‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’: Raq’s Wardrobe Is Designed Like a Superhero Villain

Power Book III: Raising Kanan showcases the teen years of Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis). However, the series also centers on his mother, Raquel “Raq” Thomas’ (Patina Miller). Raq is the stylish queenpin of a drug empire that she runs with her brothers Marvin (London Brown) and Lou Lou (Malcolm Mays).

Raq has always looked as stunning as she has composed. In fact, her wardrobe was designed to look like a superhero villain.

Raq isn’t afraid of anything in ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’

One thing that has made Raq so successful in her business is that she shows no signs of vulnerability. Though it seemingly cost her a relationship with Kanan, her ex-boyfriend, Symphony (Toby Sandeman), and her brother. Lou (Malcolm Mays), it’s allowed her to stay on top of her game for as long as she has.

Though Raq may seem ruthless, Miller has always worked diligently to showcase her character’s varied facets.

“I try to shy away from playing her as a ruthless queenpin,” she told Shondaland. “She is a businesswoman, a CEO. For a Black woman in the 1990s, which is the time the show is set in, she has made this world for herself. She has decided to do something for herself. She’s great with numbers. If she lived in a different time, she would probably be the CEO of a company. She is building her empire, unafraid of going out toe-to-toe to people. She is heard and loud.”

Raq’s wardrobe is designed like a superhero villain

Raq’s presence is one thing, but her wardrobe is another reason why she stands out and reigns premiere on the series. Veteran costume designer Tsigie White is responsible for the fashions on the shows.

“She’s like a superhero villain, and she is badass and unapologetically Raq. Patina Miller owns the character so well,” White told Insider. “And what I hope is that confidence, style, and strength are translated through her costumes. She is that bad that she can wear the six-inch heels and the lace cut-out catsuits and command her crew,” she added. 

Still as legendary as Raq has looked for the past two seasons, she hasn’t been able to outrun her poor decisions. In fact, in Season 3, she will face the consequences of her actions.

Raq will face a reckoning in ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’

Raq’s ambition has gotten the best of her. She put herself at odds with the Newark mob, getting her business destroyed and many of her men taken out. She’s lost her connection, failed to expand across the East Coast, alienated Lou, who was poised to take over for her and become estranged from her son.

Now, when Raising Kanan returns for Season 3, Raq will face major fallout.

“For her in Season 3, it’s a real sort of reconciliation of all these things,” Raising Kanan creator and showrunner Sascha Penn told Variety. “To a certain extent, she was coming to terms with her own fallibility, and the mistakes she’s made and the choices she’s made — and really trying to figure out what that all means.”