Claudia Donovan from 'Warehouse 13'

When you work in a warehouse, you tend to be a little less focused on form and more on function. But when your warehouse houses some of the world's greatest secrets and spooky artifacts, all bets are off. Luckily, for Claudia Donovan of Warehouse 13, airing Tuesdays on Syfy, she's literally smart enough to combine style with functionality in order to be a quirky character worth emulating.

Costume designer Joanne Hansen (Fringe) sees Claudia (Allison Scagliotti) as someone capable of traversing the real world and the warehouse, which is a world unto itself.

"She's a smart, computer-savvy girl who hacked her way into the warehouse," Hansen says. "We tried to create a look that would take her from inside to outside. She doesn't have a lot of resources; her life's focus is just getting into the warehouse." That's a goal that was 12 years in the making when her brother's failed experiment sent him and an artifact into another dimension.

That kind of obsession tends to make one quirky, and in that department Claudia doesn't disappoint. Her hair, a red bob, features a strip that changes color regularly -- normally matching at least one color she's wearing. But that is about as far as we're likely to suggest she goes in the area of coordinating.

"We don't want her to stand out, but we do want her to have some individual style," Hansen says. "It's difficult to put her character in a time and place. We know she is current. And because she is so independent she can survive anywhere."

The trick for Hansen was making Claudia strong without making her hard. She needed an edge, but it needed to be tempered with vulnerability. And she achieved that by blending everything from styles to fabrics to decades.

"She wears a vintage motorcycle vest but with contemporary skinny jeans and Converse runners. Ultimately the look is timeless ... but because she has this connection to the artifacts, she has this 'old-new' quality about her."

Whether it be the Converse high-tops (which she rolls down) or the skinny black or grey jeans by Hudson, the tank tops from Urban Outfitters or her plaid hoodie from Forever 21, Claudia's street smarts keep her layering. Hence the vintage biker vest. It can be peeled off without affecting her functionality.

And that's part of her connection to Artie (Saul Rubinek), visually speaking. Like the warehouse itself, he is constantly adding -- layers. In his former life, he was a professor wearing sport coats and ties, but as curator to "Warehouse 13," he has morphed that into something more functional to his current location but without losing the layers of his former life.

"We've tried to ground his looks," Hansen says. "He will always be in earth tones and grounded colors, and his look is totally deconstructed -- and that works for his shape. Even his pants are like sweat pants or yoga pants."

Apparently form and function go hand in hand in the warehouse.

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