dawnn and I decided on a muti-colored Felicity and Coco dress for her first scene. I had originally wanted that dress to be the dress she goes to dinner in, and then when we actually put the looks together, it was like, ‘No, she’s been out shopping, she’s getting him lunch, so it needs to be more summery’. So together we chose this long sleeveless, little strappy maxidress to be that dress that she was just shopping around in. Her sandals were actually her own, with her own toe rings.

MCTV: Her necklace was very striking to me – what was the history on that?

GLV: The beautiful silver necklace she wore was a Tara Reynolds Designs. Tara is married to Cory Reynolds (Gabriel from The Closer) and she’s an amazing designer, and we’ve featured her jewelry on the show for many years.

It’s just great to find jewelry sources that are not from department stores so you can have a conversation with the designer. Often, for example with Tara, I’ll call her and say I need something specific, and she’ll come by the studio with some options, and I’ll wind up buying several pieces for use in the future. And if she doesn’t have it, she’ll make it. And ultimately it’s great for those designers to get to see their designs on-screen.

MCTV: And Patrice’s evening dress?

GLV: For the last scene with Provenza, to go to dinner, it was a Banana Republic dress, and I loved the big flowers on it, it was beautiful. I love showing off Dawnn’s figure, and so it’s not overly done and it’s still very sexy. And with that, again we used her own jewelry – bracelet, rings and gold hoops. She’s a fun character to dress.

MCTV: I noticed that the hotel characters all had a similar theme to their uniforms, just as they would in any business like this. How do you go about designing entire look for that?

GLV: We’ve had fun this season because we’ve had a lot of hotel and restaurant scenes. I’m tired of doing valets in red jackets and black pants, or waiters in black vests and white shirts and black pants. So each of these episodes that have had a hotel or a restaurant, we’ve really given a lot of thought to the characters and what that hotel staff would wear. We’re usually not allowed to use the hotel employees’ real wardrobe. So instead, we get pictures from the location scouts, and those will show us the color scheme of the restaurant or the lobby or the exterior, and on this one it was just fun, because it was supposed to be a very upscale hotel.

Pinstripe was the order of the day, so we did a color story with the grey pinstripe. So everybody in the hotel had some sort of pinstripe in greys. The valets had a plaid tie, and for the front desk staff, I had Esther, my cutter-fitter, design the little rosette that was at the neck. So they had on solid suits and then the pinstriped vests like the valets, and then the little black gray and white striped rosette, where Esther took apart ties and made this lovely rosette for the desk clerk.

I just love it. It’s just so much fun to just create these hotel and restaurant personnel. I’m tired of just the normal, basic everyday stuff that you can rent.

MCTV: One thing I noticed in this episode was that the whole team wore their tactical vests under their jackets, where usually we see the vests without the jacket. Was there a specific reason for that in this episode?

GLV: It was related to the story – in the hotel they had to blend in so that the guests of the hotel weren’t alarmed that a whole contingent of police officers in tactical vests were entering their lobby. So it was a very subtle way to present the tactical gear this time. Those were the standard tactical vests that each character has, nothing special was done to fit them under the jackets. The vests have been adjusted so that they fit fairly perfectly now either under clothes, or without a jacket, however we need to use them.

MCTV: The person with the most costume changes this episode was the character played by Jere Burns. What can you tell us about the different changes he had?

GLV: I’ve worked with Jere before, twenty-some years ago I designed a sitcom called Something So Right and he was the male lead on that. So I’ve known Jere all this time and he’s a great comedian and he’s a really good dramatic actor, too. So I heard he was cast as Elliot Chase, I knew this was going to be a fun one, because he’s very intense as a bad guy.

He had to look like he could blend in because first he was at the one man’s house, killing him, and so we surmised that he maybe stole the jacket that we first see him in from the dead man. It was actually just a GAP jacket. And so when Jere went in there, you know, he had to look normal, so that you wouldn’t be alarmed at him coming in, and then he just blatantly pulled out a shotgun and shoots somebody.

