Crime Boss Sofia Falcone’s style transformation to Sofia Gigante in The Penguin.
If you’re like me and have been captivated by Sofia Falcone in The Penguin, you’re probably obsessed with her character arc, attitude, and of course, her fashion choices. She started out innocent enough but over time has been deeply wronged by her inner circle. She comes into her own dark angel queendom further along in the season and her style reflects this character arc; her eyeliner gets thicker and darker, her hair shagged and wild, her fashion choices bold, strong and memorable.
Sofia Falcone in HBO’s The Penguin
Played by the remarkable Cristin Milioti, Sofia’s character is the one you wait to see on screen in every scene. When she appears in all her glory in a stunning ensemble, you’re completely locked in, eyes glued to the screen, watching her morph into this incredible anti-hero. For me, a proud Italian-american girl, it was so cool to see this bold villain on screen also played by an Italian-american.
Helen Huang was the costume designer who sourced a mixture of vintage pieces, bespoke made-for the show styles and high end luxury items. Sofia starts out as a more innocently styled young woman. Helen told Forbes “ I wanted her to feel polished and considered, but still kind of rebellious and girly at the same time. And I feel like 1960s silhouettes really do that. We put her in vintage Hermes trenches, vintage Celine, from the Michael Kors era. We sourced vintage Marni.”
HBO’s The Penguin Sofia Falcone Early Season Fashion
{Spoilers ahead} From there, we see Sofia thrown into Arkham State Hospital donned in a traditional orange striped jail-suit complete with neck and waist chains.
HBO’s The Penguin Sofia in Arkham State Hospital
It’s once she is released from Arkham, she morphs into this incredible crime boss, more confident, showing more skin and wearing sexy, powerful clothing. A stand-out dress was the Satin Georgette Halterneck Gown by Christopher John Rogers. We follow Sofia around in her dress and gas mask, making quite the memorable image.
HBO’s The Penguin Sofia Falcone Yellow Dress
Another stand-out dress is the black and red silk scarf dress by David Koma was mesmerizing and unique. Paired with some sky-high Louboutin platforms, Sofia’s look here was intense and perfect for the scene.
We see more fur coats versus her earlier tailored wool styles. The costume designer made sure to source only vintage fur or new faux fur.
HBO’s The Penguin Sofia Falcone Fur Coats
Helen says of the Vivienne Westwood number “There is also a truly beautiful Vivienne Westwood dress which makes an appearance at the exact perfect moment, when Sofia needs to make a specific statement.”
Watching Sofia transform from a Falcone where she is still wide-eyed about the world to her incredibly powerful yet deeply hurt Gigante era was so epic and I hope this gets renewed for another season so we get blessed with more incredible fashion.
