In Hong Kong's elite social circles—a unique blend of cultural pride, vestiges of British colonialism, and rampant global consumerism—a good outfit can make or break an ambitious striver's chances of acceptance. In the premiere of “The Season,” native Hong Konger and high-powered financier Carrie Shen (Celina Jade) imparts some advice on navigating the all-important "boating season" to her summer associate, Cola (Jesse Mei Li), a Chinese American from the Midwest.

"Where Hong Kong royalty decides who of us ascends and who's stuck here," says Carrie, taking the fish-out-of-water Cola under her wing—and introducing viewers to the show's rarefied world. "I'll be your sponsor for the best party of them all. You have one chance to make an impression." So, of course, Carrie's mentorship also includes access to her quiet-luxury wardrobe, filled with labels from Bottega Veneta and Oscar de la Renta to Hong Kong’s Pabe Pabe and SZMAN for a white lace pants set. Costume designer Vera Chow was uniquely positioned to capture the bold, yet nuanced style of the show's vision of Hong Kong high society—because she's from there.

“We used a lot of local Hong Kong designers,” says Chow, also crediting her Hong Kong-based assistant costume designer, Sarona Lo. “I do understand that rich Asians love [European high-end designer] labels. But I also didn’t really want to use pieces we’ve seen before, like ‘Oh, that's Chanel. That's Valentino.” I would prefer to show that Hong Kong designers can also create that level of work.” Ahead, Chow walks us through the fashion choices, motivations, and status-signaling wardrobes of the show's “Crazy Rich Asians”-meets- “The White Lotus” cast of characters. 

Fiona — The Formidable Queen Bee

Hong Kong Chinese old-money matriarch Fiona Hext (Karena Ka-Yan Lam) lords over the tai tais—the ladies who lunch—at the Harbour Club's most sought-after table in strong, sculptural silhouettes, eye-catching colors and patterns, and dazzling embellishments. Alongside her husband Christopher (Toby Stephens), whose family "practically invented colonialism," as Carrie quips, Fiona also presides over the premiere event: the annual party aboard the family yacht, aptly named “The Season.”

“Generally, with wealthy matriarchs of Hong Kong society, the key is they're actually not dressing ‘sexy.’ They don't actually show that much skin. It’s more to show opulence,” says Chow. “She’s almost like a ‘Maleficent’ type of queen. It’s more about the shape to cut an intimidating figure.” 

At the stables, Fiona presents her teenage daughter, Alison (Kôki), with an Irish racehorse. She beams in a striking marigold bolero, with balloon sleeves and a wide shawl lapel by Vivian Luk and relaxed navy trousers. Booking out the entire Ocean Park amusement park for a themed dinner in the Grand Aquarium, Fiona reigns at the head of the banquet table in an iridescent gold robe-jacket with lavish beaded embroidery, over an intricate lace blouse with scalloped ruffles at the neck and elongated cuffs by Hong Kong couturier Barney Cheng. “I’ve looked up to him since high school,” says Chow, who excitedly raided his archives for the scene. “He also showed me his diamond vault, which was insanity.” 

For the climactic Shanghai 1920s-themed gala in the finale, Fiona wears another Barney Cheng archival look: a gleaming black robe with extravagantly ornate crystal, sequin, and beaded embroidery, layered over a translucent gown ornamented with exquisite pearls. Well, in close-ups anyway. “For big stunt scenes, we faked [her outfit],” says Chow, not wanting to damage the precious couture. “We bought affordable, longer black gowns and we laser-printed duplicates of all his embroidery. We choose certain scenes to [show] his really, really special work. Barney is such a Hong Kong icon.”

Cola — The Interloper

“Come to my place, I’ll lend you something appropriate to wear,” Carrie says to Cola, before another VIP gathering to watch Alison’s new horse debut at the tony Hong Kong Jockey Club racecourse in Sha Tin. “At the beginning, she’s dressing in what she thinks is appropriate for the occasion, but it turns out to be completely wrong,” Chow says of her approach to dressing Cola. As she becomes more entrenched in Hong Kong’s cutthroat social scene, she undergoes something of a style evolution, while also quietly pursuing her own agenda of retribution.

