WATT (2019 production) character design thoughts:
Riley: always wearing a GCHS branded piece of clothing, light top, dark pants. Her hair always being up in a high, tight ponytail like she's cheering topped off with that iconic orange bow. Perfection if I dare say. Riley always wears a white top, a color associated with innocence or purity and her being the one to "keep everything together" when really, she's the reason it all falls apart at the end.
Cairo: dark top, light blue shorts in act 1, dark leggings with a dark top and mostly dark letterman-style jacket. In act 1 she wears a Tigers shirt for the Tiger sleepover, probably as a way to show her support to Riley as she doesn't really have that much school spirit in comparison. However, in act 2, with her and Riley's friendship rockier than ever, she doesn't wear any GCHS logos, though her jacket has red (red-orange?) and white accents on the sleeves to add more similar colors with Riley.
Kate: resident flannel wearer! The only hat-wearer of the show besides Eva in her pizza delivery uniform! I find it so interesting how Kate is easily the character who switches up hairstyles most throughout the show (by being the only one does, but still). I feel like this a glimpse at her character, while she is stubborn she is also the one who adapts most to the situation she is placed in ("I can fix my mistakes. Or at least admit I made them.") In act 2 she wears a dark blue hoodie, where at this point, blue with Kate was associated most with Chess because of her windbreaker's accents. This hoodie also has red and white accents on the sleeves, which is really cool to see the visual dichotomy between her and Cairo during act 2, especially during IDK because their sleeves have the same colors in different places. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I find it very fun how Kate, a hot-headed and prone to outbursts character (these traits are commonly associated with the color red in media) actually wears more cool tones and blues, while Eva is rational and logical (traits commonly associated with blue) and is first introduced in her red pizza delivery uniform.
Chess: the blue and gray windbreaker with the tank top underneath clearly screams athlete. Her hair being in the high braid is interesting to me, mostly you see gymnastics performers with tight buns and maybe high ponytails (though I assume the designer didn't want anyone to be too visually close to Riley / anyone else). Maybe it's a subtle nod that Chess is no longer set to go the Olympics or involved with gymnastics so wearing her hair like that is wrong to her now. I like to associate her braid with the braided friendship bracelets she and Kate wear being the classic chevron braided bracelets, possibly.
Annleigh: the light pinks, the florals. The vest jackets she wears. She's our girly girl and we love her for it! A pink-coded character, she's sweet and well-meaning for the most part but is also a little ditzy, and definitely a hopeless romantic. I find it particularly interesting that in both acts, she wears vests over top her outfits. Vests could be more associated with freedom than a regular jacket with the way the sleeves are cut off, but I don't typically think of this when it comes to Annleigh. She also wears a cross necklace in act 1, and notably does not in act 2, tying in "You pray to God and wonder if He's there" in Phoenix.
Farrah: the fun striped top with multiple colors, the star studded shorts, they're both eye-catching and draw you to her, to see that she's fun and to notice her. Notice her being the party girl, you want to be around her, you don't need to think about any mistakes she's made in the past, see who she is now in this moment. Her French braids add a more childish air to her, reminding the audience she's just 15 :( and not to mention the fact that Kaitlyn Frank braided Zoe Jensen's hair before the shows oh the layers that exist with that idea... I'd also like to point out the coral pink is the most prominent color on her top, and pink is most associated with Annleigh in this show... Something to think about...
Reese: (ok so I am about to say a whole lot about a shirt I am 90% sure has butterflies on it... I can't tell fully but that is what my gut is telling me because if it is, the design goes hard. If it's just floral just look the other way and pretend it is butterflies pleaseee. Anyways:) the act 1 butterfly top my beloved <3 it symbolizes her growth and change she wants others to see about her – also the butterflies have some orange, the main color of GCHS. Act 2 is her wearing a GCHS Tigers shirt (very cutsie love that) underneath a gray zip-up jacket (not as much a fan of that). The jacket is for the reveal of her shirt underneath, but it just doesn't feel as strong to Reese's character to me as her act 1 costume did. Act 1 had a lot of personality and subliminal hints to how she wants to be seen by the rest of the team, and was also very cute! Act 2 was just Tigers t-shirt, plain jacket, plain leggings. I feel like if some of the rest of the team looked like that in act 1 it would make sense, Reese trying to emulate their look a little more to fit in, but they don't? Personally I feel like Reese should have been in a brighter colored jacket / jacket with a fun pattern instead. Reese is not insecure about herself or her sense of style (see: "Oh my god your hair looks great / Where'd you get that dress?") but is instead hurt by what other people have to say about her. I think she should have fun outfits! Act 2's was not really fun. The jacket could also be a "hiding something underneath" and not just her being on the team now, but her guilt about killing Clark. Which by the way!! I think should be played into more in the design there!! I have lots of thought on Reese as a character and how she kinda just got ignored for that huge thing that's plot relevant in act 2 but this isn't about that. If her outfit in the second act was more zippers/stripes/fishnet kind of things that imply holding something in I think it would have been really cool to play into her keeping that secret, and then perhaps in the fight with Annleigh she could lose a jacket or whatever had that pattern to signify her revealing that secret.
