Warning: Spoilers ahead for Netflix’s “Players”
When viewers meet Mack (Gina Rodriguez) in the new Netflix rom-com “Players,” she’s dressed in a sage crop top, an open buttoned-up yellow shirt and light blue jeans as she plays wingwoman to one of her guy friends at a New York bar.
This is just another regular night out with her group of friends and their favorite pastime: devising successful “plays” to score one-night stands.
Mack is a local sports reporter who, along with her best friend Adam (Damon Wayans Jr.), co-worker Brannagan (Augustus Prew) and his brother Little (Joel Courtney), spends countless nights trying to nab a partner for a night. Their ground rule, however, is that you can’t build a relationship from a “play.”
But when Mack falls for her latest hookup, charming war correspondent Nick (Tom Ellis), she devises a new plan to “play” for keeps — and with that comes a new look.
Costume designer Karen Malecki tells TODAY.com that Mack’s outfits tell a story of their own, showing how Mack “is hiding her real self” from Nick as she attempts to make him fall in love with her.
“She’s a sportswriter, she’s smart and she’s sexy, but I really wanted to capture a tomboy, sporty element to her wardrobe. I wanted her to seem effortless — like she just kind of throws things on in the morning and looks great,” Malecki says, adding how she softened the looks with silk blazers and layered tops to give it a feminine touch.
To get a better sense of Mack’s everyday style and wardrobe, Rodriguez also tells TODAY.com that her character is “definitely buying” from vintage and thrift stores, “living her best life on a budget.”
The relaxed and casual look are a great fit for Mack, who works from home and spends her time at sporting events. But her wardrobe takes a turn when she sets her sights on the successful and put-together Nick.
Malecki says that Mack “for sure” changes how she dresses when she devises her new “play” to capture Nick’s attention. Here's how she did it.
The eye-catching lady in red
Mack and Nick meet at a work-function retirement party, where after one too many drinks, the two share a steamy hookup. Right after, Nick — in his expensive New York apartment with matching plates and framed photos — doesn’t miss a beat to ask if he can call her a Lyft home.
The moment between the two, however, makes Mack realize how much of an “adult” Nick is and how she wants to settle down with a mature man. She then sets out to ensnare Nick with an over-the-top game plan — with help from her crew, of course. The four friends stalk Nick on his dates, coincidentally run into him at his favorite places, and memorize his likes and dislikes.
The moment when Mack finally reels Nick in, she does so by wearing a show-stopping, body-hugging red dress.
“We had the opportunity to dress her in more upscale dresses and that was really fun,” Malecki says of Mack’s looks with Nick. “I put her in a Dolce & Gabbana dress for when she shows up at the symphony and runs into him.”
Malecki “just knew” the red gown was perfect for Rodriguez and the scene from the very beginning, saying, “I’d read the script and that’s what I thought: 'She needs to be in a red dress!'”
A happy and well-put-together couple
When it came to dressing Nick, Malecki focused on darker colors and more expensive brands.
“I wanted him to feel like... 24 hours ago, he might have been covering a war somewhere,” she says. “So he was a little darker, his wardrobe was definitely more expensive because we wanted him to feel like he had a different economic level than (Mack’s) group of friends.”
Nick, she says, wore John Varvatos, expensive t-shirts and henleys, which are collarless pullover shirts, combat boots that were stylish and dressed “successful, but doesn’t want to (be) flashy.”
As for creating Mack’s looks for her dates with Nick, her style was elevated, “more feminine and more grown up.”
“I got to put her in a black evening gown for the black-tie event,” Malecki says. “And when she’s dating him, I put her in some more... silky, slip dresses. I tried to elevate her look a little bit because she is hiding her real self from him.”
A shout-out to Mack’s crop tops
While Mack’s style fluctuates from casual to more grown-up, one thing she doesn’t leave behind are her crop tops. Rodriguez is seen wearing multiple mid-level, belly-baring tops that make you want to try one on for size.
“I liked that they felt sporty, but I softened them up and made them a little more feminine,” Malecki says of the use of the crop tops, which came in a variety of colors and cuts and were many times, paired with high-waisted and vintage Levi’s.
Rodriguez also notes that her character’s everyday outfits, including the crop tops, gave her a “feminine meets masculine, like sexy, like come and get some” feel. She adds that Mack is “very comfortable and confident in her body.”
Discovering who she truly is
Soon, Mack realizes that she cannot truly be herself with Nick.
With that also comes the realization that the person she’s meant to be with has been right in front of her this whole time: Adam (who also happens to have a more laid-back style).
“Towards the end... I feel like she’s combining more of who she really is with a more grown-up, professional way of dressing,” Malecki says.
As Mack discovers her wants and needs, she says, “she’s getting a little more comfortable” and viewers see her two worlds blend.
Malecki says that dressing Mack and the rest of the “Players” cast was “such a fun project.”
“The second an actor’s feeling the clothing and the wardrobe fitting, I know that I’ve achieved my goal,” she says. “I’m so happy with the way it turned out and I think (‘Players’ is) so charming and funny.”