‘The Morning Show’: Reese Witherspoon’s Costume Designer Explains How Bradley Went from ‘Practical’ to ‘Powerful’ - The Messenger
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‘The Morning Show’: Reese Witherspoon’s Costume Designer Explains How Bradley Went from ‘Practical’ to ‘Powerful’

'She's examining her sexuality, the politics and what it is to be a woman in that world,' 'The Morning Show' costume designer Sophie De Rakoff said of Bradley Jackson

Reese Witherspoon in seasons 1 and 3 of The Morning ShowApple TV +; Erin Simkin/Apple TV +

Fans of The Morning Show have had a front-row seat for the evolution of Bradley Jackson's (Reese Witherspoon) transformation throughout three seasons, both personally and professionally. From local field reporter to anchoring the evening national news for UBA, Bradley's onscreen look has noticeably shifted since Season 1. Now, a mastermind behind the scenes is explaining how the onscreen hotshot's wardrobe went from practical to powerful.

In an exclusive interview with The Messenger, Sophie De Rakoff — who costumed three episodes of the Apple TV+ drama, as well as Bradley's looks specifically for the entire series — opened up about styling Witherspoon and detailed how her character's costumes speak volumes to the woman she's becoming.

"When we meet Bradley in Season 1, she's a field reporter for a local news station, which is a very practical world where everyone dresses themselves," De Rakoff said. "Bradley, as a truth seeker, is a very practical, hands-on person that wears low boots, regular jeans, theory blazers, very corporate for what she needed to be."

Reese Witherspoon in Season 1 of "The Morning Show."
Reese Witherspoon in Season 1 of "The Morning Show."Apple TV +

"Then she catapulted into this morning news anchor, high-profile, high-prestige woman," De Rakoff explained. "Her journey was about how she, as a character, learned to navigate through that world. She also had to learn to navigate through visually, because she doesn't really care about clothes at all."

De Rakoff, who has worked on numerous productions with Witherspoon, including 2001's Legally Blonde, explained how Bradley's self-exploration subtly shined through in her wardrobe.

Sketch of "The Morning Show's" Bradley Jackson, played in the series by Reese Witherspoon.
Sketch of "The Morning Show's" Bradley Jackson, played in the series by Reese Witherspoon.Barbara Araujo/Apple

"She's examining her sexuality, the politics and what it is to be a woman in that world," De Rakoff said. "It started out very regular, very straightforward and very basic, and has elevated as we've gone through the seasons. Season 2, she becomes blonde. She learned how to use color for specific moments, so she embraced different colors for certain plot points to separate herself or to blend in. She was still wearing the dresses and what was expected and what was familiar for morning news."

But in season 3, De Rakoff said, Bradley has come into her power while anchoring the evening news.

"When we meet her in Season 3 for evening news, she's now in a position of gravitas that she's looked for her whole career," she said. "She now has the power and the clout and the confidence to be going back to to the more traditional power suit, pant suit but with a very specific wide-legged, high-waisted, more of a '70s network silhouette."

"To contrast with this, she's also wearing shorter skirts and fitted jackets because there's a duality with Bradley," she added. "She can talk to the left, she can talk to the right, she's bisexual, she intersects in all these different points, and her anchor-wear is an extension of that, that she can address these different dynamics that are going on within herself and within the country."

In an exclusive interview with The Messenger ahead of the Season 3 premiere, executive producer Mimi Leder teased the third season of the Apple TV+ series and explained how the show will "twist people inside out" with its unpredictable character arcs and storylines, all while addressing some weighty, hot-button issues.

"Viewers can expect a huge-in-scope story and very intimate story about the state of journalism," Leder said. "The first season we dealt with the 'Me Too' movement, Mitch's ghost, and then pivoted away from sexual misconduct. [This season], we're very much focused on women's autonomy and how it's undermined. We very much explore women's agency, reproductive rights, abortion rights, and the state of the truth, the big lie, the threat to journalism around the world. Through our characters we explore these things."

She added, "It's really important to explore the issues of the day. Our abortion story was written before Roe was overturned. It was fascinating."

New episodes of The Morning Show arrive at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesdays on Apple TV+.

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