Designer Dana Covarrubias Dished On Selena Gomez' "Only Murders In The Building" Costumes For Season 3

Give My Regards To Broadway

"I was trying to figure out something within that [murder mystery] world again, but our whole season is about Broadway and about theatre, and I think that just trumped everything else," she says. "It was very exciting to re-explore some of my favorite musicals...Almost all of Mabel's costumes this season are directly inspired by one or two musicals."

The musicals in question? Guys and Dolls, Chicago, and Little Shop of Horrors. In the very first episode of season three, Mabel wears a bright green, plaid coat: "I don't know if you know Guys and Dolls, but it's all about New York City gangsters and they all wear these really loud, brightly colored, plaid suits."

A funeral in episode two sees Mabel in black and white pinstripes with a cap toe shoe (à la Chicago), and a sweater vest + brown pants + trench coat combo.

"The main character in [Little Shop of Horrors], Seymour, he wears a lot of that color palette [and] sweater vests," Covarrubias says. "Then of course, the fantasy that Oliver has where Mabel and Charles are dancing, that was all sort of Fosse inspired. So it's sort of a general mix up of Sweet Charity and Cabaret and All That Jazz."

As far as Selena's favorite looks for Mabel, Covarrubias says that — just like us — Selena is all in for all things cozy: "She loves the cozy stuff. She just loves being cozy. So I think any of the stuff that's the oversized sweaters and the soft knit pants. The softer something is, she's like, 'Yes.'"

Looking Beyond The Stage For Selena Gomez' "Only Murders In The Building" Costumes

One standout moment for Selena in season 3 is Mabel's wedding dress. It's safe to say that the internet (and everyone at B+C) went absolutely crazy over the images when they dropped!

"We only had, I think, a week to get something that worked," Covarrubias says. "And, um, I don't know if you've ever experienced shopping for a wedding dress, but it is not something that is easy to find in a week!"

While she doesn't want to give too much away about the reasons surrounding why Mabel's in a wedding dress, Covarrubias does emphasize how important it was that the final dress look like it was from the 1950s. And turns out, they said yes to the dress at David's Bridal!

After replacing the bright white lining with a creamy alternative, they added little white gloves and a veil. "I could just tell that morning when we went to shoot that scene that [Selena] felt really beautiful," Covarrubias says. "And that's like the best feeling as a costume designer to feel like your actor feels beautiful. So that was awesome."

Another fond memory Covarrubias has of working on the show came last year in season two episode one.

"I pitched in my costume meeting [for] that episode that they would go into Bunny's Closet and [grab] some of her coats and put them on, and that it would be a hilarious visual to see Steve and Marty in these [faux] fur coats," Covarrubias says. "That one I was really proud of because it was something I sort of added, which I love when I see that stuff in the show. I'm always like, I added that!"

Of course, I had to ask if it was inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: "Sometimes I think it's just my own design brain being influenced by everything that I grew up watching and reading, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe for sure being one of those things, I was a huge fan of that series when I was a kid."

Staying Creative + Crafty

For the characters, it's easy to just grab coats that they found in Bunny's closet, but for Covarrubias, it takes a little more effort to source them. "All of these people have to have quite a bit of money to be able to afford to live in the Arconia," she says. "Our budget isn't massive, so we're always trying to find creative ways to find pieces that look very expensive, but aren't."

To continue adding coats and suit jackets to the mix (pieces that the show has become known for), Covarrubias is constantly thinking on her feet. "I'll find inspiration by something that costs $5,000 or something crazy, and then I'll try to find the budget version and do a little bit of a more affordable version that we can use on the show."

"We have to be really tricky with how we source things," she continues. "And of course, environmentally, it helps to use secondhand so we use a lot of secondhand, which is always at a lower price point and makes me feel better about staying away from fast fashion."

The creativity and craft Covarrubias infuses into the show can be felt throughout every aspect of production — not just the costume design. From the scripts to the sets, everything on Only Murders in the Building balances wacky and outlandish with dramatic and sophisticated in a whole new way.

"Because this season had this sort of written-in theatricality with the Broadway theme, it allowed us to go a bit bigger and bolder with pattern and color," Covarrubias says. "This season, Selena's really been the one who is the lead detective. So I think her costumes had a lot more seriousness to them."

"It just makes for a really entertaining show to watch," she continues. "The mystery and the wonderful writing and the beautiful, beautiful set design also always ground the show, and then there are always just enough little tasty treats of color and pattern...It's a blast."