Season 6 of Only Murders in the Building is trading the Upper West Side for the foggy streets of London, and the stakes have never been higher. Charles, Oliver, and Mabel are crossing the Atlantic to untangle a mystery that Season 5 left deliberately, deliciously unresolved.
A new city brings new suspects, a new energy, and an entirely different visual world to play in. For anyone who follows the show as closely for its wardrobe as its whodunit, though, the most thrilling development on the Season 6 call sheet is the casting of Nicola Coughlan.
Trading Upper West Side Cosy for London Subversion
The visual identity of Only Murders is closely tied to a particular New York cosiness. Think chunky knits, shearling, plaid wool, and warm corduroy textures that belong on the Upper West Side in autumn.
However, London has a completely different style. It features structured leather, deconstructed tartan, hyper-exaggerated volume, and an avant-garde lineage that runs from Vivienne Westwood's safety-pin provocation to today's most subversive designers.
The task falls to Emmy-nominated costume designer Dana Covarrubias. The creative force behind Mabel's iconic yellow marigold coat and Oliver's jewel-toned layered silks, Covarrubias has spoken openly about embedding mystery clues within the costumes themselves, and this London chapter gives her a new canvas.
The Looks That Make the Case
Coughlan embraces bold fashion choices. Her 2022 Met Gala debut was a dramatic pink-and-black Richard Quinn ball gown that took up the room. For the premiere of Barbie, she opted for a Swarovski-encrusted Wiederhoeft corset gown inspired by her childhood Sparkle Eyes Barbie.
At the British Vogue and Tiffany dinner, she appeared in a sheer, puff-sleeved Simone Rocha piece that was equal parts ethereal and architectural. At the BAFTA TV Awards she wore a custom Richard Quinn glittery black gown with off-the-shoulder floral detailing. What's more, at a London Bridgerton event, she showcased a 22-karat gold-plated anatomical heart corset designed by MISHO.
These are not safe red-carpet choices. Instead, they represent a highly intentional, avant-garde perspective. That is the sensibility Covarrubias now gets to work with. With Simone Ashley, David Tennant, and Richard Ayoade also joining, Oliver Putnam's reign as the show's king of statement outerwear is suddenly under threat.
Nicola's Role in 'OMITB'
Season 6 also hands Coughlan a Regency Liberation moment. Penelope Featherington was defined by pastel silk, tight waistlines, and the constraints of early nineteenth-century costuming. While beautiful, it doesn't reflect how actress Nicola Coughlan actually dresses. Covarrubias can dress her as she truly is: dark, structural, and quietly transgressive. Fans of Bridgerton will see a completely different side of her in Only Murders.
Details about Coughlan's character remain under wraps, but in Only Murders, clothing has always served as a storytelling tool before any dialogue is exchanged. If the wardrobe department draws inspiration from her real-life style, she would read immediately as someone who belongs to a certain stratum of British society: fashion-forward, well-connected, and somewhat secretive.
Whether her character turns out to be an ally, suspect, or something more complex, her penchant for dramatic shapes and considered tailoring proves that as Only Murders goes global, its visual storytelling is expanding far beyond the comforts of the Upper West Side.
