House of the Dragon: A Prequel Show
Game of Thrones concluded its run on May 19, 2019. As the show ended it seemed that every show wanted to be the next big Game of Thrones juggernaut that enjoyed the same prestige, popularity and critical acclaim that Game of Thrones once enjoyed.
HBO knew what it had with the original show and while the first attempt at a prequel didn’t pan out, a Targaryen centered show did. The first episode of House of the Dragon premiered on August 21st 2022. It is set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and was based on parts of Fire & Blood by George R. R. Martin.
The first season is about the lead up to a Targaryen civil war, “The Dance of the Dragon.” The reason for the war was over the issue of succession. The first ten episodes also span nearly twenty years and have many time skips.
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Who is Alicent Hightower?
Younger Alicent: Emily Carey
Older Alicent: Olivia Cooke
Alicent Hightower starts off as Lady Alicent, a young lady at court. Her father, Otto, is the Hand of the King. She is also the best friend of Princess Rhaenyra. The young ladies share a very close bond. Their relationship is forever stained when after Rhaenyra’s mother, Queen Aemma dies, Alicent marries the King and bears him children including sons.
Unlike Rhaenyra, Alicent plays within the confines of being a proper lady of the court. She performs her role within the strict roles of a lady in the patriarchy. She is more or less content to be a guiding hand behind men even if she does more of the work, possesses a keen political acumen and has sound counsel. She is also very loyal to her family.
Alicent and Her Costumes
Few characters in House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones use costumes to convey as much character development as Alicent does in season one. She may not have as many costume changes as Rhaenyra, but each of her costumes says something about her character and where she is in the narrative.
Most costumes and characters should work this way, but it’s made very clear with regard to Alicent. For example, no character in the franchise uses color to showcase character development as much as she does.
This page is a ranked list of seven of her best looks. They were ranked by aesthetics and memorability, though all of her costumes are lovely.
Costume Designer: Jany Temime
Jany Temime designed costumes for the show. She took a lot of inspiration from early Medieval European fashion, as well as Byzantine, Moroccan, and East Asian traditions.
This show’s season is spring so they are moving into a period of summer. This means that winter isn’t coming anymore and that bright colors are used more in this show than in Game of Thrones. Also, so much more jewelry is used with the costumes which is great to see.
This list will contain spoilers through Season One of House of the Dragon but not beyond. Thank you for reading even if you disagree with the picks I hope you enjoyed the costumes of House of the Dragon.
List is subject to change.
7. The Seven-Pointed Star Outfit
After the dramatic confrontation in episode seven Alicent becomes more devout to the faith of the seven as a way of redemption. Not only has The Red Keep taken on more of the faith’s iconography but so has Alicent as she dresses much more modestly and conservative than she did previously.
So we meet a much more austere Alicent at the start of episode eight which is set six years after episode seven. Her costume consists of a high necked and long sleeve gown made of quilted brocade. The neckline is made of a textured velvet yoke that comes down the bodice to a very sharp point. Going done the yoke are small gold round shank buttons. It’s edged with small gold beads. The cuffs are also made of this velvet with the same buttons.
The waistline is also edged with the gold beading. The skirt looks like it has an inverted pleat at the center front. At the center of the pleat is a row of the gold buttons going down it to the hem.
The jewelry worn with this costume is commanding. She wears a very large gold seven-pointed star for the faith of the seven. She also wears a livery chain which has single heavy gold attached to two circular gold brooches with a small green stone in the center. The brooches look like they were cast.
She also wears a gold chatelaine at her hip. She completes the look with gold earrings that look like sunburst with green stones. She wears this costume again in episode nine for Aegon’s very public coronation.
6. The Green Diamond Gown
There is a very big time-skip between episodes five and six, in which different actresses take over playing the roles of Alicent and Rhaenyra. When we first meet the older Queen she is wearing a darker muted green gown. The pattern is a diamond-like grid pattern, but the sheen of the silk makes it look like the scales of a green dragon.
The neckline is squared off, and with long angel sleeves. Much like her other costumes at this stage in the story, her skirt has an inverted pleat at the center-front which provides fullness. She wears this look throughout episode seven, which includes the scene where Alicent has an outburst resulting in her attacking and scarring Rhaenyra’s forearm.
While the gold jewelry and headpieces change, she wears the same double livery chain in each sequence. In episode six she wears a braid gold headpiece, and in episode seven a padded veil with beading and braided trim. This look was also the first image HBO released of the character.
5. The Tourney Gown
At the very beginning of the series, Alicent and Rhaenyra are best friends and Alicent is just a normal highborn lady. In her more carefree days she dresses in lighter flowing fabrics. She also dresses rather modestly and mostly nondescript, she doesn’t like calling much attention to herself at this point.
Alicent’s pretty and prim pale blue tourney gown contrasts with Rhaenyra’s bold red. The neckline is a wide v-neck that makes part of the criss-cross pattern of the bodice. The sleeves are in two layers with the under-layer long and with a tight fit, and the outer layer long and opened at the forearm.
The lining of the outer layer is a slightly darker blue with a textured weave. There are also little bow details at the elbows. Alicent wears this gown and a three-strand pearl necklace to Rhaenyra’s investiture ceremony at the end of episode one.