Later when he kidnaps the man in the Jaguar, I put him in J. Crew. Jere looks great in J. Crew – it fits him perfectly, so I combined that and Tommy Hilfiger shirt, and he then became the rich man in the red Jaguar. And it was fascinating to watch how stunts and special effects and everything works together when he took the leap off the balcony. Episodes like these are just fascinating to do and to design.

We’ll be back next week with more from the costume department, and a discussion of the fashion from the next new episode of Major Crimes. For more information about Greg LaVoi’s career, check out our in-depth 2013 interview here, and follow him on twitter @GregLaVoi.

Special thanks to TNT, Warner Bros and Greg LaVoi for making this segment possible.

Major Crimes costume designer Greg LaVoi

As part of our new weekly series “Inside the Fitting Room” we spoke to Major Crimes costume designer Greg LaVoi to get an inside look at the fashion and costumes behind this week’,s episode, “Tourist Trap”.

MajorCrimesTV: This episode was fun, because we got some glimpses of the team out of their normal office wear. Right off the bat in the opening scene we start with a crime scene at night, with the team wearing a great variety of jackets and overcoats. We don’t get to see those on them that often - what goes into selecting the outerwear for the characters?

Greg LaVoi: The key about outerwear for night shoots is either you need it or you don’t. Because in Los Angeles, it’s either hot, or it’s not. And so, usually when we start shooting Major Crimes each season, it’s still spring, and the nights can be chilly. In this particular episode, we shot at a beach in Venice, in a parking lot for the restaurant. So I knew it was going to be chilly. Our producer, Mike Robin, always says our actors are not to suffer. So even though this was to air in the summer, we need to keep them warm while filming, which leads us to the jackets and coats.

Luckily the outerwear is character-driven. Generally when they need outerwear, it tends to be one, or one of a few regular options. For Provenza, it’s a very old London Fog raincoat. For Flynn, he has a cashmere topcoat that’s a favorite. For Tao, normally it’s a vintage plaid topcoat, which he did not wear on this particular night because he was in his tuxedo. For Sykes, it depends on what she wants to wear, and in this episode it was a  modified trench coat by Kooples, from Bloomingdale’s. And Buzz was in a brand new Theory cashmere topcoat that we found at Saks at the beginning of the season when we did our big shopping spree for the year.

MCTV: So a lot of these are kept in their closets for using over and over again?

GLV: In particular, Buzz and Sykes like to have a lot of coat options. Sanchez hardly ever wears a topcoat. Buzz has quite a nice coat closet and Sykes is building a pretty good one too.

MCTV: You mentioned Tao’s tuxedo – he looked very dashing in that!

GLV: It’s so much fun to get an episode where there’s something a little different, and as the season goes on I’ve gotten a chance to design a lot of fun outfits for a lot of different scenarios. This in particular was great because he stayed in the tuxedo for three-quarters of the show. I brought in a couple different type of suits for Michael Paul Chan to try. One was a Theory, one was a Bar III, one was a Hugo Boss, and one was a Tommy Hilfiger. And the Tommy Hilfiger looked best on him and he liked it best. It was slim-fitting, and he has such a good physique to fit into slim suits anyway, so it was fun to find that suit that fit.

Then in the wardrobe meeting we have every week for every episode, Mike Robin, our Executive Producer, said, ‘Is there any chance we could have a little fun with Tao’s bow tie and cummerbund?’ And I looked at him and smiled and he said “Something plaid, perhaps?” So I will not take credit for the plaid bow tie and cummerbund because I was just going to dress him very straight, but Mike Robin of course tuned in on Tao’s penchant for plaids and it was a great decision from my executive producer.

MCTV: Was the plaid bowtie he wears something you then had to seek out to find?

GLV: We had to make that. I couldn’t find any really wonderful ties or cummerbunds. So I found some great black and white taffeta, and I had Esther, our fitter make them for it. And it was so wonderful. Michael Paul Chan did wrinkle up his nose when he first heard he was going to be wearing plaid accessories, but I said, well,  A: It’s your character and B: Mike Robin requested it, so his smirk turned into a smile.

MCTV: Speaking of outerwear, later in the episode we see Amy on stakeout in a much different type of jacket. What was the history on her brown leather jacket?

