For two seasons, QueenSylvia Akuchie has been the costume designer for Bel-Air, which means she dresses the majority young adult cast of the Peacock drama as well as the guest stars from the original The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sitcom who’ve appeared on the series, like Jospeh Marcell, who made a cameo in season three’s episode six “Baggage.”
“It’s so beautiful to dress them, and they’re all so open and eager,” Akuchie tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I fangirl a little bit over some of the characters.”
Like the ‘90s comedy which was groundbreaking for its depiction of an upper-class Black family, Akuchie prioritizes representation in her role. That trickles down to the designers she works with, like Rob Bass who created a denim vest for Will (Jabari Banks) in episode one of season three, and Charles Harrison, whom Akuchie commissioned to craft the custom wedding dress, complete with a 20-foot train, for Hilary (Coco Jones) in the shocking season three finale.
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“I want everyone to see themselves represented no matter where you are in the world, no matter what you’re doing, no matter how you create art,” Akuchie tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I want to make people feel seen and heard. I think that’s why we’re all living and why we’re here in community. We need that.”
Below, Akuchie talks about being deliberate in her use of Los Angeles designers and designers of color, the expensive price tag of season three’s “epic” finale wardrobe, and her hopes for the reboot’s style legacy as the series wraps its third season and awaits a season four renewal.
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What does it take to pull off the wardrobe on Bel-Air season after season with a cast this big?
It takes a huge team, lots of research, and going in knowing that I want to make an impact and a change. I want people to not only see the characters in the story, but find themselves in the costume. So, how do I tell that story? How do [I make] people feel seen and represented through costumes? That’s important, because the cast is so big. Everyone has different personalities and different things they’re going through during their storyline. So I’m making sure everyone is amplified.
With Will, early on, you made sure he wore a lot of Philadelphia designers to demonstrate his pride being from West Philly. Did you carry that detail into season three?
Pieces of it. Now he’s living in L.A. so he’s getting a presence that’s a little bit of Carlton (Olly Sholotan), a little bit of Jazz (Jordan L. Jones) and getting the feel of Bel Air. But I have little nods, especially with the season three premiere. He’s wearing a vest at the Juneteenth party that was customized. It’s a denim vest and there’s the graphic of Africa on it and then in that, there’s a little P, which is the nod to Philly, and it’s kind of connecting Africa, Juneteenth and Philly in the sense of who he is and what he’s becoming.
How many custom pieces do you usually do per season?
It depends on the script, and it depends on how much time we have. With episode one, we have a little bit more time, because it’s the first episode, so we prep for about six to eight weeks. But the finale [this season] is a very, very special episode; everything was pretty much customized. We dyed fabrics — it was such a creative embodiment, and I felt so fulfilled. Throughout the season, I would say there are two or three [custom] pieces per episode. I’m always changing something. I’ll never use a piece as I’m given it. I’ve got to change buttons, I’ve got to change a collar, change the length, the shape, the weight, the structure. I love to play. But the finale is epic. I was so excited for everyone to see it because I literally got goosebumps and chills the day we shot it. It was so gorgeous, and everyone looks amazing in character.
Hilary, historically, is the fashionista of the family. How do you approach her in this series?
Fun, sexy, classy is primarily my number one [objective]. But, how do I make it approachable and for all the girls to feel like I can be cutesy and demure — she’s very demure (laughs)? I love her cute little earrings, her headbands, her gloves. It’s so many fun things to do with her. And, again, always connecting the dots to the original Fresh Prince and making it now into this time that we’re in, but also so different from everybody else.
In real life, Olly Sholotan (Carlton) is very much into fashion. What’s the experience like working with him on set?
It’s so funny, because we have a relationship with every single actor. I love that they all trust me. They all love my vision. They all see the vision. They’re always arguing, “I look good,” “I look the best.” But Olly is so into fashion and his style is very different from his character. His personal style is actually more like the character Jazz, but it’s so fun to make him look so different. He’s also very collaborative. His body is impeccable. So we love making him look sexy, but classy; very conservative, but cool and hip. Black smart boys can look cool. They can wear collared shirts. They can wear beautiful polos. They can wear a beautiful vest. So, high designers [for him], his closet is pretty up there [in price].
Do you have a favorite character to dress?
They’re all so different, but the person that I would say is so meaningful to me is Aunt Viv because her character reminds me so much of my mother, who has passed on. I always find a way to represent my mom in Aunt Viv, especially because I’m of Nigerian descent, so I love that she’s this global phenomenon. I’m able to put her in designers that my mother would have loved to be in.
There’s such an emphasis on Black excellence in so many ways in this series, which I’m sure carries over into using Black designers. Can you talk about some of those designers?
One thing I love to do is give us a platform that we don’t obviously get to have on primetime TV. That is one of my number one focuses when I’m starting to develop. I use local designers; I use global designers. There’s a designer called Baba Jagne who is amazing here in L.A., a mastermind who makes beautiful pieces. I’ve had Jazz and Ashley wear some [of his] things; there was a jacket that Hilary wore for the football game that was customized with the “H” and the numbers. I’ve used Ozwald Boateng, the amazing Waraire Boswell who just passed away a few weeks ago. I’ve worked with him for years making custom suits. So my goal is to use local L.A. designers and global designers who are of color.
What’s the most expensive piece you’ve curated for the show?
This season, in the finale, we definitely spent about $25,000 to $27,000 on [the wedding dress] for [Hilary] and all the accouterment.
Did you or do you feel pressure living up to the original Fresh Prince, or is being in charge of wardrobe for the reboot more exciting than it is nerve-wracking?
You know, I surprised myself. Last season, I was like, “I’m up for this; I’m excited.” I was just so humble and ready to take this on. Never was fearful. I was just excited to create and tell the story from my perspective. I’m a child of immigrants, so it’s almost like I’m telling the story from my window seat and I was excited to do that.
What do you want the style legacy of this show to be?
I want the style legacy to embody a global renaissance of who each character was and what they portrayed, recreating the past and making each character their own and hearing my voice through it. People feeling represented and like they can also do this. When I started, there were not many young Black African American designers, let alone women. So giving a voice to those who have never seen themselves in this space, never been able to say, “I can create a [clothing] line and my line can be on TV.” “I can be a costume designer.” “I can be a producer.” I have a daughter, I want her to be proud of me and all the little Black girls and boys to say, “I can do this too.” Or “I see myself.” That no matter where you are in the world, no matter what you try to, what you want to do, that you actually can do it and be great at it. It’s about clothes. But it’s more about, “yes, I can.”
The third season of Bel-Air is now streaming on Peacock.
