Prison Couture

Another makeover... this time Orange is the New Black characters take center stage

There’s nothing we love more than a good Netflix binge. So, when prison dramedy Orange is the New Black arrived on our screens back in 2013... we. were. hooked. It’s gripping narrative, unexpected plot twists and raw, unflinching portrayal of strong women has cemented it’s position as Netflix’s most watched original series ever. OITNB’s unique and captivating storyline has won numerous accolades including 16 Emmy award nominations (and won four) and 6 Golden Globe nominations. So in anticipation of Season 4, set to release this Thursday June 17th, the team at Stylight did what we do best-- and re-created those boring, orange jumpsuits and beige scrubs into high-fashion haute couture, inspired by some of our favorite designers. No need to call the fashion police at Litchfield!

Piper Chapman

Boston born OITNB protagonist, Piper Chapman, enters Litchfield after getting involved in an international drug smuggling operation with a former lover. Coming from an upper middle class family, she’s instantly labeled as an outsider. She starts off as soft spoken, but as the show progresses, we see a new, more badass side to her character which results to her becoming one of the show’s toughest women; eventually beating up Pennsatucky and launching a thriving prison knicker production business! Because of this, we’ve dressed her up in the most badass label around: B-A-L-M-A-I-N. We recreated her newbie orange jumpsuit as one of Olivier Rousteing’s classic designs featuring heavy embellishment with his trademark cinched waist.

Alex Vause

Alex in Gucci S/S16 seemed like a no brainer to us. As one of the most manipulative and calculating members of Litchfield she’s often described as a snake, so what better way to portray this than with Alessandro Michele’s classic snake motif. Michele’s classic prints also have references to traditional tattoos much like Vause’s rose tattoo sleeve.

Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes’ Warren

Crazy Eyes, played by the brilliant Uzo Aduba is hands down one of our favorite characters in the show. Her violent tendencies and erratic outbursts are tempered by her warm heart and loyalty but she’s best known for her crazy facial expressions, so for that reason we couldn’t resist dressing her in Jeremy Scott’s S/S16 collection featuring faces with equally crazy eyes.

Galina ‘Red’ Reznikov

Russian born Red is pretty much the most powerful person at Litchfield. As head chef she is the leader of the pack and a force to be reckoned with. For such a powerful persona we put her in a fierce Vivienne Westwood ‘Red Label’ dress underneath her distinctive chef’s jacket.

Nicky Nichols 

Nicky Nichols is notably the sarcastic one of the pack. However, despite her fun loving demeanor, she has had a troubled childhood and is a recovering heroin addict. Due to her 'tortured' soul, we dressed her in a classic Saint Laurent suit created by designer Hedi Slimane, a designer who’s always been consistently influenced by rock n roll, rebellion and brooding romantics.

Tiffany ‘Pennsatucky’ Doggett

Tiffany Doggett also had a troubled past; arrested for shooting an abortion doctor, she fakes being a Christian and hires a religious lawyer to defend her case and soon becomes a hero for pro-life. She then actually becomes a devout Christian and has a loyal legion of fans in Season 1, who beleive she has the ability to heal them. Because of her allegiance to religion, we knew there was only one designer that could do her justice... We recreated her trademark hoodie as a part of Givenchy’s SS13 menswear collection, which was apparently all about the confessions of a young Catholic boy featuring an array of saint-meets-sin iconography.

Dayanara ‘Daya’ Diaz

Like mother like daughter…? Dayanara Diaz, aka Daya, ends up in prison with her mother for drug related offences. Shortly after, she strikes up a romantic relationship with Correctional Officer John Bennett and eventually becomes pregnant with his child. Due to her much frowned upon inmate pregnancy, we’ve reworked her outfit into Dolce & Gabbana’s A/W15 collection inspired by mothers. The runway show, which featured eleven mothers and their children, celebrated family and featured love messages in a variety of languages.

Lorna Muccio (neé Morello)

Italian-American Lorna Muccio is a romantic at heart. Famous for her 50’s influenced hair and makeup, she’s warm and charming and has an unflinching belief in true love. Season three is when she actually gets married in prison to her pen-pal flame Vince Muccio. To celebrate her nuptials, we’ve reworked her scrubs into Valentino’s A/W15/16 wedding inspired dresses.

Sophia Burset 

Warm hearted Sophia Burset plays the role of ‘hairdresser/makeup artist’ at Litchfield. She wound up in prison after committing a series of crimes to pay for her gender transformation surgery. Sophia is played by Laverne Cox who is pioneering in this role for being the first transexual woman of colour to play a major character in a tv show. Perhaps the most iconic image of her is from when she covered Time Magazine in May 2014 wearing a bodycon Herve Leger bandage dress thus we’ve redesigned her scrubs to mimic this memorable look.

Carrie 'Big Boo' Black

Carrie Black or ‘Big Boo’ as she’s known to the other inmates is confident, self assured and intimidating… all attributes that we associate with Kanye West. Which is exactly why we’ve dressed her in Yeezy! She also grew up mainly wearing rugged, more androgynous clothing, a hallmark of Kanye’s ethos for his Yeezy brand.