Game of Clothes: Symbolism and Livery

[HBO, 2019]

In the previous post, regionalism in fantasy costumes was explored through HBO’s adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s novels.[1] Game of Thrones (2011-19) takes place on Westeros, seven kingdoms ruled by seven wardens under one king. These styles and characters helped audiences distinguish between events and places, but it also served another purpose. It added some historical reference to a series based in fiction. There is another element to the costumes in this show: symbolism. Take a look at the episode still above from the series’ finale.[2] Daenerys stands before the last of her army, the wreckage of King’s Landing in the background. How does a queen devoted to liberation and justice dive into conquest and tyranny? Fans for sure were unhappy with the “Mad Queen.”[3] Her costumes betrayed her all along though.

The Borgia’s Italy was ripe with symbolism and livery in clothing that influenced characters in the HBO show. There are three in particular whose character arcs and intentions are obvious to viewers who pay close attention to Clapton’s costumes. But first, a quick recap.

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Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia -

Family colors allowed other citizens and diplomats to understand who was loyal to whom at court. It served as a clear visual marker on whose side a servant belonged. Colored dyes were also expensive and indicated a person’s wealth. Appearance also beget influence in Italy. Men should appear neat and refined.[4] A popular handbook for aristocrats urged women to place their hands a certain way while sitting.[5] This demure posture controlled a woman’s urges, but it also depicted chastity to viewers. It became a symbol of proper womanhood. Colored garments and proper etiquette allowed Italians to excel during the Borgia papacy. The two case studies from this industry – Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia – embraced the rich gold their father had in the papal treasury.

[Left: Bartolomeo Veneto, Portrait of Cesare Borgia (c. 1500), Museo di Palazzo Venezia, Rome; Center: episode still of Cesare Borgia (Showtime, 2013); Right: Cesare Borgia in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft, 2010)]

Dr. Mizumoto-Gitter provides insight into the wardrobe of Borgia men.[6] It is full of expensive red fabrics showcasing the Borgia wealth, becoming symbolic of their dynasty and papal authority. Portraits of Cesare after he resigned his cardinalate detail the rich dress of a layman. Showtime’s The Borgias (2011-13) dresses him in black and deep Borgia red as a duke.[7] Once again, Cesare’s costumes become symbols of power and wealth. Showtime embraced the Borgia Black Legend though, depicting him as an emotional schemer in love with his sister. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (2010) depicts him as a power-hungry sociopath hell-bent on destruction.[8] He wears a devious expression as he struts around in an ornamental breastplate and red cape, clear symbols of a Roman conqueror.

[Left: Bartolomeo Veneto, Portrait of Lucrezia Borgia (c. 1510), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nimes, Nimes; Center: episode still of Lucrezia Borgia (Showtime, 2012); Right: Lucrezia in Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft, 2010)]

Lucrezia’s character was also slighted by the Black Legend in the series. Audiences see her character unfold through her clothing. Bright colors in her youth slowly give way to Borgia red. High waistlines and folds of cloth accentuate full hips. These obvious symbols indicate her transition into womanhood, but as a schemer, a poisoner, a femme fatale. Lucrezia is sexualized. She is similarly portrayed in Brotherhood. A tight Borgia-red dress rises into a vampiric rebato, pulling eyes to her chest. But the real Lucrezia represented intelligence, diplomacy, and papal authority in the Renaissance. Existing inventories from her wardrobe in Ferrara indicate the duchess favored dark fabrics with gold accents.[9] She possessed fine social graces perfected in the Vatican to charm Ferrarese citizens and diplomats.[10]

Borgia red in fabric all aided in unveiling the characters. A similar effect is achieved in Game of Thrones. An important device is royal livery. This became fashionable and political during the Renaissance.[11] Symbolism in politics became all-too familiar in Tudor England and the Borgia’s Italy. Badges derived from family coat of arms also denoted membership to a household. Slashing – cutting fabric to reveal a contrasting color or fabric beneath – became another symbolic device. Embroidery and embellishments could also carry badges, symbols, or colors of families.[12] Similar effects are achieved in the costuming of three central characters to the plot of Game of Thrones.

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Cersei Lannister -

[Left: Cersei at Ned Stark's execution (HBO, 2011); Center: Cersei at Joffrey's wedding (HBO, 2014); Right: episode still of Lucrezia (Showtime, 2012)]

In the first season finale, Cersei stands beside her son, Joffrey Baratheon, as he prepares to execute Ned Stark.[13] An elaborate hairstyle twirls around her gold tiara. Her burgundy dress bares the Lannister lion on canvas sleeves, complimenting Joffrey’s attire. This is the Lannister’s triumphant moment, and she wears her livery proudly. The Baratheons are no longer in power. At Joffrey’s wedding to Margaery Tyrell, Cersei wears more Lannister colors.[14] Bell-shaped sleeves reveal a bronze-colored interior, and rich embroidery caps her shoulders in the shape of lions’ heads. Again, the livery of her family is obvious to audiences. It is a gorgeous dress, though it foreshadows Joffrey’s death and the tottering of the family. In many ways, her outfits are similar to that of Lucrezia Borgia, who wears Borgia red in most of her gowns. Both have been accused of murdering their husbands and taking more power into their hands.

