High Seas (Alta Mar) is the fourth original Netflix Spain series, its first season premiered in over 190 countries.
Working with period costumes is always an enriching experience that allows us to immerse ourselves in that time and recreate our own history. The art department does in-depth research of the traditions and customs of the time period to reach utmost accuracy within historical context.
Set in 1946, the plot has hints of suspense in the style of Agatha Christie. In a grandiose ocean liner filled with passengers travelling from Europe to America, the murder of a woman whose name is not on the passenger boarding list and whom nobody remembers, takes place. We are in the austerity of the 1940’s. Women went out to work wearing clothes recycled from their battle bound husbands. Shirts and shoulder padded jackets are combined with baggy suit-pants cut in palazzo style. Garments are simplified while accessories take precedence. At the same time, we see the rise of the pin-up girl, and along with her, the welcoming of the two-piece swimsuit.
The garments have a strong military influence; the majority are composed of neutral toned, masculine, shoulder-padded two-piece suits. Given the necessity, they begin to combine in different ways to achieve various looks. The textiles and manufacturing are government controlled, therefore, in compliance with certain yardage regulations, skirts were shorter as well as the jackets. The suits consist of simple cuts without pleats, pockets, not even cuffed hems. The majority of garment manufacturing was focused on the military so fabric was scarce. Silk was used, almost entirely, on parachutes, therefore, stockings became inexistent and replaced by socks.
The norm was a prudent and discreet style of dressing, in accordance to a time where frivolity had no place as a consequence of World War II, which began in 1939.
The pencil skirt emerges along with the stiletto in 1940. The most popular shoes were (aside from the peep-toes) the jute wedges tied up with ribbons as well as the head dress and the handbag. Accessories were the easiest way to bring to life simple garments and belts became a must in order to enhance the waistline.
Love affairs, intrigue and lies…. on a ship which hides in each cabin a story and a dark secret. Only one thing is clear: on the high seas, the murderer cannot escape from the ship.