Cersei Lannister is still grieving over the loss of her children when “Game of Thrones” Season 7 opens. Costume designer Michele Clapton explained how the Queen masks her true emotions through the clothes she wears.
Cersei Lannister bids goodbye to colorful dresses
Fans may notice the changes in the queen’s wardrobe from the first down to the sixth season. Cersei initially wore colorful, flowy dresses that accentuated her figure and her sexuality. She also showed some skin and opted to have her hair down to show femininity. Clapton said that Cersei used her beauty and physical appearance to get what she wanted.
However, through the course of several seasons, Cersei Lannister has had experienced so much turmoil that her “essence and her clothing” had changed. She had drastically changed after the walk of shame, where people spat on her while she walked naked on the street.
Most importantly, the death of her children prompted her to turn dark. These harrowing experiences led to her dark transformation and her wardrobe spoke for it when Season 6 ended. She opted to wear dark and heavy fabrics bereft of any trace of femininity.
Cersei Lannister is still fragile
However, despite the power that her clothes represent, the new Queen of the Seven Kingdoms is still fragile. Clapton said that the beadwork on her gowns represents her brittle state.
“She uses this beading [as] this sense of power but it’s all quite brittle and it’s all an adornment. She puts these things on to show strength but there’s a brittleness in that strength, “Clapton told Uproxx.
Cersei’s emotional state when 'Game of Thrones' Season 7 opens
Cersei’s wardrobe when she was crowned as the new Queen of the Seven Kingdoms belied what she is feeling deep inside.
When “Game of Thrones” Season 6 ended, people/viewers saw her as this ruthless and heartless woman. After all, she blew up half of Kings Landing, which killed the High Sparrow, several other people, and Tommen’s wife Margaery Tyrell. In a way, she also murdered Tommen, the last of her surviving children with her brother Jaimie Lannister.
However, when Season 7 opens Cersei Lannister is still in mourning over the death of her children, according to Clapton. Only she carefully masks her grief by choosing the appropriate clothes that speak of power and strength. The queen relies on military style and dark-colored clothes to show people that she is still in control over them and over her emotions.