Prison Couture

Orange is the New Black characters get a stylish makeover

There’s nothing we love more than a good Netflix binge, and when prison dramedy Orange is the New Black arrived on our screens back in 2013 we were truly hooked. It’s gripping narrative, unexpected plot twists and raw, unflinching portrayal of strong women has cemented it’s position as Netflix’s most watched original series ever. OITNB’s unique and captivating storyline has won numerous accolades including 16 Emmy award nominations (of which it won four) and a further 6 Golden Globe nominations. So to celebrate the new series, released on June 17th, we decided to reimagine what the classic orange jumpsuits and beige scrubs would look like if created by some of our favourite fashion designers. No need to call the fashion police at Litchfield!

Piper Chapman 

Boston born OITNB protagonist Piper Chapman enters Litchfield after getting involved in an international drug smuggling operation with a former lover. Coming from an upper middle class family she’s instantly labeled an outsider and it doesn’t take long before she’s rubbed her fellow inmates up the wrong way. She starts off as a shy, mousy character however as the show goes on we see a new, more badass side to her character resulting in her becoming one of the show’s toughest women; eventually beating up Pennsatucky and launching a thriving prison knicker production business! Because of this we’ve dressed her up in the most badass label around, Balmain. We’ve recreated her newbie orange jumpsuit as one of Rousteing’s classic designs featuring heavy embellishment and trademark cinched waist!

Alex Vause

Alex Vause in Gucci S/S16 seemed like a no brainer to us. As one of the most manipulative and calculating members of Litchfield she’s often described as a snake, so what better way to portray this than with Alessandro Michele’s classic snake motif. Michele’s classic prints also have references to traditional tattoos much like Vause’s rose tattoo sleeve. Pick up your own piece of Gucci on Stylight by shopping men's Gucci trainers here. 

Suzanne 'Crazy Eyes’ Warren

Crazy Eyes, played by the brilliant Uzo Aduba has got to be one of our favourite characters in the whole show. Her violent tendencies and erratic outbursts are tempered by her warm heart and loyalty but she’s undoubtedly best known for her unforgettably kooky facial expressions so for that reason we couldn’t resist dressing her in Jeremy Scott’s S/S16 collection featuring faces with equally crazy eyes.

Galina ‘Red’ Reznikov

Russian born Red is pretty much the most powerful person at Litchfield. As head chef she is the leader of the pack and a force to be reckoned with. For such a powerful persona we put her in a fierce Vivienne Westwood ‘Red Label’ dress underneath her distinctive chef’s jacket.

Nicky Nichols in Saint Laurent

Redhead Nicky Nichols is the sarcastic joker of the pack. However, despite her fun loving demeanour she has a troubled background and is a recovering heroin addict. Due to her tortured soul we dressed her in a classic Saint Laurent suit created by designer Hedi Slimane, a designer who’s always been consistently influenced by rock n roll, rebellion and brooding romantics. Looking for suits? We suggest Hugo Boss suit jackets or Hugo Boss slim fit suits. 

Tiffany ‘Pennsatucky’ Doggett

Tiffany Doggett had a troubled past; arrested for shooting an abortion doctor she fakes being a Christian and hires a religious lawyer to defend her case and soon becomes a hero for pro-life. Eventually she actually becomes a devout Christian and has a loyal legion of fans in season one who beleive she has the ability to heal them. Because of her links to religion we couldn’t resist recreating her trademark hoodie as Givenchy’s S/S13 menswear collection featuring an array of Christian iconography.

Dayanara ‘Daya’ Diaz

Like mother like daughter…? Dayanara Diaz, or Daya as she’s more often known, ends up in prison with her mother for drug related offences. Shortly after, she strikes up romance with Correctional Officer John Bennett and eventually becomes pregnant with his child. Due to her much frowned upon inmate pregnancy we’ve reworked her outfit into Dolce & Gabbana’s A/W15 collection inspired by mothers. The runway show, which featured eleven mothers and their children celebrated family and featured love messages to mothers in a variety of languages. Get Daya's style by investing in a lustworthy pair of Dolce & Gabanna heels. 

Lorna Muccio (neé Morello)

Italian-American Lorna Muccio is a romantic at heart. Famous for her 50’s influenced hair and makeup, she’s warm and charming and has an unflinching belief in true love. Season three sees her actually get married in prison to her pen-pal flame Vince Muccio. To celebrate her nuptials we’ve reworked her scrubs into Valentino’s A/W15/16 wedding inspired dresses.

Sophia Burset 

Warm hearted Sophia Burset plays the role of ‘hairdresser/makeup artist’ at Litchfield. She wound up in prison after committing a series of crimes to pay for her gender reassignment surgery. Sophia is played by Laverne Cox who is pioneering in this role for being the first transexual woman of colour to play a major character in a tv show. Perhaps the most iconic image of her is from when she covered Time Magazine in May 2014 wearing a bodycon Herve Leger bandage dress thus we’ve redesigned her scrubs to mimic this memorable look.

Carrie 'Big Boo' Black

Carrie Black or ‘Big Boo’ as she’s known to the other inmates is confident, self assured and intimidating… all attributes that we associate with Kanye West, which is why we’ve dressed her in Yeezy! She also grew up mainly wearing boys clothing and androgynous looks, a hallmark of Kanye’s ethos for his Yeezy brand.