GLV: That was actually a relatively inexpensive jacket from Zara, and I love Zara. Zara fits Sykes in particular quite well so it was fun to find that and I liked the little bling on it. It looked good and she looked hot in it, especially sitting next to Cooper in all his J.C. Penny glory (laughs).

Sharon Raydor’s featured costume this episode was a new Alexander McQueen coat, paired with an Amani skirt, and slate blue tee.

MCTV: Sharon had a few costume changes this episode, but two in particular stood out for me, especially the great black jacket. You mentioned a few weeks ago we’d see Sharon soon in a new jacket -was this it?

GLV: Yes, that is a brand new Alexander McQueen 2016 indigo cashmere coat. Her skirt was Armani, as was the slate blue tee shirt. She looks great in the repetition of items that she has in her closet and then you add a new beautiful couture type coat like this one, and it just amps up the look 100%. I’m excited to have that coat in her closet now.

MCTV: Then she had a great chocolate outfit, which I think we’ve seen before?

GLV: Yes. The top and skirt was both Armani, and we used it in the very last episode last season for Provenza’s wedding, and repeated it this season because it’s such a great look. Originally Mary didn’t like it, because she didn’t care for the color, and thought the brown would fade into the background. I said, ‘Mary, it’s brown. Who else in the show wears brown? You’re going to stick out.’ And she did, and now we love to use it. And then this time, it was paired with a crème Equipment blouse.

MCTV: I liked Hobbs’ blue dress – that seemed like a bit of a different look for her?

GLV: That was a new Diane von Furstenberg from Bloomingdale’s. It looked great, and Kathe loved the blue. Her blazer was Theory as well. And her necklace was from Marble Designs Jewlery, and it was a sterling silver calla lily with pearls. It was just beautiful. The designer, Sue Marble, is somebody that one of my crew members met on a trip and we bought jewelry from them and have loved using it this season.

MCTV: This episode also had some fun guest stars, especially with Julian Ovenden as the British reporter. How did you create his look?

GLV: He was wonderful. James Duff wanted him in plaid – he’d seen some reporter on CNN that is out in the field all the time in kind of a very subtle plaid shirt. My only other marching order on Julian was from Rick Wallace, one of our producers, saying his coat had to be a cross between a field jacket that somebody would wear in the jungle or out in the field reporting, as well as something that was weather-friendly in the sense that this is something he’d pack all the time on his trips and his assignments.

Trying to find that, in Los Angeles, in the spring is not easy, because you have to also have to have the actors take on what they would prefer. So, I had a range of coats, from real field jackets, military field jackets, to the old Abercrombie & Fitch style back in the 30′s and 40′s field style jackets to the newer ones, from waist length to the low knee, and every element had to come in play because our producers wanted one thing, the actor wanted another thing, and then I l liked another thing, so it was a tough assignment.

But Julian got the final vote, and again, it was from Zara, a really wonderful jacket in nylon, and to me, I’d call it a cross between a baseball jacket and a field jacket, because it had nylon patch pockets and knit collar and cuffs, but then it was almost thigh length, and it was just really cool. Again, I have to give it to the Europeans to say “Okay, we’re making this jacket that’s very unique but is also very wearable and very appropriate for any situation.”  So luckily Julian liked that and we got it on camera.

MCTV: The other Brits on the show were the tourist couple. Where there special considerations that went into selecting their costume?

GLV: Yes. I did think about it a lot about how to dress them, especially Claire Branson (the wife). Her dress was by L.K. Bennett, and it’s one of Catherine Middleton’s favorite designers. She’s very known for the white dress with the midriff print, and I saw a similar dress I really liked on her, so we got this one from the collection. It was fun because I’m hoping that some time, when this season of Major Crimes gets to Britain, then maybe Kate will see it and say “Oh, that’s one of my dresses.”

I love her work and I loved being able to put a real British designer on a British character, which I thought was fun. The little bolero jacket was also from L.K. Bennett, and the necklace was from the same designer that did Hobbs’. It’s sea glass and I just thought it was beautiful.

