In Severance, the Clothing Says Nothing But Also Everything

A dingy office, drab costuming, “mysterious but important” work; not exactly the makings of a hit TV show. Or so was the thought, until Severance season 2 became the most-watched show in Apple TV+’s history.

In case you aren’t caught up with the second season (currently airing), Severance tells the story of four employees — Mark S., Helly R., Dylan G., and Irving B. — working at a biotech company called Lumon Industries. What does Lumon do exactly? Well, that’s the thing… we don’t know. And the central characters in the show know even less. What we do know is that Lumon has the capacity to “sever” people, meaning that participants (such as our four heroes) can split their brain into two halves: one for working hours, and one for everything else.

In theory, it’s a dream for every disgruntled worker who’s ever yearned for that coveted work-life balance. In Severance’s reality, though, it’s a living nightmare, as “Innies” (the workers) never see the sun, have no concept of time, and are subjected to torture in the aptly titled “break room,” all while their “Outies” (the non-workers) are none the wiser.

As a result, the costuming is fairly monotonous. Slightly ill-fitting blazers, cheap-looking suits, skirts and tops that make J.Crew look maximalist — the clothing in Severance is devoid of any personality. It’s boring. It’s lacklustre. It’s forgettable. But that’s exactly the point.

The Severance season 2 costumes are purposefully personality-less

When costume designer Sarah Edwards started working on season 1 of Severance, she told Vogue she had two points of reference: an IBM employee dress code from the 1960s and the uniform of cults and extreme religious groups. Two groups not known for their sartorial splendour, to say the least.

Thus commenced the writing of Lumon’s own clothing manifesto. According to Edwards, male characters like Mark, Dylan, and Irving are restricted to wearing white or light blue shirts and dark suits in navy, black, gray, or taupe. Women, such as Helly and Harmony Cobel, can wear skirts or dresses with pantyhose and sensible heels.

With these rules in place, creativity — and by default, individuality — are prohibited. The uniform demands that all Innies look the same — clone-like, if you will. Their clothing becomes a form of oppression, a reminder that, in the minds of Lumon, Innies are not considered people, but rather a lesser form of their Outies. They’re a piece of furniture, a cog in the Lumon machine.

In Severance season 2, time has no meaning

Another factor that played into the costume design is the idea of time — and the lack thereof. Executive producer and director Ben Stiller has gone on the record to say that Severance is a world with “no time, no place.” And indeed, the Innies have no recollection of any of those things.

When they’re at work, Lumon takes great pains to ensure the Innies remember nothing about their experience. There are no windows. There are no calendars. There are no holiday parties. In fact, they don’t even know where their office is, as the severance procedure takes effect once they take the elevator down to their floor.

As a result, time doesn’t touch the costumes. To be sure, there are hints of mid-century modern with the use of turtlenecks and shift dresses, a byproduct of Edwards’s initial inspiration. However, the silhouette of the suits, the width of the ties, and the colour-blocked separates look as at home in the 60s as they do in the 90s, 2010s, and beyond. The Innies — and the audience — are left with no information about their Outies or the world.

(Spoilers ahead!)

Almost everything is blue and green — emphasis on almost

The only breadcrumbs fans have been able to follow are through the use of colour. Just as the Barbie movie resulted in an international shortage of pink paint, Severance has surely left a gaping hole in the market for green dye and upholstery. That’s because the Lumon world is almost exclusively blue and green.

The carpet is olive. The desk dividers are emerald. The chairs are navy. The keyboards are cobalt. And the characters subscribe to these codes too. Innie Mark regularly sports a steel suit with a variety of blue/green striped ties. Innie Helly often wears a teal skirt and sapphire sweater. And Innie Irving can be relied upon to go fully monochromatic.

So when anything deviates from that colour scheme, it almost acts as a warning for the chaos to come. For example, in season 1, episode 7, Helly wears a yellow dress — a stark departure from her usual uniform. At first, everything appears to be normal (well, normal for Lumon), but her “Music Dance Experience” quickly descends into an act of rebellion as Dylan attacks their supervisor, Mr. Milchick, which prompts Helly and Mark to plan their escape.

Similarly, in Severance season 2, episode 4, the four Innies are taken to a team-building retreat. If the outdoor setting wasn’t enough of an indication that something dramatic was about to go down, their cool-toned clothes had been replaced with all-black outerwear, fur hats, mitts and boots. And true to form, the episode culminates in a giant reveal and a near-death experience.

In Severance season 2, red equals danger

But perhaps most interesting of all is how Severance handles the colour red. Typically, red is a symbol of danger. It’s the hue of emergency exits, stop signs, a hazard ahead — a warning or a symbol of protection. And in a sense, the same can be true for the world of Lumon. It symbolizes a threat. However, the threat isn’t fire or an oncoming vehicle; it’s its own employees.

Case in point: Petey, Mark’s old boss. As a Lumon escapee, he’s the ultimate rebel. He’s been trying to take down Lumon from the inside-out and has undergone the dicey Reintegration procedure, where he blends his Innie with his Outie. As such, for most of his screen time, Petey can be seen wearing a striped red robe.

Also, on your next rewatch, pay close attention to Mark’s ties. When we first meet our hero at the beginning of season 1 he adheres to the blue and green colour scheme from top to tail. However, as his skepticism about his company rises, his ties actually change shades.

But what’s perhaps the most damning evidence of the importance of red is how often Ms. Casey, AKA Gemma (Outie Mark’s wife) wears the warm hue. The last time we see Ms. Casey in season 1 is in episode 8, during her retirement session with Mark. When an Innie retires, it effectively equates to death, as it means they will no longer switch between their two states but simply remain their Outie.

At the time, this didn’t seem that significant. But after the season 1 finale reveals that Ms. Casey is Outie Mark’s wife, and the season 2 spoiler that she’s still alive and currently being experimented on, we see she presents a massive threat to Lumon and their severance procedure. In fact, I would argue that Severance season 2, episode 7 has the most red we’ve ever seen in the series! The entire episode is about Gemma and her experience in the Lumon testing center, where she’s not only severed once, but three times. And what does she wear in these simulations? Multiple red dresses.

What does this mean for the rest of the season? Well, clearly Gemma/Ms. Casey/whoever else she is poses a major threat to Lumon. And with Mark now on the other side of his Reintegration procedure, it’s only a matter of time before he finds her. But will he be successful? Only time will tell as the Severance season 2 finale is airing on March 21st. What we can be sure of is that the Severance costumes are no blank slate, but a secret language of their own. Mysterious but important, indeed.