See Brit Marling’s High-Fashion OA: Part II Look



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When Netflix’s The OA returns for a second part on March 22, the wonderfully offbeat sci-fi series will look a lot different. Because protagonist Prairie (played by series co-creator Brit Marling) wakes up in a hospital bed to discover that she has jumped into an entirely new dimension. The adopted young woman, who resurfaced after a mysterious seven-year disappearance in 2016’s first season, realizes that she has teleported into an entirely new reality and new identity—Prairie is known in this alternate timeline as a wealthy Russian heiress named Nina Azarova.

Wanting her character to have a high-fashion sensibility in this new realm, Marling recruited her own longtime personal stylist Megan Gray to dream up Nina’s closet with series costume designer Meghan Kasperlik. Gray said that she and Kasperlik took initial cues from Marling and The OA co-creator Zal Batmanglij. Explained Gray, “It was apparent from the beginning that we were designing looks that elevated the character and story. We found the right balance of using existing designer pieces and working with them to create unique pieces for OA. During the fittings we tried different silhouettes and color stories and let everything evolve from there.”

Knowing that Part II takes place in San Francisco, Kasperlik said she dove into research—poring over photos from the city, the societies, the nightlife, and various groups in San Francisco. She and Gray also zeroed in on “a couple of specific high-society women and took cues from their upbringing, aesthetic, and how the women present themselves not only to society but also to their peers.” Added Gray, “The overall inspiration for OA/Prairie’s character was strong women with varied backgrounds from aristocrats to artists. We researched fashion both present and past to develop a worldly yet approachable style. For us, it was about the subtle details and the powerful statement pieces such as the Gucci dress.”

When The OA Part II returns on Netflix on March 22, OA’s new story will unspool across eight chapters as she navigates her new reality—in which she, again, is held captive by Hap (Jason Isaacs). OA will also meet Karim Washington (pictured above), a private detective searching for a missing teen.