Game of Thrones': See Arya's radical new costume Rekaan 

\'Game of Thrones\': See Arya\'s radical new costume design -- exclusive

fan favorite Arya Stark is undergoing a dramatic appearance change for season five (exclusive full image below). The vengeful teen survivor gets her first major costume upgrade since the show’s first season, finally ditching those raggedy brown threads in exchange for a lighter, more feminine dress.

“I love Arya’s new look,” actress Maisie Williams told

. “It’s very neutral, very plain, but clean! I have clean hair that actually moves.”

The transformation helps Arya stay anonymous while roaming the streets in her new home across the sea in the free city of Braavos.

Costumer designer Michele Clapton, who has subtly elongated and elaborated on Arya’s original costume over the years, says her goal with the new outfit was to reflect Arya’s location change and finally show Arya as a young woman rather than as a girl in disguise. “For so long she had to look like a boy,” she says. “Even when [the disguise] was no longer necessary, it made no sense to change it [because] she was on the road.”

Yet the makeover was so dramatic, it even fooled crew members who have worked with her for years. “I had my hair braided up to these big buns and bits of jewelry and a jumper thing with a long skirt, and I came onto the set and nobody recognized me,” she says. Getting rid of the clothing that Arya has worn through so much family tragedy over the years will even be a plot point in the show. “That was such a release—it was like no acting required,” she says of the scene. “This feels totally like a next chapter.”

For more, check out EW’s annual forecast issue giving you the scoop on all of 2015’s hot projects:

has scoop on 116 things that you’re going to be talking about this year—so why not get a head start now? Grab the forecast issue and impress your friends with your newfound powers of prediction.

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