‘Only Murders in the Building’: Cara Delevingne Wore a Nipple Clamp as a Necklace While Playing Alice

Only Murders in the Building features some iconic costume pieces throughout the series. Mabel’s show-stopping coats and Oliver’s silk scarves were enough to turn heads, but season 2 added another stylish character. Cara Delevingne plays Alice, an intriguing artist and Mabel’s new love interest. Delevingne wore some of her own pieces while filming the Hulu series, including a nipple clamp that doubles as a necklace.

‘Only Murders in the Building’ features stunning costumes

When Mabel first appears in Only Murders in the Building, she wears an iconic yellow sweater and beanie with plaid pants. Costume designer Dana Covarrubias put a lot of thought into choosing a signature color for Mabel. She thought of a flower to symbolize Selena Gomez’s character. “The marigold really made sense for Mabel because it represents grief and loss but also resurrection,” Covarrubias told Shondaland.

“The marigold also represents creativity and artists because that’s who she is at heart: She’s an artist, she’s a painter, she’s a knitter, she’s a crafter.” The costume designer researched “what the cool kids in New York were wearing at the time” for the rest of Mabel’s first scene outfit.

The color palettes for each character have shifted slightly going into season 2. “In season one, we were very specific about which color belonged to each character — Mabel was marigold, Charles was blue, Oliver was purples and teals. In season two, we have them all wearing each other’s colors, showing that they’re becoming this one cohesive unit,” Covarrubias added.

Cara Delevingne contributed to her character’s wardrobe

Only Murders in the Building Season 2 introduced Cara Delevingne’s character Alice. In an interview with W Magazine, Covarrubias explained Alice’s look. She wanted it to “not feel like anyone else we’ve seen in the show.” 

As an artist, Alice wears a lot of what Covarrubias calls “work clothes” — comfortable and casual pieces. During more formal occasions, Alice still has her own unique style. “Even when she needs to elevate her style to impress people, she still embodies this chic, masculine, hip, artist girl,” Covarrubias said.

For her part, Delevingne was excited to contribute to creating her character’s unique style. “I remember on the first day, I literally brought in loads of my own clothes, and they were like, ‘Okay…’ I was just like, ‘This would be so cool,'” the actor told Entertainment Weekly.

She continued, “I think they were very touched that I cared so much. That necklace that I’m wearing when she comes to the gallery for the first time was my own necklace — but it’s actually a nipple clamp, which is quite funny, and I don’t know if any of them realized.”

Can Mabel forgive Alice in ‘Only Murders in the Building’?

In the latest episode of Only Murders in the Building, Alice deeply betrayed Mabel with an artistic recreation of the night of Bunny Folger’s murder. While Delevingne realizes this will be hard to come back from, she seems to think there’s a chance for reconciliation.

“Mabel’s such an incredible character, and she’s very forgiving, and she can kind of see certain things or the reason why people do things. And I do think that Alice isn’t a bad person,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly. We certainly haven’t seen the last of Alice in season 2 of Only Murders in the Building.

New episodes of Only Murders in the Building drop Tuesdays on Hulu.