'Hacks' costume designer Kathleen Felix-Hager has spoken to Deadline about dressing the HBO comedy's fifth and final season, explaining that while Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) retained her signature bold, big-earring look throughout, it was Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder) whose wardrobe evolved most dramatically to reflect her growth from an inexperienced young writer into a confident, established professional who has absorbed style lessons from her mentor. The interview highlights how costume choices were used deliberately to chart character development across the series, with the finale season aiming to give both women a fitting send-off.

Felix-Hager singled out her Emmy-nominated work on Episode 3, "No New Tricks," as the season's biggest challenge, in which she built a dress for Deborah entirely from real playing cards, constructed in three pieces, for a premiere scene that became one of the show's most memorable fashion moments. She also described dressing Deborah in vivid, colourful coats for the Paris-set finale, wanting the character to look her most beautiful during an emotional farewell, even as the story saw her making a major life decision.