Written and Edited By

Spencer Williams

School is back in session! Dive into the colorful world of Abbott Elementary as we unravel the secrets behind the costumes! In this exclusive interview, costume designer Susan Michalek takes us behind the scenes, sharing insights on crafting the back-to-school flair that brings the characters to life. From Quinta Brunson’s Janine Teagues to Sheryl Lee Ralph’s regal Barbara Howard, discover the meticulous process behind the Abbott Elementary costumes that add charm and authenticity to the beloved series. 

Spencer Williams: As a costume designer, you have worked on an impressive number of diverse shows, and now you find yourself working on a show based around an elementary school. So, what initially drew you to Abbott Elementary?

Susan Michalek: What appealed to me was showing more of a reality. It always gets happy because it’s a comedy, so everything edges towards happy fashion. I was happy to show something that’s true or more honest to what these people would wear—a more realistic version of humanity, especially with the kids, just the kids themselves.

Spencer Williams: Much like a real school, I assume working on Abbott Elementary is collaborative. How closely do you work with show creator Quinta Brunson and the writers to develop the costumes of the series?

Susan Michalek: It’s Quinta; she’s an amazing human. She’s really unique and incredibly smart.

Spencer Williams: I don’t know her personally, but I just know it to be true.

Susan Michalek: You can see it. Before I even interviewed with her, I saw a photo of her on Deadline, and I saw her eyes and thought, “Oh, she’s really smart.” You can just see it. I work really closely with her. We don’t have long meetings. We get a script and have two Zoom meetings. We have a concept meeting, and then a production meeting about four days later with all the department heads. But I chase her around and ask her questions constantly. Like, “What are you thinking here?” She just gives me a word, and then I get it. One or two words, and then I do a fitting and come back and show her a range of things. She’s really behind it all.

Spencer Williams: Wow, that’s impressive. She’s right there for it all. 

Susan Michalek: She’s in her early thirties and coming into this older comedy network format, updating it and modernizing it, bringing in new talent. She has to keep a watchful eye on what we’re doing to ensure the visual she wants is coming across.

Spencer Williams: That’s exciting and inspiring for others who want to get into this business. What research did you do to ensure that costumes accurately represent a contemporary public school setting, especially in Philadelphia?

Susan Michalek: My research began before my first interview. I found a lot of teacher-style blogs, real teachers who have fashion blogs with their teacher style or Instagram feeds. I tried hard to get as much of Philly as I could. I started with reality, which I always do, even though what I do is happy fashion. Happy fashion gets more enlivened by the input of the actors. Quinta wanted it to be clothing that the teachers could afford. I try to keep the price points low, but sometimes I can’t because I just need so much volume, and it’s just not available at that moment. But we try to do it at lower price points.

Spencer Williams: That makes complete sense. The costumes add to the authenticity of the characters and the realism. One thing I love about Abbott Elementary is that it feels so real. Part of that is seeing all the students, and many of them are in these scenes. What’s it like working with all the kids, and how does your team get them all dressed? I honestly can’t even imagine.

Susan Michalek: My great team works closely with the kids. There’s a long line of them getting handed the uniforms. They bring in their own sneakers, and we have a ton of sneakers and coats. They definitely have an influence on what coat or shoes they might want to wear. A lot of it is kind of messy, which is adorable. The clothes don’t necessarily fit them particularly well, which is cute and real. Initially, we spent a lot of time aging the uniforms to make sure they didn’t look new.

Spencer Williams: That makes a lot of sense. They’re not always getting new uniforms, even though I’m sure they’re trashing them with food and whatnot. I want to talk now about a few of our favorite characters. Let’s start with Janine, who has had quite the season. She’s now working with the school district, and we’ve seen a glow-up through the three seasons. Once she started working with the school district, there was a notable, “Oh, okay, someone maybe went shopping.” What was it like for Janine in season three?

Susan Michalek: Well, to start, her clothes fit her better! She showed me an image two weeks before I started of this mediocre women’s gray business suit. She wanted things to fit her. We did more fittings and tried to make the suits fit her as best as possible. We went with a lot of knits and things that fit her and tailored them. In the past, we didn’t tailor them. Sometimes, I would find the perfect large skirt, which she’s not large, and at the pleated long skirt from Macy’s, I would grab it, and we would just put it on with a belt or something like that. But in season three, the clothes fit her.

Spencer Williams: Good for Janine. She’s trying to put on her best fit for the district because she’s working to elevate her career. Of course, she ended up going back to Abbott Elementary, but it was a good time.

Susan Michalek: When she returns to Abbott, the clothes are not super tight but not baggy either.