[Left: Cersei in the Season Six finale (HBO, 2016); Center: Antonis Mor. La reina María Tudor, reina de Inglaterra, segunda esposa de Felipe II (1554), Museo del Prado, Madrid; Right: costume detail for Cersei (HBO, 2017)]

In the sixth season finale, Cersei emulates her father’s attire. A black leather dress with simple, window-pane dimples sets the dark mood. Rich cloth-of-silver embroidery emulates pauldrons on her shoulders. A silver chain crosses between them. As she watches the Sept of Baelor – and all of her enemies – explode in wildfire, she becomes the queen of Westeros.[15] When she meets Daenerys and her war party at the Dragonpit in the seventh season finale, she wears a metallic dress indicative of chainmail.[16] Her black coat is a military cut, and according to Clapton, the back is ripped to reveal Cersei’s turncoat attitude during the negotiations.[17] A lion’s head bauble sits at her throat, evoking the Lannister motto of “Hear Me Roar.” While these outfits are more modernized than Renaissance fashion, the motifs are present. This is a Lannister world now. Similar to Mary Tudor’s portrait and the clutched Tudor rose, Cersei bears Lannister livery as a clear sign of her allegiance.

[Detail of Cersei's Final Costume (HBO, 2019)]

In the penultimate finale, Cersei dons Lannister red once more.[18] Bronze pins stud the maroon, crushed velvet dress, lining the edges of the coat, the forepart, and the lapels. The ripped design from her military dress in Season Seven returns to the chest of this dress, revealing her heart and love for Jaime. A long, lion’s head necklace dangles from a chain affixed to bronze pauldrons. The dress is her final moment, the triumph of the House of Lannister, but instead she wears her own blood and ambitions. The armor, the brigandine design, and the colors will do nothing to stop her own castle from crumbling on her.

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Tyrion Lannister -

[Top Left: Tyrion sending Myrcella to Dorne (HBO, 2012); Top Right: Tyrion welcoming the Dornish party (HBO, 2014); Bottom Left: promotional photo of Cromwell (Showtime, 2008); Bottom Right: Hans Holbein the Younger. Portrait of Thomas Cromwell (1532–34), National Portrait Gallery, London]

Tyrion and Cersei both wear Lannister colors while at court. When sending off Myrcella to Dorne, Tyrion wears a maroon leather jerkin with leather embroidery on the shoulders.[19] His golden pin of office sits on his breast. A dark leather doublet lies beneath the jerkin, and padded skirts cover his legs. Tyrion wears darker clothes as master of coin. His attitude grows worse as his father commands the realm as the new Hand of the King. In this episode still when receiving the ambassadors from Dorne, Tyrion wears an elaborate dark jerkin with paisleys cut into the leather.[20] It reveals a maroon leather doublet with dimpled designs. The outfit befits the diplomatic occasion. In fact, many of his outfits appear like Chancellor Cromwell’s. Though not from Italy, Cromwell wore clothes befitting a stoic diplomat; Tyrion donned similar clothing. Both men are distinguished diplomats, highly intelligent, and slighted by their king in the end. Black was stoic, diplomatic, and refined. It is simple clothing which turns focus to the person than the clothing.

[Left: episode still of Tyrion with Daenerys (HBO, 2017); Center: North Italian School. Portrait of a man, half-length, in a black slashed doublet (c. 1550), Private Collection. Right: Sir William Segar. Portrait of a Man in a Slashed Black Doublet (c. 1605), Tate Museum, London]

When he meets Daenerys Targaryen, becomes her Hand of the Queen, and agrees to advise her as she retakes Westeros, the outfits remain diplomatic but more militant. Tyrion wears black fabrics in military cuts again, but any trace of the Lannister family is gone. In fact, the pin is over his heart, indicating his true allegiance. While black is a common color, in the series, it represents a darkness in him. In the Renaissance, black clothing was common for formal clothes in lower classes. It was a working man's distinguished color, one who could afford nice clothes, but not in the rich colors of the nobility. Tyrion is at war in his black fatigues, transforming into the working man. There is conflict in Tyrion too as he tries to navigate the new Westeros, this new dragon queen, and a new threat to the entire realm.

