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These new and upcoming TV shows are worth watching for their sartorial gold

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With “Game of Thrones” off on an extended epic journey and “Downton Abbey” and “The Good Wife” slapped with finales, it would seem the fashion-forward viewing opportunities on TV may be dwindling. But savvy costume designers are well aware that they can be just as integral to the marketing success of a series as its bankable star.

Salvador Perez, costume designer for Hulu’s “The Mindy Project” and president of the Costume Designers Guild, says: “Costume designers on television really have to have their A-game” now because period and fantasy dramas, in particular, have made it so that “the American public’s expectations are really high.”

That isn’t to say that shows set in the modern world can’t create coveted costume choices.

“It’s easiest to look at the period and the fantasy, because it’s such a feast for the eyes, but … the really good modern is just as fabulous,” said Cate Adair, former “Desperate Housewives” costume designer and vice president of the Costume Designers Guild, who is working on AMC’s upcoming “The Son.”

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Here are some of the new and upcoming series likely to inspire many a Pinterest board and, with a little luck, a runway collection.

‘Conviction’ (ABC)

Can this new drama about a fabulously dressed firecracker of an attorney help ease the pain of “The Good Wife’s” passing and keep us satiated until “Scandal” returns from hiatus? Star Hayley Atwell suggests it might — at least in the wardrobe department. About her character, she told journalists at the Television Critics Assn. summer tour, “I really feel that she just only wears Valentino, only Dolce & Gabbana,” and “if she was going to wear a suit, make it like an Alexander McQueen … something that just, if you looked close enough, there was a skull print on the shoe.” The new series, with costume designs by Carol Beadle, premieres Oct. 3.

‘The Crown’ (Netflix)

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Although Queen Elizabeth II is mostly known today as the lady with a wide-brim hat to shade a dour expression, the first season of this biography on the long-reigning queen reminds us that there was once a time when she was still figuring out the literal and figurative weight of her crown and all the jewels and gowns that come with it. “Game of Thrones” costume designer Michele Clapton – herself certainly no stranger to designing crowns – oversaw the costumes for the series, which stars Claire Foy and premieres Nov. 4.

And for those who prefer a tale of modern (fashion) royalty, Netflix will also stream “#Girlboss” in 2017. Based on Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso, it stars “Under the Dome’s” Britt Robertson with “True Blood’s” Audrey Fisher designing the costumes.

“When it’s a show about fashion, there really are no rules,” said Perez. “A show like ‘#Girlboss’ is going to be so much fun, because it’s about the fashion industry.”

‘The Last Tycoon’ and ‘Good Girls Revolt’ (Amazon)

As if “Mad Men” costume designer Janie Bryant styling an adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel didn’t offer enough fashion porn, it’s worth noting that star Matt Bomer and his cheekbones wear vintage suits well. The show’s pilot is currently available on Amazon.com.

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While we await more news on the series, Amazon offers another period drama, “Good Girls Revolt.” Set at a magazine office in the late 1960s, Laura Jean Shannon’s costumes and Candace Neal’s hairstyles reflect the push-pull of an era where not everyone was waiting to enter the Age of Aquarius. It premieres Oct. 28.

‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ (Fox)

William Ivey Long, the Tony-winning costume designer who made everyone pause their live-tweeting of “Grease: Live!” to gasp at Keke Palmer’s sleight-of-hand costume change from slumber party casual to a sparkling USO singer, also created the looks for this musical re-staging. It premieres Oct. 20: Just enough time before Halloween to make fans rush out to find a replica of the skull choker and fishnet stockings Laverne Cox wears as the questionably motivated Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

‘Versailles’ (Ovation)

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Fans of Starz’s “Outlander” captivated by Season 2’s entrée into 18th century Parisian aristocracy can go a bit further back in time with this 10-episode story of a 28-year-old Louis XIV (George Blagden of History’s “Vikings”), who is just beginning to understand his power. The drama, which premieres Oct. 1, has costumes by “Yves Saint Laurent’s” Madeline Fontaine.

‘Westworld’ (HBO)

Intrigue is high for every part of “Westworld,” HBO’s adaptation of novelist Michael Crichton’s 1973 film about an amusement park with an interesting premise. This version, which stars Anthony Hopkins as the creative mind behind this play land, premieres Oct. 2. Frequent David Fincher collaborator Trish Summerville designed the pilot’s costumes, while costume designer Ane Crabtree – who is also doing Hulu’s upcoming “The Handmaid’s Tale” – oversaw looks for the series.

“The original film was a very clever springboard for [the series],” said Adair. “I know that it was extraordinarilyy difficult to do that series, but I have to tell you that they all are [difficult] now … I’m sure that ‘Westworld’ will be outlandish and crude and sexual and gritty and all those things that HBO does brilliantly.”

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This fall also marks Sarah Jessica Parker’s return to HBO with “Divorce.” The new comedy premieres Oct. 9 and has costumes by Arjun Bhasin. But don’t expect it to be all trend-setting pieces like the tulle skirts and flower pins that Parker was known for wearing on “Sex and the City.”

“I really wanted to think about ’70s cinema,” especially in regards to production and costume design, Parker told journalists at the TCA summer tour. “Pretty much everything [my character] Frances wears is used — whether it’s from Etsy Vintage or thrift shops along the Northeast Corridor.”

image@latimes.com

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