Walking Dead costume designer Eulyn Hufkie will return for spinoff

Eulyn Colette Hufkie, born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, began her career in The Walking Dead series during season 1 as a costumer and, during season 2, was promoted to Costume Designer. She is responsible for many iconic character looks, including Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Michonne (Dania Gurira). Hufkie will return to TWDU as the Rick and Michonne spinoff’s costume designer.

In an interview with The Art of Costume in 2020, Hufkie details key costume designs and how they changed the arc of certain characters. Her process is quite fascinating, and all of the symbolism used for the costumes that fans may never know about is amazing.

She talked bout the challenges each season brought. The locations change from the farm to Alexandira and then Negan. She always said she would quit working on The Walking Dead after creating Negan’s costume, which is precisely what she did.

The Walking Dead – Eulyn Hufkie

She would go on to explain the evolution of some of the characters and explained that in season 2, she hand-dyed the clothing the characters wore to give insight into their emotional states at that time. The pastels she used represented a watercolor palette that depicted the calm life on the farm, which was surrounded by the zombie apocalypse just outside the fence line.

Hufkie is also the designer for Daryl Dixon’s (Norman Reedus) Angel Wings vest, an iconic piece of clothing. She used the leather vest to keep him safer on his bike, but the mental image of angel winds softens the character.

His vest, originally his brother Merle’s (Michael Rooker), was used, and she added the wings, which Hufkie presented to original showrunner Frank Darabont who thought it was “F*cking genius.” (which she states was a career highlight) Hufkie says this symbolizes that Merle and Daryl were cut from the same cloth.

Another fascinating story revolves around Sophia’s (Madison Lintz) bright-colored shirt. Darabont wanted her clothed in bright colors so that viewers would immediately recognize her when she emerged from the barn. Hufkie wasn’t so sure but headed to Target, found the shirt, and bought them all. In the end, she was glad she trusted Darabont’s vision.

Be sure to read the entire article at The Art of Costume, as it is a fascinating look inside the making of the fantastic costumes by Eulyn Hufkie from seasons 1-6 of The Walking Dead. 

After The Walking Dead’s final episode aired, Hufkie shared, via Instagram, that she would be rejoining TWDU as Costume Designer for the highly anticipated spin-off starring Rick and Michonne. She also revealed that she returned for the last episode to design Michonne’s new look.

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