The rich visuals of the sceneries in Thailand served not only as an inspiration for the clothing selection of the characters of the third season of the White Lotus. They were also critical in the storytelling that episode by episode, allowed us all to create more and more complex theories about the secrets that each of the characters was hiding.
But the messages that their clothing communicated were loud and clear. The fashion collaborations with the White Lotus, plus the fascination with the story of the characters and the way they speak, are the subject to be discussed in the following paragraphs.
Thailand and fashion
The costume designers skillfully incorporate Thailand's vibrant color palette—emerald greens, golden yellows, and azure blues—which reflect both the natural landscape and cultural heritage. This setting creates a fascinating tension between authentic Thai aesthetics and the Westernized luxury interpretations worn by the resort guests.
The resort environment itself demands specific fashion categories: daytime resort wear, evening attire, swimwear, and excursion clothing. Each category offers opportunities to reveal character through clothing choices that either embrace or remain oblivious to local cultural contexts.
Loud Luxury
Over the last couple of years, we have seen that quiet luxury trends were governing the runway; but silence can only prevail for so long.
The third season of White Lotus shows an upper class that goes on vacation and shows off wealth from head to toe. We see Jacquemus sunglasses, Chanel gowns, Zimmermann swimsuits, silk gown kimonos by Jim Thompson, and Cartier jewelry worn by the pool.
The Personalities of Wealth in the White Lotus
The characters are not wearing these expensive clothes for the cameras, since the phones and electronics were put in a safe box to ensure that visitors would have a pleasant experience at the resort and connect with nature at a deeper level, leaving technology aside at least for those seven days. But maybe, the characters are dressing up to impress the people who they are traveling with. This is particularly relevant in the storyline of the three friends, Kate, Jaclyn, and Laurie.
The tensions and disagreements within this group of friends come primarily from the secrets they keep rather than from the stories they share with each other. There is a clear intention from each of them to make it seem as though they have their life under control. Kate and Jaclyn say they are happy with their partners and Laurie talks about how good she is at her work. The tension triggered by the fake smiles and the skeptical reaction of the friends match perfectly the loud luxury fashion they were wearing. They were dressing to impress and trying to cover up appearances about a perfect beautiful life, even if it was in a resort in Thailand with best friends only.
The clothes of the three friends are loud luxury. There are statement pieces of jewelry, big sunglasses, statement shoes, coverups, kimonos, hats and swimsuits. Each of these pieces has a loud personality tailored to the character of each of the friends, but the common denominator is the hunger for acknowledgment.
Jaclyn, the famous actress from Los Angeles, has a creative and colorful aesthetic very inspired by Hollywood glam.
Kate, who resides in Austin, Texas, and we find out in the middle of the season, is registered ‘as an Independent’ has the most conservative with clothing selection. Some swimwear cuts seem intentionally chosen for her to have a retro feel with a high-waisted band and more classic styles.
Laurie, a corporate lawyer who lives in New York City, seems to be trying the hardest when some of her outfits are visually very saturated. The intentionality of wanting to be perceived and recognized —by both her friends and men in the hotel— is clear with the clothing selection.
The Ratliff Siblings
The Ratliff siblings embody the experience of the young generations in a rich family. Saxon, the oldest brother, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger is eager to follow up his father's steps and says he has put ‘all of his eggs in the basket of the company’, stating a narrow mind of possibilities almost disregarding scenarios where companies shut down, trade wars begin and trigger the stock market, and maybe even, there’s the possibility of his father going to prison. Saxon’s identity is attached to corporate life and you can see that in his clothes. The polo shirts and button-down shirts that this character uses throughout the season, are shirts completely dress-appropriate for doing business at Mar-a-lago. As Chelsea states in one episode ‘Saxon has no soul’. It is this lack of soul that is reflected in his corporate clothing in a resort, where he seems to be the family member who brings up the company the most in conversations with family and other visitors of the hotel.
On the other hand, Loclyn, the younger brother, seems to be on the path to trying to figure out what he wants to do in life and what his interests are. His clothes fit more into the resort wear intentionality of the trip, and there are some playful elements from time to time in his clothes that suggest he is not trying to follow the same path as his brother and his father. The Unisex crocodile-printed shirt by TomBolo that Loclyn wore for the full moon party received hundreds of pre-orders as the shirt will be launched over the summer.