Spencer Williams: She carries on some of the good habits. Another character we must discuss is the always-lovely Mrs. Barbara Howard, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph. I mean, she’s a shining example to the younger teachers. The way she carries herself and the way she dresses are inspiring. You can tell that she’s a professional. How would you describe Barbara’s style?

Susan Michalek: Sheryl, I wish I could think of the word. It’s very regal organically, you know? Her clothes are often from Macy’s, such as Calvin Klein with stretch. She often wears clogs and different varieties of heels, but that’s pretty much what she wears. It’s all about comfort and what a teacher would wear. I found this one person who was an educator, a college professor originally from Philly, and she was the original inspiration. Then, Sheryl plays a big influence. The pearls are totally Sheryl. She doesn’t wear a lanyard and wears her cell phone on her. Sheryl does whatever she wants.

Spencer Williams: There’s just a warmth about her. The color palettes are very warm, making her approachable but also someone you don’t want to mess with.

Susan Michalek: Sheryl’s lovely. Her energy is amazing. She always has a positive vibe and gives it out.

Spencer Williams: My favorite character has to be Ava Coleman, played by Janelle James, who’s the definition of being too cool for school. I assume you and your team have a lot of fun with this character because there aren’t many walls up with her. You can kind of do whatever you want, in a sense.

Susan Michalek: Yeah, Janelle looks great in clothes and sexy. We don’t want her to look sexy for the show, but she’s organically sexy, so we have to tone that down a bit. Initially, I was controlling things, which wasn’t working. Now, I can quickly figure out what looks good on her because we’re so far in. I bring in selections, and she picks from them. We don’t do fittings often because everyone hates them. What works for Janelle is to pick from a little mini closet each time, and it works. There’s a ton of accessories. I bring a lot in to make sure it’s always smooth.

Spencer Williams: That’s perfect. I feel like that’s what Ava Coleman would like, too. She’d want a closet or a couple of racks to pick from, so it checks out. Some of my favorite costume moments happen outside of Abbott’s doors. In season three, Janine throws a party, and you see everyone tap into their own styles. This was a fun episode. 

Susan Michalek: Well, for Janine, you see her cleavage, which is a big deal. She’s been wearing these turtlenecks and all of this modest clothing for years, and now she’s in something more expensive. The colors come together incrementally because all the actors must be comfortable and look good. We do fittings with various things, and then Quinta picks what she likes. It takes a while to fit everyone during the week. I look at what fits best altogether out of the options.

And Gregory—Tyler has tattoos on his arm, so every time he’s in a short-sleeved shirt, he has to go into makeup for an hour to cover them, which nobody loves. But he needed to be in a short-sleeved shirt for a scene because it made him vulnerable. Mr. Johnson’s bouncer costume was a top one for me. 

Spencer Williams: That’s such a good one. I was laughing every time I saw the bouncer costume. The Mother’s Day episode is full of great costumes. Starting with Barbara’s house where Gregory spends some time with Barbara, the lasagna… Barbara looks regal and divine and gives off a Mother’s Day energy. What was it like working on the Mother’s Day episode?

Susan Michalek: It was about floral and trying to make it different because that’s her base. We tried some dresses because Barbara’s never worn a dress, but they just didn’t work. In her real life, Sheryl is extravagant, and the dresses weren’t quite up to that caliber. After we had a fitting with floral dresses, we found the vest suit outfit to work perfectly. It looks professional but also like Barbara, and it was perfect for Mother’s Day. 

Spencer Williams: It’s such a good scene. In the same episode, the younger crew is celebrating Mother’s Day at drag brunch. There are a lot of great costumes in that scene. That must have been a fun scene to shoot.

Susan Michalek: It was a fun shoot. We had a little lead time on it, and initially, we didn’t know it would be Symone and Shea Couleé. Shea Couleé had her own jacket, a Thierry Mugler 1990s vintage jacket, which she had for a long time and hadn’t worn. It was perfect. She was very interested in collaborating because it was her character, which was fair. Symone was a bit more open to us shopping.

Spencer Williams: Susan, this has been such a joy. I love the show and hearing about the process behind bringing Abbott Elementary to life. It’s such a success. What has this series meant to you, looking back on what you’ve all created and will create in the future?

Susan Michalek: For me, having had this long career, to be working on this show now, especially when there’s not much work, I just can’t believe how lucky I am. It’s really sweet to be working on something I believe in, something that so many people appreciate and feel connected to, and it gives them some warmth.

Spencer Williams: It brings such joy. I hope it never ends, honestly. Costume designer Susan Michalek, thank you so much for talking with me.

Susan Michalek: That is very sweet of you. Thanks for interviewing me!

Abbott Elementary is Available on ABC Network and Streaming Now on Hulu