'Bel-Air' Designer Reveals Price of Hilary's Latest Wedding Dress

For two seasons, QueenSylvia Akuchie was the costume designer of Bel Airwhich means it dresses most of the young adult cast of the Peacock drama as well as guest stars from the original THE The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sitcoms that appeared on the series, such as Joseph Marcell, who made a cameo in the sixth episode of the third season, “Baggage”.

“It's so nice to dress them, and they're all so open and eager,” Akuchie says. The Hollywood Reporter“I'm a bit of a fan of some of the characters.”

Like the '90s comedy that was groundbreaking for its portrayal of an upper-class black family, Akuchie prioritizes representation in her role. This is reflected in the designers she works with, such as Rob Bass, who created a denim vest for Will (Jabari Banks) in the season three premiere, and Charles Harrison, who Akuchie commissioned to design Hilary's (Coco Jones) custom wedding dress, complete with 20-foot train, in the shocking season three finale.

“I want everyone to see themselves represented, no matter where you are in the world, no matter what you're doing, no matter how you create art,” Akuchie says. The Hollywood Reporter. “I want people to feel seen and heard. I think that's why we all live and why we're here in community. We need that.”

Below, Akuchie discusses the deliberate use of Los Angeles designers and designers of color, the high wardrobe cost of the “epic” season three finale, and her hopes for the reboot’s stylistic legacy as the series wraps up its third season and awaits renewal for a fourth season.

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What it takes to wear the wardrobe Bel Air season after season with such a large cast?

It takes a huge team, a lot of research and the awareness that you want to have an impact and a change. I want people to not only see the characters in the story, but to identify with the costume. So, how do I tell this story? How do I do it? [I make] people feel seen and represented through the costumes? It’s important, because the cast is so big. Everyone has different personalities and different things they’re going through throughout their storyline. So I make sure everyone is amplified.

With Will, in the beginning, you made sure he wore a lot of Philly designers to show his pride in being from West Philly. Did you keep that in season 3?

Bits of it. He lives in Los Angeles now, so he’s getting a presence that’s a little bit of Carlton (Olly Sholotan), a little bit of Jazz (Jordan L. Jones), and he’s getting a Bel Air vibe. But I have little nods, especially with the season three premiere. He wears a vest to the Juneteenth party that’s been customized. It’s a denim vest and it has Africa graphics and then there’s a little P in it, which is a nod to Philly, and it kind of connects Africa, Juneteenth, and Philly in terms of who he is and what he’s becoming.

How many custom pieces do you usually make per season?

It depends on the script and how much time we have. With episode one, we have a little bit more time, because it's the first episode, so we prepare for about six to eight weeks. But the finale [this season] It's a very, very special episode; everything was pretty much custom. We dyed the fabrics, it was such a creative incarnation, and I felt so accomplished. Over the course of the season, I would say there are two or three [custom] pieces per episode. I always change something. I will never use a piece as it was given to me. I have to change buttons, I have to change a collar, change the length, the shape, the weight, the structure. I love to play. But the ending is epic. I was so excited for everyone to see it because I literally had chills the day we shot it. It was so beautiful and everyone is so amazing in their characters.

Hilary, historically, is the fashionista of the family. How do you approach her in this series?

Fun, sexy, classy is mainly my number one [objective]But how do I make it accessible and make all the girls feel like I can be cute and demure? – she's very demure. (laughs)? I love her cute earrings, her headbands, her gloves. There are so many fun things to do with her. And, again, always connecting the dots to the original Fresh Prince of Bel Air and make it happen now, in this historical moment in which we find ourselves, but also so different from all the others.

In real life, Olly Sholotan (Carlton) is very interested in fashion. What is it like working with him on set?

It's so funny, because we have a relationship with every single actor. I like that they all trust me. They all love my vision. They all see the vision. They're always arguing, “I look good,” “I look better.” But Olly is AS in fashion and his style is very different from his character. His personal style is actually more like the Jazz character, but it's so fun to make him look so different. He's also very collaborative. His body is flawless. So we like to make him look sexy, but classy; very conservative, but cool and trendy. Smart black guys can look cool. They can wear collared shirts. They can wear great polos. They can wear a nice vest. So, high-end designers [for him]his closet is pretty high up there [in price].

Do you have a favorite character to dress up as?

They're all so different, but the person who I would say is so meaningful to me is Auntie Viv because her character reminds me so much of my own mother, who passed away. I always find a way to represent my mother in Auntie Viv, especially because I'm Nigerian, so I love that she's this global phenomenon. I'm able to put her in designs that my mother would have loved to wear.

There is such an emphasis on black excellence in so many ways in this series, which I'm sure carries over into the use of black designers. Can you tell us about some of these designers?

One thing I love to do is give us a platform that we obviously don't have on prime time TV. That's one of my main goals when I start developing. I use local designers; I use global designers. There's a designer called Baba Jagne who's incredible here in LA, a genius mind who creates beautiful pieces. I've had Jazz and Ashley wear some [of his] things; there was a jacket that Hilary wore to the football game that was customized with the “H” and the numbers. I used Ozwald Boateng, the amazing Waraire Boswell who just passed away a few weeks ago. I worked with him for years making custom suits. So my goal is to use local designers in Los Angeles and global designers who are of color.

What is the most expensive work you have curated for the exhibition?

This season, in the finale, we definitely spent about $25,000 – $27,000 [the wedding dress] For [Hilary] and all the accessories.

Have you felt or do you feel pressure to live up to the original? Fresh Prince of Bel AirOr is wardrobe for the reboot more exciting than nerve-wracking?

You know, I surprised myself. Last season, I was like, “I'm in; I'm excited.” I was so humbled and ready to take on this. I was never afraid. I was just excited to create and tell the story from my perspective. I'm the son of immigrants, so it's almost like I was telling the story from my window seat and I was excited to do that.

What style would you like to see this show continue to have?

I want the legacy of the style to embody a global resurgence of who each character was and what they stood for, recreating the past and making each character their own and hearing my voice through it. People feel represented and like they can do this too. When I started, there weren't a lot of young black African-American designers, let alone women. So giving a voice to those who never saw themselves in this space, never been able to say, “I can create a [clothing] and my line can go on TV.” “I can be a costume designer.” “I can be a producer.” I have a daughter, and I want her to be proud of me and for all the little black girls and boys to say, “I can do that, too.” Or “I see myself.” That no matter where you are in the world, no matter what you're trying to do, what you want to do, that you can actually do it and be good at it. It's about the clothes. But it's more about, “Yes, I can.”

The third season of Bel Air is now streaming on Peacock.