When we meet Cookie Lyon on Fox’s new drama “Empire,” she’s strutting through iron prison gates in a skintight, leopard-print minidress and a fierce, white fur coat. The character, played by Taraji P. Henson, makes the dreary cement her catwalk.
“Empire” is TV’s breakout hit of the season. The glitzy drama about a hip-hop family in New York — the patriarch is a rap star looking to bequeath the family business to one of his three sons until his ex-wife, Cookie, is released from jail and shakes things up — is the highest-rated series on Fox.
The audience has defied the odds by growing each week since its Jan. 7 premiere, which raked in 9.9 million viewers. Three weeks later, a whopping 10.9 million tuned in.
The show is all about money, power and status, and costume designer Rita McGhee brings this ostentatious world to life with a relatively small fashion budget of $15,000 to $20,000 per episode. (Compare that with ’80s hit “Dynasty” — according to the New York Times, designer Nolan Miller had a weekly budget of $35,000, and that was three decades ago.)
No small feat considering the dressing habits of the show’s main character, Cookie, a devious diva decked out in the plushest furs and superglam gowns.
“Cookie is a woman who was just released from prison after serving 17 years for selling drugs,” McGhee tells The Post. “She took the rap for her man, and now she is ready to claim what she feels is rightfully hers. Now that she is a boss woman, she has to look like one.”
When McGhee was hired for the job in June, she was eager to get to work on creating Cookie’s look, which she calls “a mix of Sharon Stone in ‘Casino’ and Diana Ross in ‘Mahogany.’”
Luckily, McGhee has friends in high places. She’s borrowed key pieces from the show’s fashion and music consultant, Monique Mosley, who is married to musical director Timbaland. And Cookie’s signature furs? They’re on loan from McGhee’s mother-in-law, Janet Bailey, the first wife of ’70s great Philip Bailey from the band Earth, Wind & Fire.
“Monique has been very gracious with her closet, as well as Janet. They both have really great pieces, as well as coveted vintage,” McGhee says.
Here are the secrets behind some of our favorite “Empire” looks.
Cattitude
Cookie, fresh out of jail, is itching to stake her claim in the record company she started with ex-hubby Lucious two decades ago. After all, she did fund it with her own (illegally earned) cash. So when she strolls into the boardroom, she comes dressed to kill in a RED Valentino leopard print knit dress ($695), a Christian Louboutin horse-hair purse ($2,000), matching Louboutin pumps ($825), topping it all off with a matching leopard-print Philip Treacy hat ($200).
“Oh, when Cookie appeared in head-to-toe leopard print, that is totally a part of her style,” McGhee says. “She Cookieified the look!”
Gucci glam
“It’s a defining moment for Cookie,” says Monique Mosley, the show’s music and fashion consultant who loaned costume designer Rita McGhee her own dress for the scene.
“Sitting at the head of that grand dinner table, Cookie had to instantly catch everyone’s eye.”
Matching Gucci sapphire-blue crystal shoes complete the look.
Zebra chic
In Episode 2, for her son’s musical debut at a Manhattan club, Cookie dons a sleek, zebra-patterned Balmain gown encrusted with crystals. The long-sleeved, floor-length piece is anything but modest, with a sexy thigh-high slit.
This jaw-dropping couture piece clocks in at “a lot more than” $10,000, says McGhee. To avoid blowing her entire weekly budget, she borrowed the dress from the designer.
“That Balmain dress was very expensive,” McGhee says. “I had to make a few calls to get that on loan, but it was perfect for the club scene.”
Accessorized to kill
In last week’s episode, Cookie visits Puma (Cuba Gooding Jr.) in the hopes that he’ll write a hit song for her son. She helps seal the deal wearing an Alexander McQueen snakeskin clutch and Chanel necklace — both loaners from Mosley.
“The cast knows exactly what they want and what they want to express,” explains Mosely.
Boss Lady
“It is a blend of both worlds. It’s highend; it’s low-end.”
“Empire’s” fairy godmother
Janet Bailey was the first wife of Earth, Wind & Fire singer Philip Bailey — and she also happens to be the mother-in-law of “Empire” costume designer Rita McGhee.
She lent three furs out of her own closet (including the mink from last Wednesday’s episode) from her days in the music spotlight to give the show an air of authenticity.
“I’ve had that coat for 15 years,” she tells The Post of the $10,000 ivory piece.
“I was going to the Grammys and wanted to look nice. At the time I liked nice things. I have a lot of diamonds and I think about lending those, too.”
Stay tuned.