As much as my cast doesn’t always believe me, I give these characters a back story. Some of the cast don’t believe that I really think about this, but I do. I think about where they would shop and what they would buy for themselves. So I thought that this tourist picked this little piece of jewelry up at the beach on the way from San Francisco to Los Angeles, based on what her character says in the episode. And she would have brought her little bolero with her, so that one was also from a British designer. For her second change into jeans, I thought she probably would have picked those up here in LA. And then her twin-set is Pure, from the Pure Collection out of Harrogate, England. I got them from the website, and it was pure cashmere. I loved that and she felt really apropos in the outfits.

We’ll be back next week with more from the costume department, and a discussion of the fashion from the next new episode of Major Crimes. For more information about Greg LaVoi’s career, check out our in-depth 2013 interview here, and follow him on twitter @GregLavoi.

Special thanks to TNT, Warner Bros and Greg LaVoi for making this segment possible.

Major Crimes costume designer Greg LaVoi in the “Edith Head Memorial Fitting Room” at Raleigh Studios

As part of our new weekly series “Inside the Fitting Room” we spoke to Major Crimes costume designer Greg LaVoi to get an inside look at the fashion and costumes behind this weeks episode, “Cashed Out.”

MajorCrimesTV: This episode spent a lot of time jumping back and forth in time. Did that affect how you designed the costumes for the episode?

Greg LaVoi: It was so much fun doing this episode, because of how it was structured. I loved going into and out of the real story and then cutting between those with Cynthia’s interviews with the team. There were no titles on the screen that showed the changing of time like there often are in movies, so the only way we could tell what was happening on which day was with our character’s clothing. The day we filmed with Cynthia (actress Sonya Leslie) was such an important day, and it was fun to be able to film it like that in one day. I wanted the costume changes to be important, and also got to play with some of the looks a little bit since the team wasn’t solving any crime that day, they were just giving interviews.

It was most important that Cynthia’s clothing stayed the same and was recognizable to help with the time shifts, so I put her in an ALC print blouse from Neiman Marcus, and a great Tahari flannel suit from Saks.

MCTV: I feel like this episode we saw a glimpse of Sykes more put together than we’ve ever seen her before, with the beautiful tailored suit.

GLV: I’ve had that Theory dress and jacket in Sykes’ closet for four years, and never had an opportunity to have her wear it because she’s always in the field solving crimes. And to me Sykes just wouldn’t wear a dress or skirt when she’s crime solving. So with a leap of faith I added it into the interview day, and I loved it. And that scene with Sykes and Cynthia was amazing. I thought both of them knocked it out of the park, and it was so wonderful to watch Sykes be so powerful in a dress and go toe to toe with Cynthia in pants.

One thing that’s so interesting about that scene between Sykes and Cynthia was how their suits wound up looking on the HD camera, and what that can do to colors. The Tahari suit with Cynthia, and the Theory suit on Sykes were almost the same color to the naked eye. When I went onto set and saw how that looked together, I became concerned because I thought they were both going to look like they’re in the same shade of grey. But amazingly enough, with lighting and the HD camera we film with, Sykes’ suit had a lot of blue in the grey, and Cynthia’s was warmer. So Sykes’ suit came off as blue-grey, and Cynthia’s stayed that kind of warm grey. So I was very pleased it came out looking like two very different greys.

MCTV: In that same scene we also saw Amy in heels, which I feel like was also a new thing for her?

GLV:  Sykes had on Manalo pumps. Usually we see her in the stack heeled boots with her pants, which are perfectly correct and true to life for a real cop to wear. I loved being able to put her into a high heel for this episode – not super high, but a simple high heeled Manolo shoe.

This Armani jacket features a Bakelite clasp (inset) that is so delicate, the costume department has to remove it anytime it comes off set, goes into storage or gets cleaned.

MCTV: This week we saw one of my personal favorite Raydor jackets, which we’ve seen before in the show, I believe? 

GLV: Yes, it’s an Armani charcoal dot jacket, and we have seen it before, starting in the very first season. Funny thing about this jacket is the beautiful Bakelite clasp/buckle on the side. It’s very fragile, so we have to take it off of the jacket anytime it comes off the set, or for storage and cleaning, because it can very easily fall off. The jacket is a perennial favorite –  Mary looks good in it, it’s a great shape and creates a lovely silhouette.

