Misfires are the Goal: Dressing Gen Z for "The White Lotus"

The show's costume designer sees your mean tweets. Here's how she created the looks that divide the young characters.

At a resort in Sicily, the well-heeled travelers in "The White Lotus" season 2 attempt of Italian charm. They brew wine here, wear Prada there. Not to be outdone, Jennifer Coolidge's character Tanya cries at a Puccini opera.

And then there are the show's Gen Zers, who skip "Madama Butterfly" to go clubbing.

The season's five young characters' attire should reflect a mix of daring and experimentation, according to Alex Bovaird , the costume designer of the series. Ms. Bovaird was inspired by influencers, Instagram it-brands and "Love Island" contestants to create more than 70 looks that young people could realistically wear, including the duds.

Mrs. Bovaird, 44, has previously designed costumes for Jordan Peele's "Nope" and was nominated for an Emmy for her work on the first season of "The White Lotus," an HBO anthology series created by Mike White. This season's portrayal of Generation Z, as performed by Sydney Sweeney and Brittany O'Grady, rang terrifyingly faithful to many viewers.

But Ms Bovaird had never experienced anything quite like Portia, Tanya's assistant, the character she says has caused the most intense online backlash of her career. Played by Haley Lu Richardson, Portia rolls her eyes in heaven in a series of trendy and offbeat outfits that have Twitter buzzing. “Portia on the white lotus dresses like an urban amenity clearance section,” reads one of the kindest comments.

Ms. Bovaird, who actually got some of Portia's pieces from Urban Outfitters, has seen your mean tweets and has his own thoughts. Ahead of Sunday's season 2 finale, she shared them on a video call from Reykjavik, Iceland, where she's herding the "True Detective" cast in parkas and snow boots. "There's hardly any flip-flop in sight," she said.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0 ">How did you approach dressing so many young characters this season?

I love dressing young characters, especially if it's contemporary. While the older characters in "White Lotus" are more put together and composed, and have figured out who they are, the younger characters express themselves in a truly adventurous and chaotic way.

ImagePortia serves up mayhem in a zebra-print Reina Olga bikini, sweater bought from a vintage Los Angeles store and shorts Scout, a store in Rome. Jack (Leo Woodall) was dressed to look like a "Love Island" contestant. the very glam teens of "Euphoria"?

"Euphoria", although I haven't seen it, may not seem so realistic. For "The White Lotus", we try to make it realistic, but we also increase it and go a little too far. Mike White really likes the color and the print, and he likes the frame to be filled with lots of interest. He thinks of "White Lotus" as a fever dream. So while they're grounded in reality, they're a bit...