“It’s so cool to dress a dragon.”

“Hopefully fans will be happy because we’re trying to be as true to the original material as possible.”

The season finale of the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon airs on Sunday and is expected to be watched by millions of fantasy fanatics.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s novel “A Song of Ice and Fire,” the HBO series centers on fiery beasts, battles, and family feuds.

A huge production effort lay behind the realistic visuals and intricate plot, and the show’s costumes captivated audiences and critics alike.

Emmy award-winning designer Caroline McCall, from Portadown, County Armagh, has joined the show for its second series and played a huge role in bringing the fictional kingdom of Westeros to life. crucial role.

Just finished working at the BBC and HBO Fantasy drama “His Dark Materials”Caroline said she was “really excited to try gluing my tooth to another tooth.”

“I was excited about the size of it, but a little worried when I got the job… [House of the Dragon] As a costume designer, this is a huge show and the range of designs is amazing.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this effort.”

Caroline was hired to replace renowned designer Jany Temime – best known for her work on the Harry Potter films – who she said was responsible for the series. The film lays a solid foundation.

“The good thing for me is that I already have a really good wardrobe team on board,” she said.

“A lot of people on the team already know how the show works, so that’s very helpful.”

Born in County Armagh, Caroline found early inspiration at Belfast’s Grand Opera House, where theater productions sparked her interest in costume design at an early age.

After studying a foundation course at Ulster University, she began a three-year degree in costume at Wimbledon College of Art in London.

She subsequently trained with the BBC and worked her way up the industry ladder Won an Emmy Award in 2011 For her performance in the period drama “Downton Abbey.”

This summer she is celebrating 25 years in the film industry, during which time she has witnessed dramatic changes in her hometown.

Game of Thrones was filmed primarily in Northern Ireland and sparked a movie boom there.

“I’m jealous that there’s an industry now,” she said.

“I think it’s great that it’s so well-established. I have several team members from Northern Ireland who have been trained on Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon is set 200 years before Game of Thrones and follows the fate of House Targaryen, a noble family with the power to control dragons.

With hundreds of garments to oversee, where does a designer start?

“It’s huge,” Caroline said.

“Fans of the show, especially those who have read the books, have very strong ideas about how things should play out.

“Between our show and Game of Thrones, the politics and economics of these places have changed.

“Basically redefining Westeros and dressing people accordingly, it baffles me.”

In season two, the house split up, “so there was a natural reason to redesign a lot of the main characters,” explains Caroline.

Her research spans “thousands of years of history” and she draws inspiration from cultures such as the Roman and Byzantine Empires and the Maya.

“I took all of these references and divided them into aesthetics that fit each house,” she says.

“For example, the Targaryen style is a bit brutalist in style, more abstract in terms of decoration and embroidery, while the people of King’s Landing are more naturalistic.”

The garments are made by a team of up to 300 people and are meticulously dyed, printed and decorated, often taking months to complete.

The first season of House of the Dragon, like its predecessor, faced some criticism for its dark cinematography, which showrunner Ryan Condal acknowledged and addressed.

“We were very aware of the feedback going into season two,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Caroline pays great attention to photography when creating her costumes.

“We try to look at the colors on the camera and the colors in the environment they’re in before we shoot to make sure green reads green or blue reads blue,” she said.

“Some of the sets were really dark, and that’s as it should be, Dragonstone and Harrenhal didn’t have a lot of natural light coming in.”

House of the Dragon is one of the few American productions still being filmed. Hollywood writers and actors strike.

For nearly three months in 2023, industry writers and actors went on strike over controversies surrounding fair pay and the use of artificial intelligence in the industry.

But the cast of “House of the Dragon” didn’t take part because the show was shot primarily in Britain and the contract was overseen by the British Screen Actors Guild, not the Screen Actors Guild.

Show writer Ryan Condal previously told the BBC that it was a “fraught time” but that it was a “huge privilege” to keep the cast and crew working.

So what’s next for the designer and House of Dragons?

Having remained tight-lipped about details of series three, Caroline revealed she will be working on the show again, which she said will be her main focus for the next 14 months – despite a brief break during next year’s awards season, it is thought.

Can the show follow up its previous success at the Baftas, Golden Globes or Costume Designers Guild Awards? This is not something designers think about too much.

“You just have to do your best, and it all depends on what else comes out… There’s a lot of fantasy and science fiction coming out this year,” she said.

“We’ll see.”

The second season finale of House of the Dragon will be broadcast on Sky and Tag channels in the UK from August 5.