We’ve used this jacket several times, always paired with a something different. This time it’s over a Narciso Rodriguez dress which I think is one of the most gorgeous dresses on Mary. The neckline, the sleeve-length, the cut, the seaming is gorgeous. The dress repeats again later in the season. It has 3/4 sleeves which is good to wear without a jacket. It was a nice sheath with a great v-neckline, which draws the eye up to the face rather than staying on the clothes. I’ve never put her in Narciso before, so it was fun to try it and see how she looks in it, and I’m excited to go back to them for more of Raydor’s clothes in the future.

Raydor’s iconic charcoal Armani dot jacket has been used in each season of Major Crimes thus far, always paired with a different look. From left to right, it was seen in episode 110 “Long Shot”, 210 “Backfire”, 310 ” Zoo Story”, 408 “Hostage of Fortune”, and this weeks episode 505 “Cashed Out”

MCTV: You mentioned last week that one of the costume items you’ve gotten a lot of feedback on from fans is the green checkered Equipment blouse Raydor wears in this episode.

GLV: The blouse is by Equipment, and yes, I’ve had a lot of fans reach out to me about it. The great thing about Equipment blouses is that they are feminine, but still business-like and affordable for the public and the character. I’ve seen several fans mention that they’ve bought one of these blouses after seeing it on the show, and I love hearing that, and knowing that these are something that are in stores now that anyone can buy.

I’ve started using them more and more, and we have an array of them in Raydor’s closet now. And this week we paired it with a new Ralph Lauren blazer, and a pencil skirt that’s a repeat from several season ago as well.

This week’s episode featured the Equipment blouse under a Ralph Lauren Jacket, and as evidenced by the array of Equipment blouses in Raydor’s closet, it’s become a staple of her wardrobe.

MCTV: The guest cast this week had a really distinct look. What went into building those costumes for them?

GLV:  I loved working with both Mike Manning and Chris Gorham. Their costumes were fun, because they had to be uber hip and trendy, but not so over the top that you didn’t believe them. But they had to be on the cutting edge. So with Mike Manning’s character I did Alexander McQueen and All Saints – really hip brands.

On Chris’ character I thought he had to be so cool and hip that it had to be a signature look, and that’s how we started the search for his leather jacket. It’s from Iguana Vintage on Hollywood Blvd. No label, just a vintage leather jacket. It had great detail, and to me looks like a Dolce & Gabbana vintage jacket. And that’s what I love about designers, is they go to the vintage stores, flea markets and antique malls, and find the fabulous clothes and then they make them with modern day cuts and fabric, and they sell them. And what’s more classic than vintage?

.
Chris loved the jacket. We were going to give him a new jacket for the second day, and he liked it so much he said no, ‘no, if it was mine I’d wear that all the time.’ So it was a case of the actor saying he loved something, and his input influenced the final design.

MCTV: How much input does the cast and guest actors have on what they wear? How collaborative is the process for you?

GLV: It really depends on the situation. I do try to take the main actor’s preference into account, but depending on the story, it can’t always be heeded.

With Mary, she has a huge input in what she wears because she knows Raydor so well. I’ll start the season off with doing a big shop, and get things together for her to consider. But she’s so busy, we don’t get a lot of time for fitting, and when we do, we make the most of it, so we do a bulk fitting. So, it’s great to find something that works with her, and then keep it in the closet, and bring it out. With Raydor it’s all about fit, but also she’s got a pretty consistent style. She’s always pretty classic and straight. But when I get to introduce new designers, like with this week’s Narciso dress, it’s really fun, and once we’ve all decided we like them, they’ll become part of the rotation.

But in terms of input from the actors, I love collaboration and I don’t mind collaborating if it comes from the character. If they say this is just not right, I ask why not, and they say ‘because I don’t think my character would be wearing this.’  Well, okay, tell me what you’ve thought about your character. We talk, and maybe I’ll think ‘Oh my God, I never thought about that, you’re right’ and we’ll change it. But if it’s just “I, the actor, just don’t like this”, then no way. (laughs)

MCTV: We saw a lot of the team in the field this week. Are the vests and jackets something that you’ve created, or are those standard-issue for the police?

