Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez. Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Outfitting the cast of Fire Country is no small feat, but costume designer Sara Byblow was up for the challenge — especially when it came to Gabriela’s season 2 finale gown.
“It’s so rare that we get to do a wedding and it’s so exciting. So, I do love getting everyone involved and hearing everyone’s opinions,” Byblow exclusively told Us Weekly about styling Stephanie Arcila’s Gabriela for the Friday, May 17, finale wedding scene. “That dress was like going through a casting process though. Like we went through 22 options before finding The One that truly fit the part of Gabriela.”
Warning: Spoilers below for Fire Country season 2, episode 10.
During the Friday finale, viewers watched as Gabriela prepared to marry Diego (Rafael de la Fuente) with her newly freed, convict ex-boyfriend Bode (Max Thieriot) watching from the church pews. While the cliffhanger ended with Bode leaving the ceremony before Gabriela said “I do,” her wedding dress really stole the show.
Fire Country has had complex character connections since its premiere in 2022 — and with every season comes new entanglements. There’s been many complicated love triangles, including season 1’s Bode Donovan (Max Thieriot) falling for his high best friend Jake Crawford’s (Jordan Calloway) ex-girlfriend Gabriella Perez (Stephanie Arcila). However, it’s the characters who are related […]
“Gabriela is someone that we wanted to keep, like, simple and classic, but that felt effortless and still gave us that like, take your breath away moment,” Byblow said of the silk gown that highlighted Gabriela’s toned physique.
Scroll down for more about Fire Country’s season 2 finale wardrobe choices — including exclusive behind-the-scenes details from set:
If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again
Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez. Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
“It’s a matter of just, like, trying and trying and trying and trying again until you finally find The One [where] you go, ‘Oh my God, this is it,’” Byblow told Us of the hunt for Gabriela’s dress. “And truly when we tried that one on, that was in one of our like final fittings. Like Steph was obsessed. I was obsessed. … I feel like everyone at the same time was like, ‘This is the dress.’ It felt like a casting process for it. But I think we really landed on something great.”
The costume designer noted that even Gabriela’s veil took “about eight different styles” before the team landed on one that was “so perfectly Gabriela.”
It’s All in the Details
Kevin Alejandro as Manny Perez and Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez. Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
During the finale, Gabriela’s dad, Manny (Kevin Alejandro), was evading the law after punching Luke Leone (Michael Trucco). However, he made a brief appearance at his daughter’s wedding to give her a family heirloom: his grandmother’s bracelet.
“We knew that the bracelet was in the script when we were looking for the dress. That played into like the other jewelry that we would put on her body,” Byblow explained. “I don’t think that Gabriela will ever be someone who, like, overdoes jewelry. We wanted her to be super simple and super classic.”
While the bride wore drop pearl earrings, the wardrobe department chose to leave her neck bare. “At the end of the day I feel like the important part of that was the bracelet and just letting that kind of shine,” Byblow said, noting that Gabriela’s poor upbringing was honored with the simple accessories.
The Flowers Were a Surprise to the Costume Department
Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez. Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Gabriela wore her hair in a low braid pulled off her face with small white roses tucked in the back. “I will say the hair team put those together and I was like, obsessed. That was fully them,” Byblow recalled. “I thought they were so stunning. That was [Gabriela’s] version of, you know, going the extra mile. She wouldn’t be someone who would like to put on a fancy, diamond necklace, but that was like her version of taking it to the next level was like putting these little rosettes in her hair.”
Gabriela’s Turmoil Over Bode Influenced Her Gown
Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez and Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan. Bettina Strauss/CBS
According to Byblow, Gabriela’s turmoil about getting married to Diego after kissing Bode was the chaos she wanted to avoid on her wedding day.
“When they’re on the campaign fire, she’s truly struggling with her emotions and she’s trying to figure out what she wants to do and how she feels,” she explained. As a result, on her wedding day, “because so much was going on with her emotions with her dad,” the costume team chose to “keep it simple” as a way to negate all the “confusing” feelings.
