For the show’s recently completed second season, House of the Dragon costume designer Caroline McCall built on Season 1, using rich fabrics and color palettes that included variations of green and black, and took best friends-turned-adversaries Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) in different sartorial directions. Jany Temines’ work in Season 1 evolved over the course of the season into powerful statements as worn by Rhaenyra, while Alicent’s power waned as she emerged in classic feminine medieval dress.

McCall notes that the fabrics are heavier, more opulent, with velvets and satins and rich embroidery. The costumes also reflect the fact that in the time period in which "House of the Dragon" is set, the climate in King's Landing, where much of the action takes place, is cooler than King's Landing on "Game of Thrones." Of course, some of her inspiration came from the story itself, as dictated by the split between the warring factions of "House of the Dragon" — the Greens of Hightowers and the Blacks of the Targaryens.

Besides the clothes in season 1, what were your inspirations for Rhaenyra and Alicent?

I was looking at Westeros in this time period and I was looking at what Jany had done in series one. I thought King's Landing and Hightowers were more classical, medieval, European. I loved what Jany had done with the wedding dresses for Rhaenyra and Daemon and the dragonkeepers — something that was part of old Valyria and Valyrian culture. I thought that since Rhaenyra had moved to Dragonstone and was trying to define herself as a true Targaryen queen, she would focus on her Targaryen heritage. So then I was also looking at [“Game of Thrones” costume designer] Michelle Clapton's costumes for Daenerys and rewatching “Game of Thrones” thinking about Daenerys in terms of her trying to reflect her true Targaryen heritage. I used elements from Daenerys' costumes in Rhaenyra and Baela's outfits to create a sort of Targaryen aesthetic.