‘Cobra Kai’ Costume Designer Frank Helmer Explains How He Balances The Show’s Retro Overtones With Modern Sensibilities

When you think about surprise 2021 Emmy nominee Cobra Kai, badass karate moves are likely to come to mind before any specific costumes, but designer Frank Helmer’s work is unquestionably an essential part of the show’s funny, nostalgic, and action-packed vibe. For the most recent season alone, Helmer, whose work can also be seen in TV shows like 90210 and Queen of the South and early-aughts movies like D.E.B.S. and Herbie: Fully Loaded, created over 800 costumes. He makes sure to bring a sense of lived-in authenticity to each of these many looks, explaining, “In the costuming we’re trying to create a through line to who the characters were when we saw them as teenagers and how they are now.” 

The original Karate Kid himself, Daniel LaRussso (Ralph Macchio), sports a polished wardrobe befitting his good-boy-turned-businessman status. Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), Daniel���s teen nemesis turned Cobra Kai figurehead, on the other hand, “stopped dressing at the height of his power. In our head, he hasn’t really bought any clothes in 20 years. He doesn’t think about his fashion.” The band t-shirts he wears are (now often expensive and hard to find) authentic ’80s vintage, and Helmer made sure to only choose shirts from popular rock bands that would’ve played in Southern California during Johnny’s teen years to bring an extra touch of verisimilitude. Much of the humor of Cobra Kai comes from Johnny’s struggles as a decidedly ’80s dude in the 21st century, but his wardrobe throughout the series speaks to his development. “In season one, we kept his stuff really baggy and gross and made it look like he never washed it because that’s where the character was at that time,” says Helmer. “Flash forward to season three, he started his own dojo, he’s in power again, he’s wearing that iconic red jacket, he’s got his headband on, and he’s got well fitting jeans, and his color’s a little darker and stronger. These are all the things that help telegraph where he’s at now.” 

Costuming Cobra Kai poses a number of interesting challenges, chief among them designing convincing costumes across generations and incorporating nostalgia without pandering. “As a kid, I was definitely a fan of the movie and I grew up on that,” says Helmer. “I’m about the same age as Ralph and Billy. So I really saw myself on the screen because I wanted to be like a confident, kind of bad, beautiful blonde guy. But I really identified more with Daniel, because I was a little awkward and skinny and a little weird. I didn’t fit in as easily.” Johnny and Daniel, of course, are familiar faces for any Karate Kid fans, but Cobra Kai also features a vibrant array of Gen Z talent. “I really need to sell with my teenagers that they’re from Southern California, they live in the Valley, they shop at stores where those kids would shop and they look different than teenagers in Manhattan or Atlanta or the Midwest,” Helmer explains. “Part of my design process with the teenagers especially but with everybody on the show is to make it seem like Southern California and nowhere else. I’m from there so I know very well what that looks like.” 

Helmer has studied anthropology and often uses that specialized knowledge in his work. “The way I approach a character and cultural anthropology is about how cultures create themselves and how they evolve and move through other influences,” he says. He asks a number of questions about his characters as he’s designing: “Where are they from? How much money do they make? What are their influences? Where do they come from? Where do they shop? Where do they hang out? That is all really informed strongly by cultural anthropology.” The process also involves on-the-ground research, and part of Helmer’s work includes constantly observing what young L.A. locals are wearing. Class differences are a recurring theme within the show, and Helmer is mindful about expressing them in a nuanced way. “I think more about where the characters themselves would be shopping,” Helmer says. “Sometimes the answer to that is Target. But then just because they don’t have a lot of money doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot of style.” Even when clothes are off-the-rack, Helmer makes sure to customize them: “There’s almost no garment that goes on camera that I have not altered. Everything gets tailored. So in a lot of ways, everything that you see on the screen is kind of made to order even if it’s looking a little sloppy.” 

Creating the karate uniforms involved a mix of invoking the original films and bringing in new touches. “You don’t mess with the original Cobra Kai gi too much, but we updated it. They’re proper competition gis made by a real martial arts company and then I embellish them,” says Helmer. The show uses real martial artists as stunt coordinators, and their expertise helps inform the costuming process. As Helmer elaborates, “These things all have to be real. We painstakingly make sure that those belts are tied properly, with the real ease that you would use in a competition. If you’re a martial artist, and you see something’s wrong, I am not going to pull you out of the moment.”

Costuming for a show as dependent on fight scenes as Cobra Kai comes with a unique set of design concerns. The costumes don’t just have to make a visual impact, they also have to be extremely durable and ready to perform. “At all my fittings, whether it’s the actor or the stunt double, I have them go through some of the motions that they will do in any given fight or choreography that they need to do,” Helmer says. It’s not often you hear about someone wanting their co-workers to attack, but in the case of Cobra Kai’s fitting room, “I have Ralph throw a kick towards my head or throw a punch.” “They do the range of motions so I can see if the costume is allowing them to do what they need to do. Say, the pants aren’t stretchy enough, then I’m going to find something that’s similar, or that works better because if a costume can’t let them do the action, the costume isn’t doing its job.” It all boils down to three main elements: “They’ve got to look good, advance the character, and be able to do the action.” Whether casual or competition-ready, Helmer’s creations expertly achieve all of the above.

Abbey Bender is a New York-based writer with bylines in The Washington Post, The Village Voice, Nylon, Sight & Sound, and other publications.

Watch Cobra Kai on Netflix