Stephen Curry jumped into Mr. Throwback feet first.
For his first big TV gig, the NBA star, 36, may have played himself, but he still played a character. That meant his wardrobe in the Peacock comedy had to feel like him. For costume designer Olivia Perdoch, she was happy to take on the challenge.
“I wanted to go into the fitting and have fun with him, because it’s his first time doing this sort of thing,” Perdoch tells PEOPLE exclusively. “We made what I think is such a fun show, and I actually had my fitting with him before even the director got to speak to him. We were the first people to get to him, so we were like, ‘Let’s get him excited and let’s have fun and get him experimenting.'”
For Perdoch, that meant introducing the Golden State Warriors star to clothes that he may not have picked for himself — but that he would feel comfortable and confident in.
“The goal was to keep it really fun and introduce him to some new brands, maybe some smaller brands that he might not know and keep him looking like himself, never looking like he’s wearing a costume.”
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David Moir/Peacock
In the end, she said she felt like everything looked “really cool and natural on him.”
A “set favorite” was the red jacket that Curry wears in episode five, made by a small menswear brand called Second Layer. Perdoch jokingly shares that everyone on the crew said they wanted to take that jacket home.
“Part of the philosophy for dressing Steph was to keep it sporty inspired, because that is his life, and this character is him,” she says. “I kept thinking, ‘What would he wear on a tunnel walk?’ And went with that throughout.'”
Perdoch did have a bit of a leg up with some of Curry’s wardrobe, though — his game gear was his own and some of his workout gear was his own, thanks to his contract with Under Armour. All of that was supplied by the brand, because “he’s their guy,” as the costume designer says.
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The rest came down to her, though, and she wanted to align it with what you’d find in his closet at home, and while she jokes it would have been easier if he’d rolled up with a suitcase of his own clothes, he was game for whatever she put on him.
“He loved it,” she says of his experience. “He’s so cool. He was so willing to try on anything, even though if was like, ‘I would never wear this or I haven’t worn this or would normally wear this.'”
In fact, Perdoch did her job so well, that Curry fell in love with some of the wardrobe — and very politely asked to keep a couple things, including a pair of Bode pajama pants. Perdoch says she couldn’t say no.
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David Moir/Peacock
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“He was the best on set, so I’m like, ‘Please take whatever you want.’ So he is just so normal and lovely,” she says with a laugh.
Mr. Throwback stars Curry alongside Adam Pally and Ego Nwodim. In the show, Curry reconciles with Danny (Pally), his basketball teammate from his middle school days who now works as a memorabilia salesman. Nwodim plays the CEO of Curry’s company, who was also friends with the two growing up as well.
Mr. Throwback premieres Thursday, Aug. 8 on Peacock.
