PRODUCTION SEX EDUCATION
A WHOLE NEW WORLD Although influenced by US popular culture, Moordale is a little world of its own. The creative departments started almost from scratch, designing sets, props and costumes that transcended time and place. “It’s got some of the US, but it’s still set in the UK,” states Tom. But Moordale’s pine forests, hills, rivers and more urban areas do make it difficult to map. “The valley could look like North Europe, the US or Canada,” says Harley. “Some of those vistas you see – you don’t feel like you’re in the UK.” According to Dias, that was largely the point. “We wanted it to be a show full of colour. Quite often, a lot of shows – UK shows – go so real, it’s completely uninspiring and almost too gritty.” She continues: “It wasn’t about being gritty, even though the subjects are heartfelt, important and deep. We wanted to deliver it in an upbeat way.” “Ultimately, one of the main elements of the show is talking,” says Harley. “It’s about communication and it’s about friendship.” To that end, Moordale exists in a ‘slightly more analogue world’ – one which combines record players and vintage cars with smartphones and modern medicine. “We were trying to hark back to a simpler time where there wasn’t as much tech and we could talk.” PRETTY IN PINK Sex Education ’s costumes also lend themselves to the show’s unplaceable era. “I thought the best way to do something [non-specific] would be to try and mix periods – with lots of elements
from different decades for different people,” Dias explains. Otis dons an eighties-esque tri- colour puffer, while resident rebel Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) combines Ally Sheedy’s pre-makeover Breakfast Club look with Sloane’s fringe jacket from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off . Jackson Marchetti (Kedar Williams-Stirling), Moordale’s star swimmer, wears a varsity jacket like that of Emilio Estevez’s Andrew Clark. Meanwhile, Jean’s wardrobe borrows from the twenties and thirties, Michael Groff’s (Alistair Petrie) from the sixties and seventies and Adam Groff’s (Connor Swindells) from the nineties. Series 3 introduces school uniforms, which are more in keeping with British culture. Despite them all being grey, each character’s outfit is purposefully personalised. “People in high school tend to individualise a little bit of the school uniform – and then get told off, of course,” laughs Dias. BACK TO SCHOOL The Series 3 finale sees Moordale shut down and sold to developers, with Maeve leaving for the US – introducing not one but two new schools in Series 4. This was partially due to parts of the real University of South Wales building being redeveloped. Either way, the production team faced fresh dilemmas. The show’s students split up, with most attending the Cavendish College. “The production designer came up with
the whole new look for the Cavendish College, which is based on a bit more modernism,” reveals Tom, “but with a nod towards queer culture and LGBTQ+ colours. It’s slightly brighter – but keeps the pastels and muted tones that we know from the usual Sex Education .” Maeve, an ocean apart, attends an Ivy League-inspired institution. “Visually, that’s kind of an expensive-looking, old school,” explains Tom, much like Harvard or Yale. “Cavendish is more of a modern, sixties and seventies kind of building, but with technology updated, which is very different to Moordale.” DON’T DREAM IT’S OVER Fans are already sad to see the show end. Its depictions of and discussions around teenage sex have helped audiences answer crucial questions and overcome their own issues. “I’ve heard on numerous occasions about different generations watching it,” Harley says. “Parents watching it and their kids watching it – not always together – but then having a lovely chat about it afterwards. It’s opened up conversations.” “When we were finishing, we didn’t know it was the last series, to be honest,” reveals Tom. “There was some talk about Series 5.” Although it’s officially over, Sex Education promises to go out with a bang. “I don’t know how it’s going to turn out. I can’t wait to see it.” Sex Education ’s fourth and final series is now streaming on Netflix
VIBE CHECK Tapping into a colourful, vintage aesthetic, Sex Education's costuming creates individuality for each character
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