Zen

zenDirector: John Alexander
Production: BBC

What does an honest cop do when his bosses are on the side of the lawbreakers? Outwitting prosecutors, politicians, mobsters and run-of -the mill kidnappers and killers, Detective Aurelio Zen brings justice to modern-day Italy, whether the authorities want it or not. A trio of spellbinding cases based on the bestselling novels of the British crime writer Michael Dibdin. Rufus Sewell stars as Zen, a Roman police detective hailing from Venice, where “Zen” is local shortening of the name Zeno. Separated from his wife and living with his mother, he is too frazzled by his job to think about romance. That is, until he meets Tania Moretti (Caterina Murino), his chief’s new secretary. Three episodes. Vendetta, Cabal and Ratking.


Trailer

Notes and images

Zen was a really wonderful show to work on as it allowed me to give the costumes a timeless look rather than going with what we see on detective shows on television. We decided on giving the show a stylish edge. Most of the characters played either politicians or detectives, so the challenge was to make the suits distinct from each other using cut, fabric, shirt style and accessories such as watches, ties and cufflinks. Rufus Sewell carried off the suits incredibly well.. He made them look stylish yet very comfortable. Caterina Murino’s character played secretary to Zen’s boss Moscati. I used pencil skirts to make the look uniformish and the silky shirts to enhance her feminity.

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