Chelsea
Chelsea is perhaps the character with the most authentic style. Although her clothing is as luxurious and high-fashion as the clothes of her co-stars, some elements make her stand out as not just “one more” wealthy woman who is traveling in Thailand. Chelsea has a rich personality. She is deeply in love with Rick and says her joy complements his pain like the ying and the yang. She traveled with several books of spirituality and meditation that she threw at Saxon as she was trying to lead him into the path of connecting with his soul —should he have one. Chelsea also seems to be the most open-minded character of them all. She didn't judge Saxon and Loclyn for… what they did, and she applauded her friend Chloe’s during her openness to speak about her sexual life with Greg.
Greg talked to Chloe about a duality he experiences wanting to watch his significant other being intimate with another person that terrifies him but at the same time gives him pleasure. While Saxon expressed disturbance by the idea, Chelsea smiled and even pushed the oldest Ratliff sibling to help fulfill the fantasy of her partner’s friend.
This open-mindness and joyfulness are reflected in her choice of clothes. During the full moon cruise party, we see Chelsea wearing a spray-graphic painted oversized t-shirt with an alien. We also see Chelsea wearing clothes and pieces that are rich in textures, like a JW Anderson crochet bag, an Alexander McQueen sequin black dress or a My Beachy Side Metallic Cut Out Dress retailed for $400. The clothes are high fashion and luxurious, but there is an element of appreciation for craftsmanship, richness of textures, and almost artisanal feel that distinguishes Chelsea from the rest of the characters.
Chloe
Chloe is a youthful, beautiful woman who continuously expresses her unhappiness with her relationship. She speaks about the lack of communication with Greg and how little she knows about his past. She talks about how much she loves his money, but how she wishes to be with someone younger sometimes. So it is safe to say that Chloe wasn’t opposed to the idea of flirting with someone at the cruise Full Moon party when she got dressed and ready to hang out with the Ratliff brothers.
Chloe’s sense of fashion is very feminine, girl-next-door, and sexy. She has a very subtle and sophisticated way of wearing sexy resort wear.
Chloe wears a vintage Versace dress from 1993, designed during the tenure of the founder of the Italian empire Gianni Versace.
Victoria Ratliff
“I just don’t think at this age I’m meant to live an uncomfortable life.” Said Victoria Ratliff in a viral scene wearing a $350 Silk Kimono kaftan dress by Jim Thompson.
The piece is now out of stock and the visits for this e-commerce have skyrocketed since the scene aired. Victoria’s character embodies a wealthy conservative woman from the South that is hyper-focused on her only version of the world, and her only way of experiencing life. Luxury, wealth, and rich friends who wear nice clothes and went to private schools. The colors and prints that Victoria wears throughout the season are colorful yet classic and sophisticated. It doesn’t seem as though she is trying hard to impress anyone. The impression is that this has been her lifestyle for a very long time, and she is used to putting together a nice Chanel gown with a pair of Dior glasses and a Jim Thompson silk kimono dress to lay on the sun by the pool. Victoria represents Old Money wealth.
The series that we watch on the screen tend to offer us an escape from reality. At least for 50 minutes or so, we are living in someone else’s story, caring about someone else’s plot, trying to figure out who is in danger and who is responsible for causing this danger. But the elements of the real world woven into the script of the third season of the White Lotus brought this fiction a little closer to the non-fiction world.
One of the most relatable scenes that was discussed over social media was when Kate, Jaclyn and Laurie discussed politics over dinner. Kate mentions that she is registered as an Independent voter in Texas and when her friends asked her if she voted for the current commander-in-chief, Kate simply responded: ‘We are not going to talk about him, tonight’. Not all of his voters will show up wearing a red hat with his slogan, and this shock and juxtaposition of ideas is an accurate representation of what the country is facing.
There is also a narrative regarding pleasure and what people are willing to do to obtain it. Saxon Ritliff kept pushing his young brother to ‘be a man’ and to ‘take control’ so he could begin to live his sexual life freely and ‘become a man’. And then the Ritliff siblings committed incest.
Rick’s friend delivered a monologue in a bar about wanting to become an Asian woman in order to feel pleasure again. There is also the case of Greg wanting to see Chloe being intimate with someone else.
Max’s Succession was all about quiet luxury, but the White Lotus is about the opposite. It is about screaming wealth with appearances, labels and logos. It is about having it all financially but looking for alternative ways to find pleasure. It is about expressing this moment of their lives through fashion. Not necessarily who they are, but the appearances they want to keep and the messages they want to portray. That is what Political Fashion is all about.
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