Raydor’s standard-issue police vest is augmented by a tailored raid jacket, and Alexander McQueen pants, which are another new addition to Raydor’s office, says LaVoi.

GLV: Tactical gear is actually a combination effort between the costume department and the props department. They take care of the vests, and we take care of the raid jackets and if they are in SWAT gear. For Raydor and Sykes we tailor their raid jackets so they fit better. The vests are fit with Velcro, so they can be as tight or as loose as they need to be. They are real tactical vests with the bulletproof lining, so they can be hard to wear and uncomfortable, but they have to wear them.

For the LAPD, officers are required to wear the vests, and it’s an option to wear the raid jackets. For our show, sometimes it’s written that they have to wear the raid jackets, and sometimes if it’s not and then it can be up to the actors if they want to wear the jackets, but they but they have to wear the vests in those scenes, just like the real LAPD would.

Last year Fritz had to wear his vest under his clothes for an episode, but when you put that on the body, and a shirt on top, it looks too cumbersome. So for that, we made him an unlined vest that he could wear under his shirt, so that it appeared to be a vest under the shirt, but it was a better look on camera, and more breathable and comfortable for the actor.  But we love it when they get dressed up in their raid jackets and vests, and it looks so real, because it is.

MCTV: Well, the fans always love those moments as well. Especially this week, we saw Raydor out in the field, with her gun, in pursuit of the suspect, which we don’t often see. Do you put together her holster as well? 

GLV: The holster and gun is done by Props, in tandem with Costume. Costume provides the belt, which is usually up to the actor’s preference. So it would be a belt that Mary or Kearran likes, that fits through the belt loops, and then then Props attaches the holster and the gun to that. Last night the holster was attached by one of her standard Raydor belts.

I love when she’s in a gun because she’ll stand differently – and she’ll plant her feet apart, hands on her hips and you see the gun. It is so rare for her, so it stands out well when it’s done.

Tony always wears his holster, though most of the other guys don’t, and sometimes we even alter Tony’s jacket to give a little extra room on the holster side so it’s not so bulky. But some of the actors really love to be correct, and some just when it’s needed.

Speaking of the partnership between Props and Costume, in this week’s episode the whole crime was solved with sunglasses. Those were Oliver Peoples sunglasses that we in Costume did not provide. On a lot of shows, it’s traditional that the Prop departments provide handbags, sunglasses, different jewelry the characters wear, etc.. But it’s fun with our Prop department because we’ll provide the handbag if it’s fashion. And they’ll provide the handbag if it’s part of a stunt. So it’s a give and take. So when it said in the script Oliver People sunglasses: I said no, Props could do that, because there’s a whole approval process of looking at the different styles of sunglasses, and getting the name of the brand cleared to use and all that. So it’s fun to be able to choose, because we passed on that, but a designer handbag, we’ll do that!

We’ll be back next week with more from the costume department, and a discussion of the costumes from the next new episode. For more information about Greg LaVoi’s career, check out our  in-depth 2013 interview here, and follow him on twitter @GregLavoi.

Special thanks to TNT, Warner Bros and Greg LaVoi for making this segment possible.

Major Crimes costume designer Greg LaVoi in his fitting room at Raleigh Studios, with his assistant, Vida.

Armani. St. John. Michael Kors. The labels behind the costumes on Major Crimes are as iconic as some of the looks themselves have proven to be. The man behind these iconic looks is costume designer Greg LaVoi, who, before designing for Major Crimes and The Closer, also put together ensembles for legends like Reba McEntire, Dolly Parton and worked for Bob Mackie.  LaVoi invited us into the storied halls of the Major Crimes costume department to take a look behind the scenes, and we are thrilled to announce a new weekly series “Inside the Fitting Room With Greg LaVoi” where we will take a closer look at the labels, looks and behind-the-scenes workings that bring Major Crimes to such vibrant visual life in each week’s episode.

MajorCrimesTV: The last time we spoke to you was in season two, when Major Crimes was just finding its footing. Now that we’re firmly in season five, we’ve seen a lot of evolution of many of the characters. Have their looks and your costume choices evolved?

