Welcome back to Look of the Week, celebrating the best in TV and film sartorial excellence, past and present, across sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and other genre classics!
A cabaret dancer, a socialite, and a con woman. These are just three on-screen examples of women looking incredible in tuxedos and pantsuits. Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, and Cate Blanchett put a feminine spin on menswear spanning decades. The suit has also long been a staple of the red carpet for women, including Jane Fonda when she won an Oscar in 1972, Julia Roberts going oversized in 1990 at the Golden Globes, and more recently Evan Rachel Wood at every fancy event she has attended.

Prior to this event, Alana’s signature style was dominated by patterned Diane von Furstenberg wrap dresses. She was warm, idealistic, and nurturing. There was a brief kiss with Will (Hugh Dancy) and a full-blown relationship with Hannibal. She got stuck in the girlfriend role. Alana was the one who had the wool pulled over her eyes. She doubted Will. And then she got pushed out of a window.

To get to Hannibal she had to start to operate like him, and manipulation is part of this. Boundaries are blurred. The pantsuits are part of this change, as her edges have hardened. She has been poisoned by Hannibal; there is no returning to the way things were. In “Digestivo” — which aired three years ago this week — Alana Bloom comes face to face with Hannibal for the first time since she made the decision to be brave in his hallway. She must make a compromise with the devil to save Will. This is after Will has told her: “You have to evolve, Alana. You have to spill blood. By your own hand or someone else’s.” The blood that is spilled is Mason Verger’s (Joe Anderson) in order to save Alana's girlfriend and soon-to-be wife, Margot Verger (Katharine Isabelle). One aspect that Hannibal hasn’t completely destroyed is Alana’s capacity to love.

Suits are new to Alana’s closet; red is not, as it has always been part of her costuming palate. But it seems even stronger in the final season — a coat, a blouse, the color of her lipstick. In a show with this much blood, it is notable that both Alana and Freddie Lounds (Lara Jean Chorostecki) are often clad in tones of crimson. It doesn’t just symbolize death. These women can’t be beaten so easily.
In the following episode, “... And the Woman Clothed With Sun,” a black and white blazer paired with white pants and a white vest gives off the air of a ringmaster or referee; at this moment, Alana is in control. This isn’t just any ordinary game they are playing. That particular blazer is also one of the more overt visual links to an item in Hannibal’s Italian closet. He is now in a drab jumpsuit, and Alana taunts him with tailoring.

Credit: NBC
Hannibal’s escape in the series finale does pose a fundamental threat to her family. The last we see of Alana, she is making her way to a helicopter with her wife and son, leaving before Hannibal follows through on his promise.

If Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal were ever to make a return — here’s hoping — with a spin on Silence of the Lambs, Alana Bloom and her suits should come along for the journey. It isn’t safe for her to be back in Hannibal’s orbit, but if Clarice Starling needs an experienced mentor I can think of an impeccably dressed candidate — one who isn’t going to eat the dinner guests.