Cynthia Ann Summers brings a deliberate ornithological vocabulary to HBO's "Lanterns," the network's newest superhero mystery series, treating costume design as a visual language that speaks before dialogue ever begins. Summers drew inspiration from two unlikely figures: Tippi Hedren, the actress traumatized by birds in Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 thriller, and Anthony Bourdain, the globe-trotting culinary provocateur known for his restless curiosity.
The costume strategy for "Lanterns" pivots away from the typical spandex-and-cape Marvel aesthetic. Instead, Summers constructs wardrobes that hint at flight, restraint, and the tension between control and chaos. The bird motif emerges not as literal feathers or wings, but through silhouette, color palette, and fabric movement. Characters dressed in structured, sharp-shouldered pieces echo the angular geometry of wings in repose. Jewel tones and metallics suggest plumage without descending into costume shop obviousness.
The Hedren reference carries particular weight. In "The Birds," Hedren's protagonist endures an onslaught of avian terror, her elegant 1960s wardrobe increasingly disheveled as nature turns violent. Summers applies this tension between polish and peril to "Lanterns." Her characters begin each episode in clothes that suggest elegance and intention, yet the fabric and cut hint at fragility. A seam might unravel. A hem might snag. The costumes anticipate transformation.
Bourdain's influence operates differently. The late chef and television host traveled perpetually, treating every destination as a text to decode through food, history, and human connection. His aesthetic blended high and low, mixing designer pieces with street-market finds. For "Lanterns," this translates into characters whose costumes reveal layers. A character might wear tailored trousers with vintage jewelry, or a structured blazer over a thrift-store band tee. These choices suggest people caught between worlds, comfortable in multiple registers, suspicious of easy categorization.
HBO's "Lanterns" exists in the crowded superhero marketplace dominated by Marvel Studios and competing streaming services. The network distinguishes itself through character-driven storytelling and production design that privileges atmosphere over spectacle. Summers' approach aligns with this sensibility. Rather than broadcasting a character's power through costume, she uses fabric and form to hint at interior conflict.
The bird's-eye view referenced in the title operates literally and metaphorically. Visually, the camera sometimes positions viewers above characters, watching their movements across space like raptors surveying terrain. Costume-wise, Summers positions viewers above as well, observing how characters move through the world in garments that reveal their assumptions about themselves and their place in the narrative hierarchy. A character convinced of their control might wear armor-like fabrics that prove surprisingly fragile.
This approach demands sophistication from audiences accustomed to superhero television that spells out character traits through visual branding. "Lanterns" asks viewers to read costumes as texts, to understand that how someone dresses speaks to what they believe about power, danger, and transformation. Summers' work honors both Hitchcock's precision and Bourdain's appetite for discovering meaning in surfaces.