Isla Gordon is a woman who means business in Running Point. From the second we meet Kate Hudson’s character in the new comedy series from Mindy Kaling, Ike Barinholtz, and David Stassen, she is rocking a perfectly tailored suit with the confidence of someone who knows who’s boss — and there’s no doubt it’s her.

When Isla assumes her role as president of the fictional basketball team the Los Angeles Waves, she must quickly learn how to assert her authority in a high-pressure workplace that underestimates her.

“We really wanted Isla to be powerful,” costume designer Salvador Pérez tells Tudum, “but we never hid her femininity. We didn’t do man-powered suits. I love Gabriela Hearst and Favorite Daughter — we wanted suits that had a little bit of softness to them, but still had that authority.”

The character is inspired by Lakers president Jeanie Buss’ real-life story of moving to the front office in her family business (the Los Angeles Lakers, no big deal). When Pérez visited the Lakers office with Buss as his personal tour guide, he noticed that Buss dresses more casually than expected — in jeans and blazers. So, while Isla might be inspired by Buss, “it’s not a documentary.” Enter: the power suit.

Plucked to lead the team over her competitive older brothers, Isla employs her suiting as a way to be taken more seriously by her brothers and her roster of players in a very male-dominated environment. “A woman in her power in a sea of masculine energy is a very interesting dynamic,” says Hudson.

A longtime collaborator of Kaling’s on series like Never Have I Ever and The Mindy Project, Pérez says that every look you see Isla wearing as the Waves’ CEO was hand-approved by himself, Hudson, and Hudson’s longtime stylist and close friend Sophie Lopez. “Everything in the show was Kate,” he says. “She would not look as good as she does had she not been involved in it.”

Hudson’s looks were such a serve that they even had her co-star Brenda Song, who plays Isla’s BFF Ali, agog. “Every day, I’m interested in what Kate shows up to set wearing,” said Song.

Are you also dying to know, “Where the f*ck did she get those power suits?” Read on to hear directly from Pérez about how he selected key looks from the series and scroll for more photos and details on how to channel Isla’s courtside swag.

Allow Isla to Introduce Herself — and Running Point

Isla sets the tone for the series in a Gabriela Hearst suit, which is one of Pérez’s personal favorites. That introductory sequence, where Isla describes her ultra-dysfunctional family, was filmed later on in production. “It wasn’t supposed to be there, and I had that suit and I didn’t know where to use it. So then when they were like, ‘We’re going to do a shot, we’re going to use it in the opening of the show,’ I’m like, ‘Great! My favorite Gabriela Hearst suit is perfect for that.’ I wanted it to be dark and a little mysterious because she was narrating a story that was about to unfold.”

Come on, Barbie. Let’s Go Party.

For her first game as president of the Waves, Isla rolls up in a bright pink suit by Seroya. Pérez and his team were very cognizant that Isla’s next suit conjures everyone’s favorite fashion-foward doll. “We were like, ‘Is it too Barbie?’ Because anytime you use pink as a costume designer your mind goes there, but it was just appropriate at the beginning of the season for her to be wearing that Barbie pink.”

Pérez was also mindful that before working in the family business, Isla “was sort of a party girl. So when she first becomes president, she doesn’t go shopping. It was a mindset of her fumbling through what she had in her closet to be professional — and that pink Seroya suit was one that would have been in her closet. As the character moved along, obviously we didn’t see her go shopping, but you knew she went shopping.”

Pretty in (Blush) Pink

The parallel of Isla showing up in a sophisticated pink suit by Sasuphi for the final game of the season was intentional. It was another of Pérez — and Hudson’s — favorites. Sasuphi also designed the organza blouse she wears with it.

“It’s just the epitome of a powerful suit, but feminine and rich and luxurious,” says Pérez. “It's what I wanted to achieve for the show.”

For each episode, Pérez, Hudson, and Lopez would analyze Pérez’s photos from fittings and decide where they would line up in each episode, pending the creators’ approval. “My job as a costume designer is to bring forward the vision of the actor. So getting Kate to sign off on things was great because I would bring her options and then let her choose. The pale pink suit we wanted to be towards the end, because she was going to wear it for a long time. If she loved something, like the pink suit, we made sure it was in more scenes.”

That How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Moment

Yes, that butter yellow Sandro suit is the same shade of yellow as the dress Hudson wore in the beloved 2003 rom-com.

“The suit is obviously a nod, but that butter-yellow suit almost didn’t get on because it’s the [same color as the] yellow dress from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” says Pérez. “Kate’s like, ‘I don’t know.’ And we’re like, ‘But it’s so fabulous!’ The yellow matching top was Jacquemus, and then she wore them with blue pumps. I borrowed her yellow Birkin bag from Mindy’s closet. Mindy’s a great producer, because when I was like, ‘I need a Birkin,’ she’s like, ‘Ok!’ I’m like, ‘Really?’ She’s like, ‘Come over.’ So once a week I’d go to Mindy’s house, and we’d go through her bag closet. All of Isla’s great bags came from Mindy’s closet.”

The Favorite Daughter in White

The Waves don’t win the last game of the season, but Isla does earn her team’s trust and respect by the finale. And that’s a victory in and of itself. But her triumph is short-lived, as she shows up to the team’s front office the next morning to find her older brother Cam (Justin Theroux) dressed deviously in black to take back the throne.

Hudson has been best friends with the Favorite Daughter designers, sisters Erin and Sara Foster (aka the creator and EP of Nobody Wants This, respectively) since childhood, so they sent over a few samples. Well, maybe more than just a few. “And then cases of suits arrived,” says Perez. “There were actually so many fabulous pieces that she couldn’t wear them all! But I love that they have the sets and the long coats and the jackets. The fit of their clothes is amazing, and their blouses are amazing.” 

“Our last cream power suit with a matching coat is Favorite Daughter. I had just watched a movie on the Suffragettes, and I was like, ‘Women in white are powerful.’ It made a statement. Also, there was just something angelic about it. Since I knew that I was putting Justin in his black suit, I wanted her to be in cream. It was not subtle. I was going to go look for a cream suit, and then it arrived in one of those cases from Favorite Daughter. I’m like, ‘Ding, ding, ding!’”

Running Point is now streaming, only on Netflix.