Arya Stark is set for a significant costume change in Game of Thrones season 5, to correspond with her journey across the Narrow Sea.
Though emotional upheavals happen with an almost episodic regularity on HBO’s epic fantasy series, characters’ appearances change rather less frequently. But fans can look forward to seeing Arya Stark (played by the unflinching Maisie Williams) adopt a new and radically different look when Game of Thrones season 5 rolls around next Spring.
Arya’s new costume, designed by Michele Clapton, is perhaps most notable for allowing the wandering Stark to look like a girl.
“For so long she had to look like a boy,” Clapton says, referring to the disguise Arya adopted for protection in war-ravaged Westeros. The designer also notes that Arya’s perpetually hardscrabble circumstances kept her in her filthy rags, even while traveling with Sandor Clegane.
“It made no sense to change it,” Clapton says. “She was on the road.”
But Arya will be heading to the canal city of Braavos in Game of Thrones season 5, where any hiding she does will apparently be in plain sight.
Her new look can be seen in action in a shot from the set of Game of Thrones season 5 – and its clear to see that Maisie Williams is rocking it.
“I love Arya’s new look,” she says. “It’s very neutral, very plain, but clean! I have clean hair that actually moves.”
The change – which, like her ragged boys’ clothes, is a disguise for Arya – proved an effective facade in the real world as well.
“I came onto the set and nobody recognized me,” Williams says, adding that the costume change augments her new approach to Arya’s character. “It was like no acting required,” she adds. “This feels totally like a next chapter.”
Game of Thrones season 5 will air on HBO in Spring 2015.