Get the Style Scoop on This Week's Scandal Season 4 Premiere

Scandal’s back! We've been waiting all summer to get our fix of Olivia Pope (played by Kerry Washington) and her amazing wardrobe, but where has she been hiding out? Turns out, a deserted island 100 miles off the coast of Zanibar, wearing none other than her signature color, white. "For the first scene, Shonda [Rhimes] wanted sizzling heat, a white beach, and a white bathing suit," costume designer Lyn Paolo tells InStyle. "Like a James Bond movie! We wanted something really romantic—an amazingly different image for the beginning of the season." Mission accomplished, but not for long. Liv gets a letter from home and finds out that one of her Pope & Associates gladiators, Harrison, has died. She heads straight back to the Capitol, with plans to stay only for his funeral.

Lyn Paolo dressed Olivia Pope in muddy grays and dark colors during her return to Washington, D.C., to reflect her decision of returning back to paradise as soon as possible. "She's determined that she's not going to return," Paolo explains. "She's not even carrying her signature Prada bag. The Prada means she's at work and in her head she’s not coming back."

But of course, a run-in with Fitz (portrayed by Tony Goldwyn) and a prospective new client in serious legal trouble, Olivia Pope puts her white suit on and decides to stay for good. "All of a sudden, once she takes the case, we decided to put her in the white hat again," Paolo says. "When she and Fitz walk past each other, we wanted it to be the Olivia Pope that he remembers—the Gladiator in white."

Click through the gallery for details on Pope’s wardrobe from Episode 1! Then be sure to tune in to Scandal every Thursday at 9 p.m. on ABC.