How the “Pam & Tommy” Costume Designer Re-Created Pamela's “Baywatch” Suit

“There were so many iconic looks that I wanted to show,” Lennox says. “I felt we had a lot of ground to cover but not enough scenes to showcase the outfits we have in our memories of Pam in the ’90s. So I made sure we incorporated as much as we could even if it wasn’t exactly what she wore in that moment.” For example, the silver latex dress Pam wears to the “Barb Wire” premiere in episode seven is a replica of the dress Anderson actually wore to her post-wedding party in 1995.

Lennox began the process of narrowing down wardrobe options by compiling photos of Anderson from the late ’80s to late ’90s, broken down year by year to capture her style progression. She also created a “fantasy inspiration board” flooded with images of Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, Laura Dern’s character in “Wild at Heart,” and work from photographer Helmut Newton to inform her choices of colour, tone, and style. Since little is known about Anderson’s at-home style, Lennox had the creative freedom to imagine what the starlet wore behind closed doors and opted for flannel shirts, crop tops, and tracksuits.

Because Anderson is known for her “Baywatch” role, Lennox knew it was imperative to nail a swimsuit look-alike in “Pam & Tommy.” “We did a deep dive to figure this one out,” Lennox says. She and her team tracked down TYR Sport as the brand that designed the “Baywatch” cast’s original suits, and they made sure to match the exact shade of red while customising a copy for James. It cuts high up on the legs, features a “Baywatch Lifeguard” logo on one side, and accounts for the actor’s breast prosthetics.

Seeing as the swimwear was custom-made for the show, it’s not available to shop anywhere online. But Lennox suggests Norma Kamali’s Marissa swimsuit style as a close match.

Back in the ’90s, Anderson relied on a Los Angeles-based brand called Syren Latex to custom-make her latex dresses, which she apparently had in every colour of the rainbow. Lennox ordered six dresses from the brand according to James’s measurements, and Syren delivered them in just two weeks before filming began. After a round of alterations, every piece fit James like a second skin.

Lennox chose a sleek burgundy Syren dress, pictured above, for the episode two scene when Pamela and Tommy get engaged at a club in Mexico. “The visual of Pam rushing into the little church at sunrise in a shiny red latex dress was quite amusing to us all,” the costume designer says. She doesn’t actually say “I do” in this dress, though – she does soon after on the beach in a white bikini and baby-blue cover-up, just like the model did in real life.

To accurately mimic Anderson’s figure, James wore prosthetic breasts while filming, which made constructing the “Baywatch” swimsuit challenging for Lennox’s team. “It took numerous meetings with the makeup and prosthetics team to figure out how we were going to pull off using the specific cut of the swimsuit on the prosthetic chest plate and make it look flawless,” she recalls. “We also wanted to make sure the bathing suit laid on Lily’s body exactly how Pam wore her suit.” Double-stick tape wasn’t an option due to James’s spray tan and body makeup, so Lennox and her crew became “technical engineers” to get the job done.

“Bathing suits are always difficult as they like to move around, and this particular cut of bathing suit leaves little to hide any sort of rigging,” she says. “We really had to rely on the construction and fit of our garments . . . We had about four fittings to ensure the fit was right, and it took us keeping an eye on it the whole time and adjusting in between takes.” She adds, “It took a village.”

James also wears a prosthetic belly while portraying Anderson during her pregnancy, which required even more alterations. The black slitted Versace dress she wears to her Leno interview was a couture runway look that was adjusted to accommodate her belly attachments. The aforementioned silver latex dress underwent similar changes once Lennox chose to feature it in the “Barb Wire” premiere scene. “Pam was never seen wearing maternity clothes,” Lennox says. “She still dressed close to how she dressed normally.”

We couldn’t resist asking Lennox where she sourced some of the vintage finds her team didn’t customise from scratch. She graciously provided the details below:

• Episode two: The gold Vivienne Westwood dress Pam wears while meeting Tommy for the first time was sourced from the ABC Studios costume department.
• Episode two: The floral Vivienne Westwood dress Pam wears to dinner in Mexico (seen above) is from Replika Vintage.
• Episode three: The Azzedine Alaïa dress Pam wears while visiting her publicist was also sourced from the ABC Studios costume department.
• Episode five: The black Mark Wong Nark skirt and blouse she wears while visiting her publicist were sourced from The Kit Vintage.
• Episode seven: The black Versace couture gown Pam wears on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” was sourced from The Find Vintage.