Interview: Costume Designer Luca Mosca Discusses Season Two of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’

With season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, costume designer Luca Mosca takes over the foundation that Kate Hawley built in the first season and expands upon some of the initial designs as the world of Middle-earth grows darker and Sauron’s influence begins to take hold.

Awards Radar had a chance to chat with season two’s costume designer about not only building upon the foundation of the first season but also creating designs for new characters, including Tom Bombadil, Annatar, and tracking the development of characters through their costumes.

Read the full interview below:

How familiar were you with the world of The Lord of the Rings before you joined the series?

Familiar on a common pop-culture level, having read the books and seen the movies. I definitely felt a little intimidated by the volume of these books. Suddenly, I was in there, leading the game, and what a responsibility. I did have some knowledge of the world, but not as deep as some colleagues I met when I went to New Zealand first, then to England after. I had to play a game of catch-up. 

And I don’t think you worked on the first season. Is that correct?

I did, but I was not the costume designer. I was an additional costume designer on season one. I came in towards the end. I did four or five months in New Zealand. I did design quite a bit, but the ownership of the beautiful work of season one is Kate Hawley’s genius designs. 

So, when you became the costume designer for the second season, what were your most significant objectives to build upon what was previously established in season one? 

I was not there in season two to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. I was there to take magnificent work done by my team, Kate Hawley, and a little bit by myself, already in season one, and just expand it. Since we had a language and a lock for most civilizations, it was easier to develop and add new things. We were also tasked with introducing new cultures and new characters. What a responsibility to do that, but we were building upon something already working and wonderful.

Were there any challenges that arose in expanding upon what was previously visualized for the characters in the first season for the second season?

I found working on this show a gigantic responsibility and a huge amount of work, but I found it so flowing, so organic. Everything was falling into place that I wouldn’t use the word challenge. The studio generously gave us all the means to achieve all this excellence. I was surrounded by the most incredible craftsmen in every field, and I had resources to acquire the most exquisite materials. We had the time and everything on our hands. So it wasn’t really a challenge, of course, it was a responsibility. It was a lot of work, and it came with insecurity. We’re human. Will I ever be able to do as well as the previous designer did and build upon it? Judging from the very complimentary introduction you gave to this interview, it seems like we did a good job [laughs].

Oh, absolutely. Did you have any specific discussions with the showrunners, JD Payne and Patrick McKay, on what they wanted to achieve in this season that helped you design the costumes?

Absolutely. The relationship between the designer and the showrunners was symbiotic. We were together all the time. There was constant back and forth at the stage of sketches, illustrations, and concepts. Later on, when we were doing fittings and even showing up on set with the costumes, the showrunners were very involved in every single stage of the process. Much of the excellence that we see on the screen is due to them. Being able to lead and coagulate all the departments so that hair, makeup, costumes, sets, and props would all fall into place was a big part of their task. 

In season two, I would say the main narrative arc is Sauron manipulating Celebrimbor into forging the Rings of Power. In attempting to gain his trust, he becomes Annatar, the Lord of Gifts. Can you talk about designing this specific version of Sauron for this season?

That was a huge task. Maybe when you’re talking about challenges, there you have it. Whenever you hear these big words and big names – Annatar, Sauron, Celebrimbor, Tom Bombadil – you’re talking about iconic names. These names resonate with a considerable fan base who know The Lord of the Rings. For me, it became a huge responsibility. What I liked to do with Sauron and Annatar was play with fabrics like he played with psychology, tricks, and illusions. Our fabrics were layered, especially when you have this so-called “fair form,” where you have this sort of monkish, priestish look of Sauron. He was wearing an open weave rustic-looking fabric. It was the most incredible silk, but you don’t have to know that it was supposed to look like burlap, and underneath it was a very shiny metallic fabric that you didn’t see. You only saw it when the elbow, knee, or shoulder rubbed against it. The transparency came through. It was a game of illusion. It was something that was supposed to look like a very poor burlap, but in reality, he was hiding a very precious, expensive, and decadent fabric. That was the way we dealt with the character for the season and created these illusory transformations. I think it spoke of who he was as a psychological character, and it was very well received. Even the actor loved it. They loved the draping and the flow of the fabrics. It’s one of my favorite costumes.

