Storytelling through color in Andor
Andor so far is a triumphant specimen of visual storytelling. Michael Wilkinson’s costumes are not only a treat to behold but utilize thoughtful details and inspired color pallets to deliver nuanced world building and character development. The use of color for storytelling is a quintessential element of Star Wars that goes all the way back to A New Hope and these first three episodes left me excited to see where Michael Wilkinson will take it.
I came to Andor with an open heart and middling expectations. Somewhere around three quarters into the first episode could feel it getting its hooks in deep. I wouldn't call it a gem by every metric, I was not for example riveted by the drama and found some of the writing choices a bit disappointing. however these are things for someone who is less of a glutton for eye candy than I am to dwell on.
Andor goes beyond eye candy, it is more of a full on visual feast. Costume designer Michael Wilkinson was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for American Hustle (a deep dive into style of the seventies is probably an excellent primer for star wars costume design.) This show is taking its costumes seriously. Which it announces up front in a scene in which we are introduced to the central antagonist.
One of the reasons this excites me is that it feels refreshing. In the recent TV shows some of the visual choices have seemed lazy, like the Moncalamari in a cable knit in season two of The mandalorian or incongruous like the cyborg street gang in Book of Boba Fett. In interviews Michael Wilkinson has said that with each project he likes to improve on what has been done before and push the envelope a bit. Looking at Andor in the context of post Disney Star Wars I would call it a success on this front.
The level of care and attention to detail with the costumes render a result that is much more than visually pleasing. These elements lead the character development and world building. Syril Karn altering his uniform is an illustration of his character's contradictions. His veal for conformity sets him apart. He is so committed to his uniform that he takes it upon himself to make improvements resulting in individuality over uniformity. This choice foreshadows future ill fated choices when through his determination to value the lives of his colleagues he sends a dozen of them to their deaths.
On Ferrix we see a more motley representation of industry, unlike in Kanobe which showed us the process of meat cutting in near entirety, we only get a few brief shots of people at work but everything about their clothing, how they wear their clothing and the condition of their clothing suggests labor.
Many residents of Ferrix seem to be dressed in various company logos and uniforms, these serve to underline connections between characters like Bix and Timm. The clothing of other residents point to cultural elements within the society, we see for example several women dressed in head to toe blue with blue head coverings, It is also the only place we see nonhumans, suggesting a more diverse and open society.
When we are following the kids on Kenari who we find out are orphans of a mining accident through the forest they are wearing the remnants of work clothes that are far too big for them, made for adults and we can imagine once worn by their parents.
Many elements on their clothing seem to be mended or repurposed suggesting that the kids have been left to their own devices for a while. It is not only these details that are telling the story through the costumes of the charters but on a more elemental level the story is being told through color. Using a color pallet in this way is an essential element of the original series. In a New Hope Darth Vader's first confrontation with Princes Leia literally spells out the conflicts in black and white. The tension of Luke’s confrontation with the emperor in Return of the Jedi is amplified by Luke wearing black. Blue lightsabers have denoted youthful aspiration while green has signaled spiritual growth and maturity, yoda, luke's return of the jedi lightsaber and also Qi Gon’s lightsaber.
In Andor the Pallet is much more varied, with layers of rust, okra, mass, deep plumb and dark cherry. The colors are linked to people and places. From the lighting in the brothel on Morlana 1 to the Preox-Morlana corporate interiors everything adheres to a palette of blue and orange.
In the forest of Kenari the children are surrounded by green. The poisonous gas is yellow as are the faces of the poisoned crew members. Much of what the children on Kenari are wearing is lime, okra and chartreuse; green tinged with yellow, possibly alluding to the poisoning of their world.
Adult Cassian isn't wearing green but all of the people in his cercle are with the exception of Maarva.
when we see Maarva in flashbacks wearing brilliant red that is echoed in her droid and the head band of her partner but is not seen on any other speaking characters. In present Marrva’s red has deepened.
Cassian is not dressed in black but he is wearing the darkest hues of anyone on screen so far.
The colors are clearly linked to people and places but whether they will be linked to larger ideas remains to be seen as the series continues. Michael Wilkinson has used color as a narrative tool in other projects. In an interview about the costumes for Jingle Jangle Michael Wilkinson talked about draining the color out of a character's clothing to convey a loss of hope and vibrancy. Coming to Star Wars, which has a long history of leaning into symbolic color as a storytelling device, I am intrigued by what choices Michael Wilkinson will make and hungry to see more.
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