Why the Funeral Episode of "The Handmaid's Tale" Has the Most Significant Costumes

The funeral of Commander Fred Waterford after his death at the end of season four is a state funeral and considered more formal than those we've seen in episodes past. Kavanagh reveals that there were over 500 background performers dressed head to toe in all various Gilead classifications, including commanders, wives, econopeople, Marthas, aunts, guardians, soldiers, and handmaids, and every detail was custom-made. "It took over 30 costumers on the shooting days to get everyone dressed to go to set and an additional team at the end of the day to retrieve all the costumes, do the laundry, and then prepare the costumes for the next day," she says.