Dakota Fanning's Victorian Murder Mystery Is Our New Aesthetic
An exclusive look at The Alienist, AKA our 2018 fashion mood board.

If you're into gritty Victorian crime dramas (honestly, who isn't?), please add The Alienist to your list of things to binge in 2018. The show takes place in 1896 New York City, and is about an investigative team (aided by police commissioner Teddy Roosevelt...yeah, the Teddy Roosevelt) which is fronted by criminal psychologist Dr. Laszlo Kreizler and illustrator John Moore to solve a series of murders. But as excited as we are to see Luke Evans go from Gaston to gruesome murder-solver, we're completely here for the role of Dakota Fanning, who plays Sarah Howard—the first woman to work in the New York Police Department.
MarieClaire.com got our hands on an exclusive behind-the-scenes deep dive into Fanning's insanely gorgeous period costumes, designed by Michael Kaplan, who's responsible for the costumes on Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which we can all agree were certified iconic. But we're especially in awe of his costumes on the show, which are best described as OMG THESE SLEEVES.
"These sleeves have become infamous amongst the cast and grew," Fanning says in the above clip. "The costumes are a bit restrictive which I think was good for me, because it put me in the time period and to feel what it would have felt like for a woman in those days who needed help getting dressed."
The Alienist airs January 22, 2018 on TNT, and the show has a costume and art instillation at New York's Time Warner Center on December 18 through January 5 (featuring costumes and props from the series).
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Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm. She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.
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