Exploring Fashion, Beauty, and Trauma in I May Destroy You

Beautiful art can arise from the ugliest circumstances. No matter the medium, creators have channeled their trauma into healing through music, dance, poetry, painting, and, of course, film and television. Thundering into the collective consciousness of our current stay-at-home culture is the HBO series I May Destroy You, which multiple critics have described as a theoretical “traumedy,” a subgenre reflective of our time.Â

Actor, writer, director, and now executive producer Michaela Coel created the BBC-produced series following her assault after her drink was spiked in a bar. Coel’s protagonist, Arabella, wrestles with the emotional trauma of processing sexual assault through the 12-episode series, which debuted early last month on HBO. Following the model set by recent prestige streaming series including Little Fires Everywhere and Normal People, episodes roll out one at a time. While binge-watching might be our new normal, trust me: You’re going to want to sit with each episode before diving into the next. Coel is an award-winning comedian, but this is heavy stuff.Â

As of publishing, only seven episodes are publicly available for viewing in the U.S. On one hand, I am jealous of those who are still watching Coel’s masterpiece unravel, while on the other, I feel incredibly lucky to have already finished the series thanks to advanced screeners, which I devoured in one self-imposed sleepless night. You see, my Zoom interview with Coel was the following morning, and I couldn’t imagine beginning that conversation without knowing how the series ended. So while I’ll avoid spoiling anything plot-wise that occurs after episode six (one of Coel’s favorites), we did discuss some of the fashion, beauty, and wellness-centric moments that take place over the duration of the series. If even that’s a bit too revealing for your viewing preferences, I get it, and I hope you’ll come back to this piece after the finale in August.

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