Much ado will be made about Isla Gordon's unconventional workwear on Netflix's Running Point. Played by Kate Hudson, Gordon is a reformed party girl who finds herself at the top of the corporate food chain when she's suddenly put in charge of her family's basketball dynasty. Her leadership is challenged and at times, Gordon wonders whether she's the right person for the job. Why jockey for position in the good old boys club when her brothers are so hungry and seemingly qualified for the title? Imposter syndrome strikes again! But over time, she grows into the role and learns how to leverage her unique strengths in the hyper-masculine world of professional sports with a wardrobe to go with it.
Loosely based on the life of Jeanie Buss—the NBA’s first woman president and owner of the Los Angeles Lakers—Running Point is chicken soup for the souls of weary girlbosses. Like everything the inimitable Mindy Kaling produces, it's slapstick and saccharine and right on time for the broader cultural conversations we're having about women in sports. But even if those sterling qualities hold zero appeal for you, you'll binge the whole season simply to spend more time in the eye candy fashion universe created by costume designer Salvador Perez.
Gordon's story arc begins with her rocket-ship promotion from a job at the very bottom of her family's organization to a place at the very top. Perez describes her as a "former party girl" and "kind of a mess"—not the type to go shopping the first week of her new gig.
"She was going through her closet and [wondering], what does she wear to work as the president of a corporation? It had to be slightly inappropriate at first," Perez says. "The bright pink Seroya suit she wears for the first game, the Dion Lee corset top with the Ronny Kobo pinstripe suit—her clothes had to be slightly out of place at the beginning."
The character's attempts to make her existing wardrobe work for an ultra-professional context yield fabulous (if impractical) results, like a Jean Paul Gaultier bullet bra layered beneath a cardigan and a high-waisted skirt, for instance. Or, a ruched velvet Ulla Johnson dress juxtaposed with over-the-knee dominatrix boots from Schutz.
"We thought of Jeanie Buss and Kim Kardashian as contemporaries," Perez explains. "So we had some fittings where the clothes were outrageous and there were vinyl body suits."
Ultimately, Perez decided to eschew direct references in favor of a more colorful and original take on CEO style.
"We didn't want her to be the typical executive," the costume designer explains. "We had photos of all these executives and it was always a gray suit. And we're like, no—let's embrace femininity. Let's embrace color."
The fictional team colors of orange and blue were woven into many of Isla's looks alongside real-world color trends like butter yellow. It was Hudson's idea, however, to accessorize a yellow Sandro suit with powder blue pumps in episode three. "I love that she had that mentality," Perez says. "It's unexpected."
Gradually, Gordon's office aesthetic moves from loud and eclectic to a quieter kind of luxury.
"I refined her look as the season went on and she became more powerful, but I didn't want to lose her femininity," Perez says. "My philosophy, having worked for Mindy, is that women should be powerful as they are."
Make no mistake, Gordon knows how to flex for the female gaze. At least four different Birkin bags appear on her arm throughout the series—two of which were sourced directly from Kaling's own closet.
"Look, this is a first-season show. You don't have a lot of money," Perez explains. "So I'm like, 'Mindy, can I come over?' Mindy's bag closet is legendary. And that's the kind of person she is. She's like, 'Anything you want, take it.'"
Even as she embraces a more mature look, though, Gordon never abandons herself in the process. She simply learns how to power dress in a more elevated way. By the end of the season, with workwear labels like Gabriela Hearst and Favorite Daughter.
"She puts more effort into looking professional, but the color never goes away," the costume designer explains. "There's always a fabulous shoe. Isla is still Isla at heart. I didn't want her to change. I just wanted her to evolve."
