Good texts are split into quotes, beautifully shot films — into frames.
The Queen’s Gambit is not only an inspiring story we want to believe but also a terrific guide to the style and aesthetics of the late ’50s, early and mid-60s. The creators of the series managed to transfer the viewer to the most iconic era for the history of fashion and design, and show a truly aesthetic picture.
Playing with saturation
As it often happens in the film, color scheme and lighting shape the general mood. They help the viewer read the feelings and emotions of the characters.
The series begins in a rather gloomy scenery of a girls’ orphanage, gray, slightly “dirty” tones prevail in the frame. All shades are devoid of color saturation. Moreover, it concerns all the viewer sees around — from the interior to the uniform of the pupils.
Even the redhead girl’s hair does not look as bright as in the subsequent scenes outside the orphanage.
Starting from the second episode, when Beth finally finds a home, her life is filled with colors, the scenery around it becomes more vivid and saturated.
At the same time, when the heroine feels vulnerable, for example when dealing with snooty classmates, these shots again suddenly lose color and become as gray as the scene in the orphanage for girls. Flashbacks associated with the bleak childhood and memories of the mother are also painted in dull colors.
But as soon as Beth finds herself in a comfortable environment — at chess tournaments, the scenery becomes more saturated and, what is very symbolic, has more warm colors.
In general, the colors of many of the scenes of the series are dominated by blue and dark-blue, blue-green hues — and it is certainly no coincidence.
Blue and green are equally harmonious in emphasizing the yellow-orange colors, including the red hair of the main character. Due to this, Anya Taylor-Joy’s character looks advantageous within the frame.
A chessboard and other ornaments
The interiors of the Queen’s Gambit reflect the spirit of the era very well. The active use of ornaments in decoration and textiles is very characteristic of the 60s’ aesthetics, as well as then the 70s’. There are a lot of plant and flower patterns (especially in the kitsch interiors of Mrs. Wisley’s house). More modern pattern variations of that period were geometric patterns on the wallpaper, such as prints in the form of rhombuses on the walls of the hotel in Las Vegas.
The main ornament of the series is, of course, the check. It is interesting how it jumps from the chessboard to the walls first — we see it on pink wallpaper in Beth’s grotesque girlish room, and then on the clothes of the main character.
Gabrielle Binder, the costume designer for the Queen’s Gambit, suggested that Beth Harmon should have felt more confident in a checkered outfit.
So in the second episode, the main character spends the first prize she ever won in a chess tournament on a simple Scottish check sundress.
During her stay in Mexico City, Beth is visiting the pool in the evenings, her swimsuit is again checkered, but this time in black and white.
The most stylish of all “checked” outfits of Beth is featured in the last episode. For the final tournament, Gabrielle Binder chose a laconic check vintage coat with thin contours. The cut and the geometric print of the coat are very reminiscent of the French fashion designer André Courrez. The couturier was one of the first to use the op-art aesthetics (optical art originated in the 60s) in his collections.
Talking about op art, we should mention a small coffee table, featured in the renovated design of Beth’s house. The kidney-shaped table is typical for the mid-century era design. The rhythmic black and white print of its tabletop reminds the optical abstractions of the artist Victor Vasarely.
From CHEVROLET to Chaika
Special thanks to the production designers for the stunning car casting, truly legendary models of both the American and Soviet car industry got into the series.
Future foster parents come to the girls’ orphanage riding the legendary Chevrolet Bel Air 1957. The name Bel Air (in honor of the prestigious Los Angeles area) was not chosen by chance.
In post-war America, Chevrolet cars occupied the niche of some of the cheapest and most affordable ones. In 1950 General Motors decided to radically change the image of the brand and began to work on their technical specifications and design.
Since 1953, the top Chevrolet models have been given the Bel Air prefix. Today, retro cars collectors put the Chevrolet 57 in the same row with the no less legendary Cadillac’59.
In contrast to American cars, the most status car of the USSR appears in Moscow scenes — the GAZ-13 Chaika, produced from 1959-1988.
It’s no secret that the American cars Packard Caribbean and Packard Patrician of 1956 became the prototype of the Chaika. The Soviet Union purchased these models to study them, which resulted in partial borrowing of the design of American “samples”.
Nevertheless, the Chaika did not become a complete copy of Packard, the Soviet model had a number of differences and innovations. For example, the emblem on the Packard grille has the letter V, referring to the V8 engine, while the Chaika has the letter V turned into a flying bird.
The Chaika was exclusively produced in black, which gave it a much more strict look in comparison with the wide color palette of American cars.
But the most important difference of the Soviet car is that it was impossible to buy for ordinary citizens. It was a governmental vehicle that was used to service high-ranking officials.
The Chaika was often provided for meeting important guests, so Beth Harmon could ride it if she was a real person.
Product design icons
In the seemingly unremarkable dining room, where Beth competes with Benny Watts in rapid chess, you can notice the DSX Fiberglass Chair. These chairs were designed by the American design couple Charles and Ray Eames in 1950.
The first letters of the abbreviation stand for D (dining) and S (side), but what is X?
X is a reference to the cruciform shape of the base and the attachments of the chair legs. It is interesting how the shape of the chair base was changed and acquired the geometry of the letter H in 1954. But despite the transition from X to H, the DSX name has been preserved in the memory of the original design.
In the 1950s, no fancy kitchen was complete without a flashy, streamlined, colorful refrigerator. This is exactly what appeared after the renovation of the interior in Beth’s kitchen — a bright orange Hotpoint refrigerator.
By the way, the design of the refrigerator refers to the Streamline Moderne style, which originated in the US in the 30s. At that time, all industrial objects were created in streamlined aesthetics — from cars and trains to toasters and refrigerators. The streamline was characterized by the replacement of sharp corners with smooth, aerodynamic, and bright surfaces.
You can also see the iconic transformer lamp by the Danish brand Gubi in a scene of a hotel room in Las Vegas.
It is organically integrated into the interior, so it seems impossible to suspect that the designer Louis Weisdorf actually created the Multi Lite Brass only in the early 70s. But we forgive the designers of the series for this small leap into the future for the sake of a tribute to the legendary Scandinavian brand.
Trying on looks – a lady or a rebel
The 60s was a bright era that combined very different tendencies and trends. Every girl can choose the role, which would fit her lifestyle and create a fitting image — elegant, bohemian, rebellious, hippie, and so on.
Geometric short haircuts were contrasted with lush styling in the spirit of Brigitte Bardot. It is also about dresses and skirts with a garish waist of straight or trapezoidal models, as in the collections of the above-mentioned André Courrez.
As the plot develops, the main character gradually changes, together with her style, which can be seen through the various images of Beth.
For most of the series, the main character appears in classic cuts, emphasizing her femininity, and in tune with such 60s style icons as Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy.
At the same time, during her period of mental breakdown, Beth tries on the image of a rebel through daring makeup — double arrows and lush false eyelashes are an obvious reference to the image of Twiggy.
Each look of the main character vividly reflects the era and is attractive in its own way. In my opinion, one of the most stylish and striking appearances of the heroine in the series is in an elegant knitted dress that Beth wore to a tournament in Paris. According to the costume designer Gabrielle Binder, the design of this dress is an homage to Pierre Cardin.
The dress emphasizes the girl’s shape due to the cut and its black graphic stripes following the curves of the body.
Collages: Lesya Pakharyna
The author:
Natasha Tsi
Interior designer, art and movie reviewer