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Daenerys Targaryen -

[Left: Daenerys in Meereen (HBO, 2015); Center: Daenerys in Meereen (HBO, 2015); Right: Lucrezia at the bacchanalian feast (Showtime, 2012)]

Once she becomes queen of Meereen and the other slave cities, Daenerys dons white. This is a psychological shift. Daenerys now views herself as a white knight, an abolitionist, a saint to be venerated. This particular dress folds into a cape, the scaled pattern on the white linen a nod to her dragons.[21] It shifts into ribbed silk skirts. In fact, it seems to emulate the bacchanalian dress Lucrezia wore in The Borgias. The style is intentional; the dresses are meant to be exotic and effervescent. They are also feminine dresses.

[Left: Daenerys on the beaches of Dragonstone (HBO, 2017); Right: Daenerys at the Dragonpit (HBO, 2017)]

Then she sails to Westeros to reclaim her throne. And she discovers that the Westerosi do not welcome her. Discontent with her position, Daenerys now wears the colors of the Targaryens – black and bloodred. She also wears them in masculine cuts (at least by early-modern standards). She is a woman in a man's world, and so she wears clothing befitting this. In this episode still, she wears a stone-gray tunic with fluted silk skirts.[22] The shoulders spike out; the lapels have a streamlined design. A silver chain wraps around her torso, ending in a triple-headed dragon brooch, which fastens her scaled, red cape to her. Daenerys’ wardrobe quickly becomes more draconian and martial as she spends time in Westeros. While meeting with Cersei and others at the Dragonpit in the seventh season finale, she wears the red, scaled cape with the fur-lined tunic from her battle on the Goldroad.[23] The reuse of her battle outfit indicates that Daenerys did not come for negotiations.

[Top Left: episode still of Rodrigo Borgia (Showtime, 2012); Top Right: detail of Dany's costume from Season Seven (HBO, 2017); Bottom Left: details of Dany's costume from Season Eight (HBO, 2019); Bottom Right: promotional photo of Rodrigo Borgia (Showtime, 2011)]

Daenerys wears white again while rescuing Jon Snow and others from Beyond the Wall in Season Seven.[24] The motifs of savior and saint return, though in a more toxic pairing. It harkens to imagery of Pope Alexander IV, who was far from saintly and had his own agendas. While white in the Renaissance often meant the individual rarely worked thereby keeping it free from dirt, Daenerys wears white to battle. The fur tunic indicates a future allegiance with Winterfell against the Night King. The spiny back creates a furred dragon design. Her silver, dragon brooch chain remains on through the remainder of the series. The outfit is repeated during the Battle of Winterfell in Season Eight.[25] Except this time, the fur bleeds Targaryen red.[26]

[Top: details of Daenerys' final costume (HBO, 2019); Bottom Left: Konrad Seusenhofer. Armour of Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, then Bishop of Gurk. Neue Burg, Collection of Arms and Armour, Vienna. Bottom Right: Cesare conquers Forlì (Showtime, 2013)]

Something has changed in Daenerys. Cesare Borgia also underwent a change as he conquered the Romagna. Both Daenerys and Cesare’s costumes becomes increasingly darker. Cesare’s hair begins to grow longer and thicker, untamed. Dany’s warrior braids (every braid is a battle won as part of a Dothraki custom) twist into her crown. Alone in the world without Jon Snow’s love, Tyrion’s loyalty, and the people of Westeros, she returns to what she knows – fire and blood. She burns an entire city and millions of people in the conquest. In the series finale, Daenerys' battle outfit befits a conqueror.[27] The black leather tunic fades into red as if stained by blood. The silver chain is darkened by soot and smoke, a new red cape swirling behind her like fire. A scaled indentation in the shoulders betrays her draconian attitude. All hail the queen.

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Conclusion -

Renaissance fashion became a reflection of Renaissance society.

Livery and proper etiquette allowed Italians to excel during the Borgia papacy. Allegiances constantly shifted, but colorful garments beget party lines. Cesare wore rich lay clothes as a duke, and Lucrezia dressed to impress as duchess of Ferrara. The Borgias remained true to the theme of color and livery in its costuming. Etiquette had no place in the show. Lucrezia and Cesare became caricatures of their legends, embracing darkness and each other in a sinister world. The Assassin’s Creed games paid little homage to the historic Borgia siblings.

Regionalism and image became ingrained in Henrician sumptuary law. Henry VIII’s masculine fashion trends enlarged his influence at court and abroad. Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn’s regional styles reflected who they were as women and how they conducted themselves at court. The Tudors remained honest to Catherine’s wardrobe, but the series turned Henry into a rockstar and Anne into a runway model. Renaissance apparel had no place in the sexy Showtime series.

Finally, these themes influenced Game of Thrones and its fabulous costuming. Regionalism distinguished between the various wards of Westeros, from the burly North to the exotic sands of Dorne. Symbolism and livery revealed plot lines and character arcs on specific characters. Fashion defined them, as it often does in any Renaissance or fantasy series. Costume directors and showrunners need to choose though: will their costumes be vintage or vogue?