When Cola models a vintage Valentino black studded brocade dress for Carrie, it signals a clear turning point for her. “That was actually our segue into Cola having a villainous structure and sinister color scheme,” says Chow, also pointing to her fiery ombré vintage Thierry Mugler pantsuit in the finale and a black, body-hugging Ermanno Scervino mini for a charity event. “The dress is leather and gunmetal with military-like embellishments.”  

Like the target of her vengeance, Cola also wears a custom gown to the climactic gala—designed by Chow herself—that features a silver sequined mermaid gown with symmetrical gold beaded floral epaulettes, gilded embellishments lining the Mandarin collar, and a discreet keyhole cut-out at the neckline. “Our main cast would all be backlit by the nighttime ocean, so it was just sparkle, sparkle, sparkles,” says Chow. “Especially Cola.”

As teased in the opening sequence, new and old secrets alike explode—quite literally—at the Shanghai 1920s gala. Cola is left drifting in Hong Kong Harbour as The Season goes up in flames. So her dress needed to both fit the “oomph” factor and be functional for the action scenes. “Those aren’t actually truly fancy sequins,” says Chow, about Cola’s dynamic, glittering gown. “We put super light sequins on a very light, stretchy Lycra because I needed to be able to float her in the water.”

The strong shoulders and defined mermaid silhouette also send a warning to her host. “The whole point is that she has a shape that nobody else has,” says Chow. “The only other structured person next to her is Fiona—and Cola is gunning for what she has.”

Carrie — The Power Player Looking For Love

Carrie brokers deals and manages portfolios for Hong Kong tycoons and scions dressed in a palette of commanding yet soft neutrals, rendered in the finest fabrics. But her life wasn’t always like this. At the aquarium dinner, she confides to Fiona’s black sheep niece Madeline (Yvonne Chapman) that she couldn’t afford an Ocean Park ticket as a kid. “She didn't grow up with money, so she wants her clothes to last as long as possible,” says Chow. “She wants it to be a little bit timeless. She's a financial planner, so she’s not the type that blows all her cash.”

Before Jade was cast in the role, Carrie was originally envisioned in severe power suiting, also for Cola to emulate. “Our palette actually changed for her a lot after we found out it was Celina,” says Chow, noting Jade’s instinct for conveying Carrie’s emotional side. Despite her dedication to her demanding job, Carrie lets down her guard for David Ho (Justin Chien)—Hong Kong’s most eligible bachelor, who’s just as enamored with her. “Celina’s take on her feelings toward David is so vulnerable,” says Chow. “She’s supposed to be high-powered, but in reality, she’s such a romantic.”

Carrie wears a caramel-hued vintage Max Mara midi dress with a draped pussy bow neckline and a box pleated skirt for a walk along the harbour with David, where the pair pretend to be tourists for a brief escape from their complicated, demanding lives. The duo plans to make their official debut together at the Shanghai 1920 gala. Carrie sartorially signals her emotions in a dusty rose confection of diaphanous silk tulle, with delicately beaded straps and a billowing train, by Vivian Luk. “Deep down, she just wants love,” says Chow. “So the flowiness was important.”

Madeleine — Hong Kong’s Prodigal Daughter

After time abroad, avoiding the scandal of her much older husband’s death, Madeline makes her return with a bang. She crashes her aunt’s boating season kick-off party in an orange crochet bikini top and chambray shorts—brazenly breaking the unspoken dress code of Hong Kong society. “Madeline, she's the sexiest,” says Chow. 

Defiant, she challenges Fiona in a monochrome turquoise short-shorts suit. She trepidatiously strides into the Jockey Club in a crimson cut-out dress, a subversive twist on the scarlet letter trope that sets her apart from the other society wives. Chow explains that in Hong Kong, red is usually reserved for New Year’s or weddings. So Madeline’s “burgundies, coppers, and reds” send a clear message to the tai tais gossiping about her in the bathroom and a seemingly adversarial Fiona. “Her coming back to Hong Kong is a big ‘fuck you,’” says Chow, also with a caveat that Madeline’s level of “sexy” is relative to Hong Kong. “In every single episode, her color choices are a middle finger to society.”

Like she started the season, Madeline crashes Fiona’s Shanghai-themed gala in a light blue, cap-sleeve cheongsam that Chow thrifted before embellishing with gold thread, crystal embroidery, and a pearl- trimming neckline. Even the making of the modern-meets-traditional gown feels rule-breaking—like the character herself.