Season Two also introduces a number of new characters to the show, including, most notably, The Dark Wizard, and, as you mentioned, of course, Tom Bombadil.  Can you discuss the process of finding the looks and designs for both characters?

These are people that we know a lot about, and especially Tom Bombadil. Tolkien refers to a costume in so many specific details: yellow boots, a blue coat, and a blue feather. It’s very specific, so you don’t want to give it away and put this guy in bright yellow boots, put a feather on him, and give him a blue coat, so that people go like, “Oh, look at that. Tom Bombadil!”  We had to be a little more subtle. If you look at the kind of yellow that we chose for the boots and the coat, when you first see him, he’s just shopping for manure. The coat is off, and so is the hat, and you don’t see the feather. There was extensive research on the hat, which was a testament to the prodigious craftsmanship. For The Dark Wizard, the coat was made out of this very soft pigskin leather with burnout details, suggesting some ancient archaic motifs. If you look at the fabric, it was very strong, shiny, and powerful, and it also transitioned from dark to light. We enjoyed bringing this culture to life as well.

Was there a desire for you to make the costumes of the characters an integral part of their development? I think Míriel is a great example of this. You have the coronation outfit that she wears in one of the episodes, and then she also has an outfit for her sea trial. It all communicates with what she’s going through. Was that also in your mind when you were designing the costumes for each character?

Of course. You mentioned the coronation scene. Maybe that was the costume of the season. Míriel is given a choice of two colors for her dress and chooses white. Why white? In Western culture, white is often associated with purity and light. I’m being very specific because in other cultures, like in Asia, white can be the color of mourning. However, the light, in her case, could be thinking of the ominous destiny that is awaiting Númenor and her visions of the flood that will eventually destroy the kingdom. The incredible gorget that she wears is encrusted with real pearls and expensive jewelry. They are all calling for the Abyss to come out and reveal itself. The gown is made of velvet that has been embossed, dyed, and overprinted with these fabrics, which transition from light to dark. Míriel is the exact example of aiming at purity and going from dark to light. 

In this season, we spend a little bit more time in Khazad-dûm and Númenor. Was there anything in those three worlds in terms of their specific costumes that you wanted to show more of or expand in this season than what was shown in the first?

It was the script that lent itself to an expansion of their realms. All of these worlds are completely different, right? I love the decadence of Númenor. It’s maybe the one that, as humans, we can relate to the most, with its beautiful colors and textures. Then you have the Khazad-dûm culture, characterized by very ornate, golden, and precious metals, as well as a subterranean aspect. It’s something that we don’t experience every day. We don’t live under the earth, so it’s kind of far away from us. I loved working on those specific cultures, although there were many more that we touched upon during the season, just because they are so entirely different, but each bringing a level of dignity and of elegance to the screen that is unsurpassable.

Awesome. Well, it was really great talking to you today, Luca, about your work in season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Congratulations, once again, the costumes are just amazing, and you should be very proud. 

I am very proud. Perhaps I should add one thing: on top of my pride, there is a level of acknowledgement that it really took a village. You are talking to a creative director who was leading and coordinating a large orchestra of musicians, each of whom could play their specific instrument better than the director. They needed a director, but certainly my first violin was much more talented than I at playing the violin, even if I can improvise something for you. You may think I’m talented, but that was the caliber of my team. So, congratulations to everybody on the team. 

Absolutely, you should all be very proud. 

Thank you, it was a pleasure speaking to you.

Season Two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is now available to stream on Prime Video.

[This interview has been edited for length and clarity]