The Genius of Costume Design
By Gianna Kim
Visual presentation is key in the making of an impactful movie. A major component of that is in costume design. Typically what is thought of, and what the Academy gives merit towards, is the costume design for period pieces. Historical accuracy and reimaginings in costume design are nonetheless impressive and should be given their flowers, however, the cultural impact of contemporary costume design should not be overlooked. People tend to underestimate the importance of contemporary costume design by reducing it down to simple styling. They do not recognize that in what a character is wearing and how they wear it, who the character is or wants to be is unraveled.
“It girl” movies showcase the excellence and cultural impact of contemporary costume design best. The “it girl” movies I have pulled are Mean Girls, Clueless, and Heathers. These movies center characters where “gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss” really come into mind. Teen girl beef is a classic story that deserves its reiterations to explore the layers and layers of passive aggressive, emotionally manipulative, yet still vulnerable bonds. A part of this wonderful storytelling is in the costume design, which arguably transcends the actual movies in terms of cultural impact, in fashion and in recognition. To be a Regina George, a Cher Horowitz, a Heather, the clothes, the accessories, and the shoes are the first item on the list to get in order.
Heathers is a 1989 cult classic black comedy exploring the inner workings of the popular girl friend group, the Heathers, and the disasters that follow in disrupting the high school hierarchy after Veronica, a member of the Heathers clique, finds motivation to act against the mean girl act once meeting JD, the boyfriend and instigator. Heathers is arguably the start of “it girl” movies as it was brought about in the height of coming-of-age stories and inspired Jawbreaker, Scream Queens, Mean Girls, and much more. The costuming of this movie was done by Rudy Dillon with masterful storytelling.
A vital part of these movies is the topic of status within a world of teen girls, and visually that is identified largely through the costume design. Heather Chandler, the initial leader of the Heathers, is considered the top of the high school food chain and so the way her character is styled reflects that through a bold red and mixing 80s power suit and rich, private school girl silhouettes. Immediately, Heather Chandler is recognizable as some upper class, privileged white girl with the world of cliques under her thumb through costuming alone.
The Heathers sans Veronica with Heather Chandler in the middle from Heathers.
Aside from an individual character level, the Heathers as a group are visually striking compared to the rest of the high school which emphasizes their status as predators in the food chain. They dress to set themselves apart from the rest of the crowd. Each Heather has their respective color palette and overall look they uphold. When Heather Chandler is still in reign, the rest of the group follows similar sensibilities of preppy clothing whereas, after her fall, the Heathers look less put together and more casual in dress. This not only visualizes the group as a whole with power in the teen hierarchy but also signals the amount of power held by each of the girls and attitudes toward that power within the group.
From left to right: Heather D., Heather M, Heather Chandler, and Veronica Sawyer
Veronica Sawyer, the main character, is instantly highlighted as the black sheep of the Heathers by quite literally being dressed in black and grey. Throughout the film, Veronica’s color palette tends to stick with greys, which pull a variety of interpretations. One interpretation is that the grey shows her discontent with the Heathers and hierarchies of high school. Another interpretation is that the grey is a visual signifier for the grey morality of Veronica. Furthermore, as the film progresses, Veronica dresses more and more casually and incorporates more denim in her style to reflect her growing relationship and influence from JD.
Although Heathers was a box office failure in its time, its cult following has maintained cultural relevance to this movie to the present day. The stylistic choices of the characters clothing thus have maintained its cultural impact as well, but mostly in alternative spaces. Especially in the present day, Heathers, mainly with Veronica and JD, is associated with 90s grunge, 2014 tumblr, and loosely associated with the coquette, sad girl aesthetics. The costume design work for Heathers continues to hold heavy influences in the style choices made by those unsettled with current hierarchical standings, whether that be on a high school clique-y level or societal.
Veronica Sawyer and JD
Model in a JD type/grunge inspired fit. Photo by Alina Bhardwaj.
