Hedvika Petrželková
18. November 2025
The American series The Wheel of Time, produced by Amazon/Sony, whose three seasons were filmed in the Czech Republic between 2019 and 2023, stands out for its original fantasy costumes designed by Sharon Gilham. More than 80 of them are on display at the Fashion & Fantasy exhibition, which runs from November 14 to December 5 at the Mánes Gallery in Prague.
„We believe that the amazing costumes from Wheel of Time, which were entirely manufactured in the Czech Republic, need an exhibition to showcase these couture costumes to a wider audience, “says producer Holger Reibiger, who worked on the second and third seasons.
The costumes were created in workshops in Czechia with the participation of Czech professionals. „80% of the costume department were Czech people. From cutters and tailors to coordinators, to leather and metal workers, textiles artists and dressers. It was an absolute pleasure to be surrounded by so much talent. Our workroom was a version of Andy Warhol’s ‘Factory’ from the 1970s. We all had a common goal and enjoyed collaborating together, “says costume designer Sharon Gilham.
The Wheel of Time series stars Rosamund Pike, Sophie Okonedo, Daniel Henney, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Alvaro Morte, Priyanka Bose, Meera Syal, and others.
The show displays a large number of fantasy costumes, many on a couture level, showcasing a wide range of textile techniques, leather work, innovative cutting techniques, 3D printing, laser cutting, embroidery and appliqué along with dramatic accessories and state of the art jewellery.
Visitors will gain insight into each stage of the design and making process, including sketches, prototypes, interviews with the design team and crafts people.
© Amazon/Sony
Interview with costume designer Sharon Gilham:
You worked on the second and third seasons, which is a long time. How long did you spend working on this series in total?
Seasons 2 and 3 lasted from January 2021 to March 2024 including prep and shoot, with a 6-month gap between seasons 2 and 3.
You took over from costume designer Isis Mussenden, who worked on the first series. What was it like to follow in someone else's footsteps?
Isis was very generous and had already set up a rich world to follow on from. She shared all the information she had about the cast, the storyline and the cultures she had already created. Season 2 introduced many new cultures and characters, so it was really like starting on a new job.
What did you base your costume designs on, apart from the book? Did you have any other inspiration?
The scope of The Wheel of Time is enormous. It involves a huge number of characters and fantasy cultures. The first thing I did was to collect fabrics, accessories, trims etc from the cultures described so I could use them as a starting point. From a historical point of view, the way the story is written means you can be inspired by different periods of time and use different historical shapes and silhouettes in the costume design.
I was also inspired by the world of fashion where the world of fantasy is often used in a dramatic and playful way. So it was a wonderful, rich palette to work from.
What was the biggest challenge for you when working on the series?
I was very aware of what a huge fanbase the books had and I wanted to do the books justice. It was also a challenge to create a world with so many different cultures and groups of people, as well as individual characters. It was important to create distinct looks for them, so the audience didn’t get confused. I did this by making sure that each group had a colour palette (for example, the Seanchan had the palette of rusted metal, Cairhien was all in blue and white) which made it easier to choose fabrics, design the characters and for the audience to easily understand who is who.
The production was based in Prague and Morocco. For the purposes of this article, we are mainly interested in Prague. What was done and produced there? Did you also shop in Prague?
80% of the costume department were Czech people. From cutters and tailors to coordinators, to leather and metal workers, textiles artists and dressers. It was an absolute pleasure to be surrounded by so much talent. Our workroom was a version of Andy Warhol’s ‘Factory’ from the 1970s. We all had a common goal and enjoyed collaborating together. We also shopped for fabrics, leather, trims and accessories in Prague. The staff at Evi Latky and Aped were so helpful.
How did you find working with Czech professionals? How many people were on your team and how many were Czech? Who did you work with the most, who were your closest colleagues?
I tried to foster a feeling of collaboration with everyone across all of the costume departments, from cutters and tailors, the leather and metal teams as well as the textiles and breakdown departments and the incredibly talented crowd dressers who also contributed so much to bringing the show to life. By Season 3 we had 170 people in our department.
I would like to say that I worked with everyone equally, although I probably spent most of the time with the cutters and tailors as that was generally the starting point for all the costumes.
Can you give us some names of your Czech colleagues?
Martina Habrová (cutter), Míla Pavulsová (cutter), Milan Horna (metal worker), Pavel Hladík (leather worker), Tomáš Sýkora (tailor) and many many others…
In your opinion, are Czech workers world-class?
Yes. No hesitation. Yes 100%!
How did you find working and living in Prague overall? How long were you here?
I loved it. Prague is such a beautiful city with such an incredible history and so many stories to tell. I was in Prague for about 4 years. I even used one of the David Černý statues as inspiration for one of the costumes. Can you tell which one?
Yes, Eamon Valda and his armor!
Exactly.
Did you travel around the Czech Republic, visiting locations?
I went to some of the locations in Bohemian Switzerland, but my favourite places were Cesky Krumlov, Kutna Hora and all the walks I did in my time off around Jinonice.
An exhibition of your costumes for the series is currently being prepared in Prague. Are you excited about this project, and how did it come about?
I am so excited to share the beautiful costumes we created with our incredible Czech team in the hometown of Prague where the costumes were made.
It is so important to me not just to share the costumes themselves but also to showcase the work that was done by so many talented people here. The beauty and detail of costumes is not always given the credit it deserves, but I hope that everyone who comes will appreciate how much talent there is in this beautiful country.
This exhibition is for lovers of film and fashion but also for anyone who would like to look behind the scenes of a big Hollywood-style production and feel that sense of excitement that is unique to cinema. Step inside and enter a world of magic and wonder. You won’t be disappointed.