Greg LaVoi: Really, you know, there has been no evolution per se from The Closer to the fifth season of Major Crimes. Only in the sense that these characters have lived in these clothes for twelve years now. Not the same clothes, but they’ve lived in these characters for twelve years. So short of, this season, with Provenza’s new wife, Patrice, kind of buying his clothes now (per the writers) he’s upped the game a little bit with better sports coats, better ties, and better pocket squares. I haven’t repeated any of his old ties this season at all. It’s all been new. So that’s fun and GW’s enjoyed that because it’s now his “wife” picking his clothes instead of him.

But as far as Flynn, and Sanchez and Sykes and all that, they’re everyday. The characters are not making tons of money, and they’re busy solving crimes, so they can’t go out and buy clothes every other day. We do repeat clothes, as I think the fans enjoy, but other than repeating a look in a different way every so often, I design it like a real person’s wardrobe. So maybe Sykes goes out and buys new Theory jackets and pants when the sales are, or maybe Raydor, when she has the day off, does go to Neiman Marcus and picks an Armani. I design it like a real person would shop and buy their own clothes.

MCTV: You talked about repeating some pieces of costume – how do you choose which ones to recycle and what goes into that decision of what becomes part of that rotation for that character?

GLV: Usually, on the rotation factor, it is what an actor likes. I do take them into account when I’m repeating clothes. Sometimes I might use a jacket for Sharon, and we’ve liked how it looks but it turns out to be uncomfortable to wear. Or on Sykes this year she’s gotten new Theory stretch pants, which look exactly like suit pants, but they’re easier to move in.

The Major Crimes “gold” room features all the regular wardrobe of the main cast, which is often repeated in rotation throughout the season and over several seasons. Other rooms house an array of costume options for guest actors, and storage for pieces that are on hold from use in prior episodes.

Some things, like the purple jackets on Mary, which have become iconic, I’ve retired both of them now, just because they’re getting worn, and their time is gone. So now I’m looking for new iconic pieces for her, which is a challenge. We have an area in the costume closet called “Show Holds”, so I always look at that to see what episode I’ve put maybe the one purple jacket in, then I may not repeat it again until, you know, four episodes ahead, or whatever. It really is a game of numbers. Looking to see which ties I’ve used, and oftentimes I don’t repeat a tie each season, but I also don’t buy a lot of new ties for the guys because they’ve got huge stacks of ties from twelve years.

MCTV: One thing we don’t see that often, but that we did see in this week’s episode, is Sharon at home. What goes into choosing her home wardrobe as opposed to her work clothes?

GLV: That’s a good question because it’s fun now to see Sharon at home. We got to see Brenda at home a lot in The Closer, and it was usually her in pajamas or her comfy sweater or something like that. But with Sharon, she’s a little more pulled together then Brenda was. To me, shopping for Raydor’s at home clothes has been fun. It’s usually a nice pair of tailored jeans, something that Mary likes. And I often costume the characters like I dress, in the sense that I love cashmere so I assume every actor is going to love cashmere, and every character is going to be cold at home.

In Raydor’s condo I put her in a lot of cashmere sweaters with maybe a tank underneath just because that’s what I would wear at home, a cashmere sweater and a pair of jeans. I got called on the carpet for it the other day, in a joking way, from one of the actors saying “Why is everybody always in a sweater?”, and I said ‘because I’m always cold so my characters are always cold.’ (laughs)

It’s humorous in a sense but that’s the truth, and it’s like I become these people, in a way, when I shop for them. So when I’m shopping for Raydor, my mind is on “What would Raydor buy?”  when I’m shopping for Sanchez, I turn into Sanchez and think, “what would he buy?” So it’s very personal to me and thus, Raydor is in her cashmere sweaters at home to stay warm. Not that her apartment is cold by any means but it is LA, we do have chilly nights, if she has the windows open on the deck, I assume the apartment is a little chilly. But it’s fun because there are so many cool things out there that I can put on Raydor now that doesn’t look so uptight, like she is at the office. Thus, the more casual sweaters, the hoodies, the cowl necks, the boots. It’s fun to get a glimpse into them off the clock.

Raydor’s Theory coat is paired with a Stella McCartney V-neck blouse, Paige denim, and a necklace from McDonnell’s own collection.

