Mother of Outfits: Examining Daenerys’ new fashion sense in Game of Thrones season 7

With all the new pics from Game of Thrones season 7 coming out recently, we’ve gotten an eyeful of what our favorite characters will look like in the coming seven episodes. After sitting out part of season 6, costume designer Michele Clapton is back in the driver’s seat for season 7, and she’s outdone herself with some very elaborate outfits. Clapton has always put a lot of thought into what the characters wear — check out the behind-the-scenes interview with her below for some insight into her process.

In that interview, Clapton said she particularly enjoys designing outfits for some of the female characters who have lasted on the show for a long time: Arya, Sansa, Cersei and Daenerys. Between the officially released images and the season 7 trailer, we’ve seen a lot of variation in the outfits worn by Dany in particular. Let’s pick over them and see if they reveal anything about where her head is at, where she’s going, and what she got up to on that long boat ride between Meereen and Dragonstone.

The last time we saw Dany, she was dressed for Essos, wearing a gown based on the kind of thing she wore as the Queen of Meereen, albeit in a darker color.

That outfit leaves her arms and part of her chest bare, which might work in the sunny Bay of Dragons but won’t do in a Westeros where winter is fast approaching. Accordingly, when she gets to Dragonstone, Daenerys is wearing a head-to-toe number sure to keep her toasty.

This look is also a good deal more aggressive than what she wore in Meereen. There’s a lot more structure to the shoulders, and the dark colors are a far cry from the pure whites she wore during season 5.

Also note that, this time around, Daenerys isn’t bothering to hide the pants she often wears under her gowns. “There’s always a fear in [Daenerys] that she will have to leave so it gives her the freedom to always escape and run,” Clapton once said of this particular costume choice. “If she had silly shoes on she’d lose all her strength.” In season 5, while ruling Meereen, Dany at least concealed her getaway pants under flowing gowns, if she wore pants at all. The idea there was that was presenting more as a permanent leader who wasn’t going anywhere. But she stopped covering them up when she reunited with the Dothraki in season 6, and isn’t doing it now.

This isn’t a Daenerys who’s trying her hand at being a benevolent ruler. This is a Daenerys who means business, and who needs the freedom to move around.

Another note: While this outfit looks almost all black in certain lights, there’s a lot of red in there too, particularly around the shoulders. The colors of House Targaryen are red and black, so it only makes sense that they’d be a part of Dany’s costumes.

This is the kind of look we’ve most commonly seen on Dany so far: strong shoulders, head-to-toe black-and-red gown, cape, pants, and boots. We’ve seen her in a few variations on it, as you can see below. In this version, the shoulders don’t have the scaly-looking texture to them.

She wore yet another version in an HBO promo back in April, complete with dragon chain and pin. Notice that the fabric is different, and there’s a fur lining.

And we saw yet another version in a behind-the-scenes featurette about the show’s special effects. This one was all red, as opposed to black with red touches.

So Dany apparently likes the shape of this outfit so much she had it made several different kinds of fabrics and colors. Someone in her khalasar was kept really busy during the trip to Dragonstone.

We can see another one of her outfits below. It keep the same basic shape of the ones above, but there’s nary a trace of red in it, and it includes a skirt.

As dragon’s daughter pointed out on Twitter, it looks like Dany is wearing this particular outfit in some of the behind-the-scenes pics.

If Daenerys was trying to present as a conciliatory ruler during her stay in Meereen, she’s presenting as a conquerer in season 7, with dark colors, square shoulders, and easy-to-move-in pants and boots. And she’s having her advisors follow suit. Even Missandei, who has traditionally worn softer, more flowing outfits, looks ready for battle in season 7, complete with pants and shoulder straps.

Does this shift in clothing mark a shift in attitude? Michele Clapton, after all, doesn’t make sartorial choices lightly. We’ll see exactly what they mean when season 7 debuts on July 16.