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Notes:

[1] Martin’s novels were published in the late twentieth century under the collective title A Song of Ice and Fire. HBO bought the rights to his books and renamed them after his first novel, A Game of Thrones (pub. 1997).

[2] Game of Thrones. “The Iron Throne.” Written and directed by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 19, 2019.

[3] A petition demanding the remake of the series’ eighth season topped 1.7 million signatures in 2019. The petition, started by a disgruntled fan, blamed the show’s creators for destroying Dany’s character. In addition, the penultimate episode, in which Dany burns King’s Landing, had a 49% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest in the show’s history. See Jess Wakefield, “Game of Moans,” The Sun, last modified September 23, 2019. https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/9097713/game-of-thrones-season-8-remake/

[4] Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier (pub. 1528) as referenced in Lane Eagles, “‘Beauty Adorns Virtue’: Italian Renaissance Fashion.” Fashion History Timeline.”

[5] The Décor Puellarum was printed in Venice in 1469. Eagles, “‘Beauty Adorns Virtue.’”

[6] The letters date from December 1493, when Juan traveled to Spain to be invested as the duke of Gandía after his half-brother, Pedro Luis (ca. 1458 – 1488) died. Alexander Mizumoto-Gitter, “From Rome to Gandía: Family Networks in the Early Modern Mediterranean World.” Royal Studies Journal (2020): forthcoming.

[7]The Borgias. “The Prince.” Directed by Neil Jordan. Written by Neil Jordan. Showtime, June 16, 2013.

[8] Amanda Madden, “Requiescat in pace,” in The Borgia Family: Rumor and Representation, ed. Jennifer Mara DeSilva (Routledge: New York, 2020), 279.

[9] Allyson Burgess Williams. “Rewriting Lucrezia Borgia: Propriety, Magnificence, and Piety in Portraits of a Renaissance Duchess” in Wives, Widows, Mistresses, and Nuns in Early Modern Italy: Making the Invisible Visible through Art and Patronage. (London: Routledge, 2016), 86.

[10] Ibid., 77

[11] Livery consisted of clothing of a specific style, color, and cloth, given by one individual to another. It created a sense of corporate identity, could mark out service to another, or it could reflect the wealth of an individual. Maria Hayward, Rich Apparel, (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2011), 137.

[12] Eleri Lynn,Tudor Fashion (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017), 33.

[13]Game of Thrones. “Baelor.” Directed by Alan Taylor. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, June 12, 2011.

[14] Joffrey was originally betrothed to Sansa Stark, but once her father was executed for treason and her brother, Robb, waged war against the Lannisters, Joffrey married Margaery Tyrell of the Reach. Game of Thrones. “The Lion and the Rose.” Directed by Alex Graves. Written by George R. R. Martin. HBO, April 13, 2014.

[15] On trial for incest, regicide, and extortion, Cersei neglected to attend her trial and instead blew up the sept, killing the Faith Militant, most of the Tyrells, and many from the King’s Small Council. Her son and king, Tommen, would commit suicide after the disaster. Game of Thrones. “The Winds of Winter.” Directed by Miguel Sapochnik. Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. HBO, June 26, 2016.

[16]Game of Thrones. “The Dragon and the Wolf.” Directed by Jeremy Podeswa. Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. HBO, August 27, 2017.

[17] Michele Clapton, Game of Thrones: The Costumes. (San Rafael: Insight Editions, 2019), 266.

[18]Game of Thrones. “The Bells.” Directed and written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 12, 2019.

[19] Tyrion organized the deal to secure Dorne’s allegiance in the War of the Five Kings. Game of Thrones. “The Old Gods and the New.” Directed by David Nutter. Written by Vanessa Taylor. HBO, May 6, 2012.

[20]Game of Thrones. “Second Sons.” Directed by David Nutter. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 19, 2013.

[21]Game of Thrones. “The Gift.” Directed by Miguel Sapochnik. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 24, 2015.

[22]Game of Thrones. “Stormborn.” Directed by Mark Mylod. Written by Bryan Cogman. HBO, July 23, 2017.

[23]Game of Thrones. “The Dragon and the Wolf.” Directed by Jeremy Podeswa. Written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. HBO, August 27, 2017.

[24]Game of Thrones. “Beyond the Wall.” Directed by Alan Taylor. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, August 20, 2017.

[25]Game of Thrones. “The Long Night.” Directed by Miguel Sapochnik. Written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, April 28, 2019.

[26] Clapton, Game of Thrones: The Costumes, 358.

[27]Game of Thrones. “The Iron Throne.” Directed and written by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss. HBO, May 19, 2020.