Indian Designer Arjun Bhasin dresses Sarah Jessica Parker new HBO comedy “Divorce”

Arjun Bhasin is a costume designer from India known for his work on Hindi cinema and international films including Life of Pi — created the looks for the new HBO show DIVORCE, starring Sarah Jessica Parker.

“He’s a beautiful designer and costume designer,” Parker said. “Early on there was this desire on my part that I wanted to think about 70s cinema.” (That’s not in the bellbottoms and platform shoes sense, but lighting, color tone and the like. In a way, she said, the costumes make Divorce,set in Westchester County, New York, almost like a period piece.)

Back when Sarah Jessica Parker starred in Sex in the City, you may kinda sorta remember occasional conversations about what her character Carrie was wearing. (The show began almost TWENTY years ago so it’s okay if your memory is a little hazy.)

Although WHAT IS CARRIE WEARING became an entire cottage industry back in the early aughts, don’t look for fashion to be a dominate narrative when SPJ returns to HBO with Divorce in the fall. The actress, who appeared at the Television Critics Association gathering in Beverly Hills Saturday to talk about the show, said clothing is a part of the story but not in the way we were all obsessed with way back when.

I don’t think that we actually talked a lot about trying to make her different,” she told reporters at the 2016 Television Critics Association summer press tour. “I think this story is different. I was always interested in the story of marriage, that’s how this all started.”She added, “I think Frances was so much her own person from the moment I read the pilot. She was so distinct from not only Carrie but any other character I have ever played.”

Divorce, Thomas Haden Church, Sarah Jessica Parker

In Divorce, Parker plays a woman who tries to make a fresh start when she realizes she’s unhappy in her marriage. She’s a typical suburban working mother, and the only conscious thought to distinguish between Frances and Carrie was with Frances’ look. “The only time that we really were cognizant of distinction was when we started talking about the wardrobe,” she said.

That doesn’t mean Frances doesn’t have her own aesthetic—it’s just a more practical one.”Early on, there was this desire on my part, which I shared with my colleagues, that I really wanted to think about ’70s cinema. …So when we met with [costume designer Arjun Bhasin] and I talked about this idea, he was very keen to explore it,” Parker revealed.

“So actually pretty much everything Frances wears is used, whether it’s from Etsy, vintage, thrift shops along the Northeast corridor, it’s a very specific idea about somebody who has an aesthetic that will be revealed more over the season. …Fashion doesn’t dictate.”

“She has to dress. For the most part it’s required by law when you walk into your place of work to be dressed,” she joked. “Everything is utilitarian. I think you see it in everything, in [Thomas Haden Church‘s character], in our children’s clothing. The family is sort of isolated in a period without it being a period piece. It was important. We thought a lot about that.”

Divorce premieres on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 10 p.m., followed by the series premiere of Issa Rae’s comedy Insecure.