The Chair Company costume designer reveals how HBO show embraces ‘practicality’ over ‘fashion’

Costume designer Nicky Smith explains how HBO’s The Chair Company uses thrifted, imperfect clothes to keep its surreal comedy grounded in real Midwestern life.

HBO’s new workplace comedy, The Chair Company, has been receiving rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. The costume designer of the show, Nicky Smith, has now explained how she designed the costumes for the show.

She told IndieWire she focused on practicality over polish - wrinkled shirts, stretched collars and faint stains all stayed in the mix. “If the clothes were wrinkled or had stains, we said, ‘let’s wash them', but not completely get the stains out. If the neck was pulled out because it was a really old shirt, we were like, ‘Ah, perfect,’” Smith said.

Robinson’s character, Ron Trosper, works in an Ohio customer service office that spirals into chaos. But Smith’s job was to ground the madness. “Tim and Zach and (director) Andrew DeYoung wanted the show to look as real as possible,” she told IndieWire.

Thrift stores, worn fabrics and Ohio realism

For Robinson’s wardrobe, she scoured bins of old ties and shoes that looked “a little sad” before the actors even touched them. “It’s good for the environment and sustainability,” she said, “but it also gives you clothes that have a life to them.”

Clothes that change as the story does

As the series drifts from everyday office drudgery into bizarre conspiracy, Smith subtly shifts the wardrobe. Ron’s evolution spills over to those around him. “As Tim is expanding and opening his eyes to the world, the world is opening up around him,” she said. Sweaters and dresses show up where button-downs once ruled.

Every background actor has a look that feels distinct but believable. “The idea is not to look beautiful but to look authentic,” Smith explained. For her, that authenticity connects directly to the show’s heart - flawed, human and funny in its imperfection.