The Costume Designer Behind Sienna Miller’s Wardrobe In ‘War’ Spills The Secret to Fabulous Fall Outerwear

There are many reasons to keep watching “War.” The sharp dialogue, the double-crossings, and Carla Duval’s (Sienna Miller) seemingly endless  rotation of fabulous outerwear. According to the show's costume designer Matt Price, every great coat—of which there are many throughout the show—must have “a bit of attitude.” Price applies this outerwear philosophy to the series’ glamorous starlet, Duval, undergoing a not-so-glamorous divorce. Whether she’s wearing a cropped Chloé jacket, Comme des Garçons fringed number, or her signature oversized coat, Duval shows up to every hearing, interview, and crisis in style. 

Price adopted a jacket-first approach to building Duval’s outfits. “I often start with the coat and build the outfit around it. I love mixing masculine tailoring with something softer, or letting an oversized coat do all the work. You don’t always need much else,” he says. Duval rocks many different silhouettes throughout the series, but her signature is a long, oversized coat, one of which was a vintage Alexander McQueen from the early 2000s. “The coats are almost armor,” Price says. In order to ensure that the petite Sienna Miller (she’s 5’5”) is not swallowed by too large an oversized garment, he looks at the proportions of the shoulder, sleeve, and overall length. “I like exaggerating one element and keeping the rest relatively clean,” Price says. Duval’s clothes are designed to look deliberately oversized, rather than wrongly fitted. 

Duval’s style bears impressive versatility, as epitomized by her varied outerwear. Within the paparazzi-proof confines of her home, Duval gravitates towards more approachable silhouettes, like soft cashmere sweaters and a Levi’s denim blouse, but veers powerful and business casual in the presence of attorneys. Between her public and private-facing personas, it was important that the character “could move from quite masculine, sharp tailoring to something more relaxed or extravagant without losing her identity,” Price says. To accomplish this goal, he pulled from a myriad of different brands—from designer labels like Chloé to the more affordably priced & Other Stories and The Frankie Shop. “With Carla, I wanted pieces that felt collected over time, rather than a wardrobe full of things that had just come off a rail,” Price says. 

In an effort to establish Duval’s fashion sense, Price styled her in a fringed Comme des Garçons statement jacket in the first episode. “It feels like a piece chosen by someone who knows fashion, rather than someone simply wearing a designer label,” Price says. As the wife of a billionaire, Duval has access to absurd amounts of wealth, but she is hardly the type to buy something for the logo, and often wears unbranded designer pieces that reflect taste in addition to means. Price selected the vintage fringe number, which has since gone viral online, for its movement and “slightly theatrical quality.” 

While Duval has her repeat offender silhouettes—-such as the power blazer or oversized trench—all garments are fair game. In episode three, Duval sports a bluish-grey bomber jacket with brown fur lining, framing the character in a pared-down light. Still, Price made an effort to infuse personality into Carla’s most casual clothing choices without overdoing the fashion of it all. “I didn’t want every look to feel like a fashion statement,” Price says. As anyone who has gone through a divorce—or really any hardship—knows, sometimes you just want to be comfortable. 

Duval’s jackets work because they are custom tailored to Miller’s proportions and on-screen presence, without merely reflecting her real-life style and persona. Price describes the character’s fashion sense as “a genuine collaboration” between him and Miller, whose years as a model, actress, and general it-girl have more than qualified her to help shape her character. “We talked a lot about French minimalism, vintage and archive, and how to make Carla’s wardrobe feel individual rather than overly fashionable,” Price says. Looking to this this fall, Price is excited about the “cocoon coat,” which he describes as a big, sculptural shape that wraps around the body. “There’s something lovely about a coat with real volume and presence. For me, outerwear should do more than keep you warm; the right coat can make the entire outfit,” Price says.