Mattie: I. Am not a fan of this outfit. I'll say it. I think there's a lot going on and the colors are a bit disjointed, but that could also be a commentary on Mattie herself experimenting with her style and trying to figure out what she likes. To me, it speaks the least out of everyone how their costume relates to the character's personality. Giving her a quirkier outfit that stuck out a bit compared to the rest of the Tigers could play into them framing Mattie as an "other" to them because they know her the least. Or, giving her a slightly more childish outfit like an awkward middle schooler heading into freshman year could make the audience garner more sympathy for how young she is and how horrible this is to be happening to her. Out of every costume, this is the one I think about the least. I try to dissect it, but nothing really comes up for me. The other times we see her she's wearing the orange prison jumpsuit, and then later the cheerleading uniform with a gray sweater over top. Notably, her hair is up in a high ponytail. I like this a lot because personally I have a lot of thoughts about Mattie and Riley being foils of each other, Mattie getting blamed for the crime Riley committed, and also in earlier drafts her actually being the killer instead. I am just not a fan of her act 1 costume! I feel like visually there could have been a better way for it to feel "off," if that was what the idea of her costume was going for while still making it look slightly more put together.
Eva: act 1 is a generic pizza delivery outfit, act 2 however ohohoho... the camo print very much represents her want to simply blend in and survive the cheer squad. The denim jacket ON TOP of that adds layers (literally and metaphorically) of her even trying to hide that, too. Very iconic because I'm extremely brainrwatted and whenever I see a denim jacket with gray sleeves like that I go "Just like Eva Sanchez wears!" And of course, we can't forget the pins she wears on that jacket. I don't have too much to say about this one, but I think as a fandom we should appreciate her gold nose ring and hoop earrings more if I'm being honest all throughout here.
Clark: I'm gonna be real this is a "just some guy" outfit. The yellow could represent the joy he brings to Annleigh's life, and then no one else wears yellow in the show once he dies. I think it's also fun how most often, striped shirts, especially blue ones, are associated with male protagonists in a lot of media (see: Jeremy Heere in Be More Chill, Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen, a handful of video game protagonists as well), and then Clark. Well. Dies. Your mind could easily associate him with importance because of this common design choice and then bam he's dead in 10 minutes. Very fun, which also goes along with the show's twist on women's typical place in a male-centric horror piece being introduced as a love interest only to be killed off/fridged/forgotten quickly actually being Clark's role in WATT, a female-centric horror musical.
Additional thoughts:
The visual effects of yin and yang between Riley's light-dark and Cairo's dark-light costumes make me so...... The red herring when Cairo says to blame Mattie and you think it might be her?? But then it's her best friend Riley all along???? Does anyone hear me screaming
Annleigh’s camisole is actually not very modest and not what you expect from your standard church gal. She is first introduced by telling Clark she’s not dressed yet but he enters her room anyway, hinting that she’s not as glued to the morals of the Bible as she might insist she is. Her vest covers up more, but not much. Farrah’s outfit is the most revealing of the Tigers outfit, a little surprisingly not Cairo’s. Farrah, ironically, is one of the characters who keeps things to herself the most.
Annleigh and Clark having promise rings is a fun little detail but then the script hits you with right before Move On that it's noted Annleigh is now wearing Clark's ring :( ! Imagine Annleigh also wearing something of Farrah's in act 2 too.
Kate and Chess' friendship bracelets! If I'm remembering the WATT reunion livestream correctly Jenny Baker and Celeste Rose came up with this idea themselves, though Chess often didn't have one because Celeste forgot (which adds another layer to Skype Tomorrow though).
Also I could go on a whole other little spiel about the promo picture of the whole cast at an "actual" sleepover but I won't here. I might do it in another post in a slightly more succinct way because I already dumped out all my thoughts on personality and costuming here haha.