Some may think that the new HBOmax Game of Thrones prequel “House Of Dragon,” is just about an incestuous white-haired royal family, a horny teen princess lusting over her uncle and dragons. But anyone who has watched “House of Dragon” can tell you that the show has so much more to offer one thing being the beautiful costumes. The costume designer for the show is Jany Temime who has also worked on great projects such as Harry Potter and was once the fashion editor at Elle Magazine. Temime has created costumes that are not only beautiful but communicate important parts of the plot of House of Dragon through color.
White signifies a sense of purity, cleanliness, and virginity in western cultures and does the same in Westeros, the continent in which the game of thrones world exists. Now though Westeros is misogynistic in many I will not be talking about white and virginity in relation to women. In Westeros white is significant to men, one particular kind and that is the men that serve in the Kingsguard. The Kingsguard is a brotherhood of seven knights who are sworn in to protect the royal family from all harm. Their job is to be the holiest and most loyal men to the royal family and kingdom. These men pledge their lives and are forbidden from owning land, taking wives, and having children. The Kingsguard rightfully wears white cloaks, the cleanest and purest color, which are accompanied by silver armor. These men are sworn to not take wives in so keeping intact their virginity. In House of Dragon though the most popular Kingsguard Sir. Criston Cole’s white cloak has been said to be bleeding red, alluding to his night spent with the princess.
Rhaenyra Targaryen is basically the main character of House of Dragon though all of the characters get a good amount of screen time. Rhaenyra is the princess and later on the queen of the Targaryen dynasty. Her family are the Targaryens, known for being fierce and brave dragon riders as well as the rulers of the land. The Targaryens are always dressed in reds, black, and gold and Rhaenyra wears a combination of all three on her coronation day. Gold represents wealth which the princess has as being part of the royal family and black which represents power. Red represents strength and resilience which happens to be the color princess wore the most when she was a young princess. At the beginning of the show, Rhaenyra’s mother and brother die and she takes on the role of becoming the heir to the throne which is not accepted by many men in the realm. She remains wearing red for a while to show her strength in her claim to the throne. Not only does Rhaenyra wear red but Alicent does as well. In earlier episodes, Alicent is seen wearing red dresses to show her allegiance to the Targaryen family when she marries the king but things change on the night of Rhaenyra’s wedding.
Prior to Rhaenyra’s wedding night people were questioning her virtue. Rumors were floating around that she had slept with her uncle. Alicent talked to Rhaenyra about it, and she told her that they were all fable. Alicent believed her until her father warned her not to trust Rhaenyra, so she questioned Sir. Cole Rhaenyra’s personal protector and in doing so found out that he has sullied himself and the princess. When Alicent found this out she was highly upset not only did Rhaenyra lie to her, but this lie also got her father fired from his position as the king’s hand. So, when it was time for Rhaenyra’s wedding feast Alicent was late. In the middle of the King's speech, everyone’s heads began to turn, and in walked Alicent in a GREEN DRESS. Now you may be thinking why is there so much focus on the dress? Well first off Alicent has a son named Aegon who some say has the rightful claim (him being a boy) to the throne. Alicent previously had supported the princess in her claim to the throne but after lying to her Alicent changed her mind. Alicent is a part of the Hightower family, known for their high towers, seaside fortresses and lighthouses. When the Hightower house calls their soldiers and people to war it changes the flame on top of Hightower to green. Alicent was making a political statement with her dress and made sure she had everyone’s attention when she walked in late. Alicent Hightower was calling her people to war.
Written by: Kiyoko Spencer