4. The Red-Patterned Gown
After Alicent marries King Viserys she dresses in the Targaryen house colors: red and black. Alicent’s costumes at this point favor shades of red more than black. Her marriage and son strained her relationship with Rhaenyra and this very much comes to the forefront when Rhaenyra’s virtue is questioned in episode four.
When Alicent confronts her about this she wears the colors of the royal house. The red is muted and dark with touches of black. The fabric has a very geometric stripe look, not seen in many costumes in the franchise.
The neckline is square, with a fabric element going over the shoulder almost like a collar, tapering as it goes down the bodice. It goes around the neck at the back like a collar. It’s the same type of fabric of the body of the dress but in a dark gold color—the same color used for the cuffs.
The sleeves are in two layers, with the outer being three-quarters, in angel shape with embroidery. The under-layer is a brighter red flounce. Other details on this gown are embroidery at the center neckline that looks like a dragon and dragon claps at the waistline.
Alicent wears this costume in episode five when she bids her father a tearful farewell and in the garden with Larys. She wears gold earrings with granule details and red stones and a gold necklace made up of large beads hung on a chain.
Shout out to her other red and black costume with the lighter sheer fabric. It was lovely.
3. The Green-Embroidered Gown
This costume is a bit of two-for-one look. When we first see it in episode six it is more casual and pretty as she spends some time with her children and venting her frustration over Rheanyra’s children. Later in the episode it becomes more grand with a single add-on.
The gown is slightly blue-green with a very subtle pattern, most likely a brocade. The neckline is a wide v-neck with floral embroidery and beading framing the neckline. The same embroidery pattern is on the sleeves and cuffs.
The sleeves are made up of two pieces. The upper part is made of the same brocade fabric as the gown, while the lower half is made from a green chiffon that is unsown at the seam and then attached to the cuffs. There are a few examples of this type of sleeve in the show.
The skirt has the inverted pleat at the center-front that we see on many of Alicent’s costumes. As a means to communicate her power and authority as Queen, she dons a matching cloak for the small council meeting which has the same embroidery pattern as the dress.
She wears different earrings and necklaces in the two scenes, though she wears the same thin gold belt. Both earrings have green stones with pearls. The pair she wears to the small council are larger but she balances it with a simpler gold pendant. In the other scene the necklace is circular with a larger green stone.
For the scene in which she wears a headpiece, it’s actually the gold-braided headpiece from her first scene in episode six.
2. The Blue Ladder Gown
At her father’s insistence, Alicent starts spending time with the King after the passing of the Queen. Alicent offers a sympathetic ear to Viserys as she has been in the same position of losing a loved one.
However, Otto also tells her to wear her mother’s old gowns. Her mother’s garments are quite different from Alicent’s own clothes that favor looser cuts and higher necklines. Her mother’s gowns are form-fitting and more revealing.
This deep blue gown is what she wears throughout episode two. The fabric is silk and it has a subtle texture. As mentioned this gown is presumably her mother’s gown as it is form fitting and revealing. The revealing aspect is the ladder cut-out up the long sleeves and at the neckline.
Another interesting detail are the seams on the bodice. They are sewn to reveal contrasting finishes of matte and sheen and are arranged in a diamond-like pattern on the front of the bodice. At her waist she wears a long gold belt.
She wears this costume again briefly in episode five when she learns the truth about Rhaenyra and Criston Cole’s tryst, which meant that Rhaenyra lied about her virtue to Alicent. Oddly, she is wearing the same jewelry in both episodes.
Her necklace is made from gold components that look like a fringe, while her gold earrings are made from two triangles, one inverted and both linked together. The triangles have granule details.
1. The Green Gown
After learning the truth about Rhaenyra’s lie from Ser Criston Cole, Alicent makes a bold declaration during the first of Rhaenyra’s pre-wedding feasts, all by wearing the color green. As Viserys starts making a speech, Alicent arrives late, interrupting the King in a classic power move. She’s also wearing green, the color that the Hightowers of Oldtown like to call their “banners to war.”
This is Alicent’s way of communicating her loyalty with her house and not the Targaryens and that she is done trying to please others. It’s her way of communicating her power as Queen. She is magnificent in this scene and it certainly doesn’t hurt that the dress has great movement, demonstrating a certain sexiness and command.
The gown is made from a silk brocade. The neckline is off-the-shoulder with a plunging slit down the center-front of the bodice. While there are four gold quarterfoil-shaped closures, the slit exposes her cleavage, but in a tasteful way.
The sleeves have a long outer layer with gold quatrefoil metal sewn at the elbows. The outer sleeves are lined with lighter green fabric that is most likely also silk. The under sleeves match the gown and have gold embroidery. For jewelry she wears green teardrop earrings with large gold circular disc shapes linked together with green stones set in the center.
There has never been such a costume-based character moment in the franchise as Alicent walking into the feast decked out in green. This also marks the shift in her wardrobe to being solely made up of green garments.
Honorable Mention: Alicent’s Wedding Gown
This is a bit of a cheat since this costume was deleted from the show. But, Alicent’s wedding gown is just gorgeous.
The dark red sleeve lining and the delicate Targaryen sigil pattern on the white brocade fabric is just so simple and so lovely.
Then there’s the beautiful shell-like dragon embellishment with a wire crown with pearls and red stones. It’s such a shame this costume was cut.