Byblow added, “I think just like having the wedding be her trying to make it a simple thing versus just like this confusing ordeal that it was.”
Bode’s Somber Mood Matched His Ensemble
Max Thieriot as Bode Leone. Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
After longing for his freedom from Three Rock’s convict camp throughout season 2, Bode was finally granted release during the finale. However, when he got out, he didn’t know how to process his former girlfriend, Gabriela, walking down the aisle to another man. That mood influenced his wedding ensemble, which was a black suit jacket and gray slacks.
“I wanted him to be different from everyone else. He also [had] cowboy boots on, [which] I was very excited about,” Byblow told Us. “I think that there’s still a sadness in him, so we wanted to keep him kind of dark. We wanted to keep him looking slightly somber in his color tones.”
Once a Firefighter, Always a Firefighter
Diane Farr as Sharon Leone. Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
While the season 2 finale centered on Gabriela and Bode’s connection — and her nuptials, it wasn’t the first time viewers saw the characters all dolled up. During episode eight, which aired in May, Byblow got to play with the stars’ personal styles outside the firehouse.
“I think deep down they all have firefighting and fire truly ingrained in each and every one of them. So that was definitely part of it,” she said of her inspiration for the gala looks, which all featured the colors associated with flames. “We also wanted to maintain small details in each that were true to their characters.”
Jules Latimer as Eve Edwards and Kevin Alejandro as Manny Perez. Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Byblow recalled Eve (Jules Latimer) wearing a rusty orange jacket to be “understated” and show that she was “standing in solidarity” with the inmates she led at Three Rock. (The inmates always wear orange.)
“Vince (Billy Burke), he’s always like loosey-goosey. So for him, he didn’t have any proper cuffs. We actually had a super loose wide sleeve on him with like a slit down the side,” she remembered, adding that Manny’s Latin heritage was also present with his wardrobe thanks to his “oversized dress pants that were similar to the Latin salsa dance pants.”
Orange You Glad You Don’t Have to Wear It?
Max Thieriot as Bode Leone and Jordan Calloway as Jake Crawford. Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
Throughout seasons 1 and 2 of Fire Country, Bode and his prison pals have worn bold orange shirts and matching pants. That color is also present in the firefighter gear for several episodes. However, Byblow told Us that she had to purchase uniforms that were yellow and dye them to the right hue.
“They go through a huge breakdown process to make them look worn and loved and like they’ve been through fire,” she said. “Their inmate con Camp uniforms … those come in as neon orange as they can be. So those we actually take out the dye from them and then we make them the color tone that we want.”
The Biggest Challenge Is the Canadian Weather
Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan, Jordan Calloway as Jake Crawford, and Jules Latimer as Eve Edwards. Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
“The environment that we’re shooting in [is] 100 percent [the hardest part]. We shoot on location for just about everything. Any of our incidents are shot on location deep in the forest,” Byblow revealed, noting that they film in Vancouver, Canada where it “rains 90 percent of the time].”
The costumes are also put through the wringer with all the movement the actors do on a daily basis. “These guys are literally carrying so much weight on their backs. They are truly near fire constantly,” she said. “The biggest struggle is keeping them warm, keeping them dry, keeping them safe around the fire.”
Fire Country puts in a lot of work to make their cast look nearly unrecognizable on the show. The CBS series, which premiered in 2022, follows inmate Bode (Max Thieriot) as he gets a chance to shorten his prison sentence by volunteering for the California Conservation Camp Program. Bode gets assigned to his hometown where […]
Byblow noted that she has “many tricks” that she puts into play to help outfit the actors as they fight fires and get dirty in the wild. “Every single cast member has a custom-made wetsuit. They have a custom-made Gore-Tex [waterproof] suit,” she explained.
The process is “fun” for the designer and her squad, according to Byblow. “It keeps our minds going [to] try to be creative,” she added.