MCTV: Another outfit in this week’s episode in the casual vein was the great brown suede jacket that we saw Sharon in at the very end. It seems like we’ve seen her trend towards some more leather jackets lately, with this one, and the black Armani we saw a few episodes ago. Is that a conscious change, or just an evolution of the “Raydor has great jackets” game?

GLV: I think she just has great jackets. I love leather on camera because if it’s shiny, it radiates, and if it’s matte it soaks up the light. The suede jacket is gorgeous. It’s a Theory mushroom suede jacket, actually, and Mary initially didn’t like it. But she tried it on and fell in love with it. And then I paired it with a Stella McCartney green V-neck tunic, which, green, she looks absolutely fabulous in, and her pants are Paige denim. And the necklace is actually her own. Mary had it on the day of the fitting, and we realized it went perfectly, so we used it.

But a suede jacket like that and leather jackets like that are iffy at best because I can’t easily repeat that jacket like I would the “Darth Raydor” jacket or her black leather jackets because this is a more casual look, more upscale casual look so she can’t wear it off to a crime scene.

MCTV: She had another great look in this episode with the lavender dress, and the textured jacket.

The very first costume worn by Raydor when the character was introduced in The Closer was an Armani trenchcoast, and Armani continues to be a staple of her wardrobe, including this boucle jacket paired with a lavender St. John dress.

GLV: Oh yes. That’s a case of repeating. So with that, I have the blue and lavender boucle Armani jacket that was bought a couple of seasons ago. And then, that was a St. John lavender knit dress. But again, that was bought, two or three years ago, at least. So that’s a great example of truly repeating a look from the past and pairing them up with something different.

MCTV: You mentioned Provenza is really the one who has had a conscious change in his style this year. How did that come through in this episode?

GLV: With Patrice “buying” Provenza’s clothes this year we’ve been able to get some better brands on Provenza, and a better fit for him. So my go-to store for that, for elegant mature men–is Carroll & Co. in Beverly Hills. And so in this episode he’s in a beautiful houndstooth sport coat from Carroll & Co. and his pants are Carroll & Co. and his tie is Carroll & Co. and his pocket square is Carroll & Co. So really I was like, pretending to be Patrice and going in there and just saying “Oh, Louie would like this, and Louie would like that that “Pretty Woman” scene, ‘oh, he’ll love this, he’ll love that.’

MCTV: The murder victim this week had quite a loud outfit. How did that one come to be?

GLV: The dress plays a huge part in the episode. It had to look like a beach ball, a floating beach ball. The dress was from Bebe, and it was an orange Lycra dress, and then the blazer was from Carven, a high-end brand at Neiman’s. The actress plays a high-end realtor, and she was great. This is truly a costume stunt gag, where her bottom, had to look like a beach ball floating in the pool, so thus the Lycra dress.

Realtor Heather Lutz met her end in this Bebe Dress and Carven jacket. Several pairs of each outfit are often required for any out-of-the-norm costume needs, like this outfit which had to be seen in the water. Pictured here are the “hero” version of the costume, as well as the copies that were also sourced as backups.

MCTV: Finally, I noticed there was a lot of matching happening in this episode with Sharon and Andy. You’ve described before how you like to do a color story with coordinating the characters outfits, but now that “Shandy” is really moving forward, has that ramped up for you?

GLV: Yes. I always did the color theme with Brenda and Gabriel and clothes (in The Closer), so it’s fun to have a pair that are kind of in cahoots again, but it’s tough, because Flynn was always the peacock with colors and Raydor was always very subtle. So now with some of the colors I’m getting on Raydor, like the green tunic this week for instance, I can look for green ties and other things for Flynn.

Color Story: LaVoi often uses the characters to tell a story with the colors of the clothes. in the case of “Shandy”, their outfits often share the same colors, reflecting the closeness of the characters.

.

We’ll be back next week with more from the costume department, and a discussion of the costumes from the next new episode. For more information about Greg LaVoi’s career, check out our  in-depth 2013 interview here, and follow him on twitter @GregLavoi.

Special thanks to TNT, Warner Bros and Greg LaVoi for making this segment possible.

Additional reporting by K. Black