A 1970s spy thriller shouldn't look gray—and Anastasia Magoutas explains how color, character, and costume rewrite the Cold War.

Costume designer Anastasia Magoutas joins Voice of Costume to discuss designing PONIES for Peacock, starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson, and how she built a vibrant, stylish, emotionally grounded 1970s spy world. Raised in Queens by Greek immigrant parents, Anastasia shares how curiosity, theater, art school, NYU, and hands-on collaboration shaped her path from acting and directing into costume design.

She breaks down the creative philosophy behind the show: rejecting the flat "gray Soviet filter" often used in Cold War stories and instead creating a world full of color, humor, danger, aspiration, and real people living complicated lives. Anastasia dives into sourcing vintage 1970s fashion, using LA and European costume houses, building hero coats, duplicating key garments for stunts, and finding the difference between American casual cool and European vintage elegance.

The episode also explores the contrast between Bea and Twyla—one precise, polished, and controlled; the other rebellious, chaotic, and "the right kind of wrong." Anastasia shares how trust, long-term creative relationships, fear, perfectionism, and community helped her deliver a costume world that feels cinematic, character-driven, and unforgettable.

The "Voice of Costume" is the first podcast created between working costume designers sharing stories, inspiration, struggles, and insights into the creative career of costume design. A behind-the-scenes podcast to showcase the voices of Costume Designers around the world. Listen in on this inspirational, one-on-one conversation with Catherine Baumgardner.

Audio available wherever you get podcasts.

https://voiceofcostume.com/