Clueless is a 1995 romantic comedy based off of Jane Austen’s Emma with trendy and timeless costume design done by Mona May. It follows Cher Horowitz and the growing pains she goes through navigating being a rich, white girl who thinks she has the world figured out, but is in fact clueless. This classic teen girl film holds great cultural relevance and impact to this day. Everyone has seen at least one iteration of Cher’s yellow plaid school blazer and skirt set.
Not only are the clothes a need in everyone’s dream closet, they tell the story along with the plot. On a broader level, throughout the film the characters dress with the changing seasons which visually show passing of time. The clothes also give way to the character of those wearing them. Amber Mariens is costumed to be gaudy and tacky, but also stealing stylistic elements from Cher which emphasize her over-the-top personality and desperate desire to be popular and the it girl.
Dionne and Cher in the iconic plaid sets from Clueless
Furthermore, the clothes aid in telling the story beautifully in this film especially on the case for Tai. Tai is the boyish new girl that gets adopted by Cher and Dionne, somewhat as charity, and gets transformed into one of the popular girls. In the first half of the film, Tai’s style is still fairly boyish and awkward, but once it gets to the second half of the film, her style is more put-together, girly, and extremely reminiscent of Cher which represents Tai dethroning Cher as Queen Bee. By the end of the film, Tai keeps some of the trendy elements of dress like Cher, but incorporates softer fabrics and silhouettes which highlight her tomboy roots.
What makes the costuming so astounding for Clueless is the mixture of timeless and very 90s looks. For Cher, Mona May looked towards incoming trends on the runway which created a Euro-style that comes across as in style at any fashion era. Because of this, Cher Horowitz was a big style influence in the 90s as those incoming trends coincided with Cher’s look. Another staple in Cher’s closet is modernized empire dresses which also hint towards the movie's source material. Although the trends seen throughout the film are definitely of their time, it is done in a way where those elements are real and not a caricature of contemporary fashion. This is furthered by the girls and their own unique styles and Mona May’s mix of custom clothing, high fashion, and thrifted vintage pieces which pull together looks that do not get aged out of its time but have grown with it.
Model in a Cher inspired set. Photo by Alina Bhardwaj
Moving into the 2000s, there was Mean Girls. Mean Girls is a comedy about a new girl, Cady, being thrown into the glamorous horror that high school is for the queen bee clique, or the Plastics. The exquisite costume design by Mary Jane Fort is not only memorable but very much relevant to this day. Especially with the rise of y2k aesthetics in the present day.
Mary Jane Fort’s genius in costuming is best exemplified with Cady’s style transformation throughout the film. In the beginning of the film, Cady wears ill-fitting and neutral clothing that slowly becomes more and more posh and feminine as her time with the Plastics increases. With her Plastic transformation, Cady looks like a replica of Regina George in silhouette and sensibilities. By the end of the film, Cady goes back to her more casual roots with lots of jeans but with a slightly more girly and trendy touch. As her style progresses, viewers can see how Cady as a person changes as the story progresses.
From left to right: Cady, Karen, Gretchen, and Regina on Cady’s first “Wednesdays we wear pink”
Although the Plastics highlight the more mainstream fashion of the 2000s, the costuming of the background and side characters being more toned down and of different aesthetics and cliques is what elevates the costume design of the movie. One, it visually shows who the it girls and those that oppose them are with the contrast of pink flirty fashion and the grunge/emo/scene look of Janis.
The Plastics as Cady is fully transformed
The representation of style outside the mainstream as well brings about a rounder understanding of fashion at the time and keeps the movie from being overly stuck in the 00s. As we go into the 2020s, 2000s silhouettes are becoming more and more prevalent in the mainstream following the 20 year trend cycle. With present day understandings of the sensibilities of the past being slightly skewed, the contemporary media of the era are typically what is looked towards for style inspo to subvert into a modernized interpretation. Mean Girls is not exempt from this.
The continuity of certain stylistic choices must be noted as well. In all three movies, from the 80s to the 00s, the popular school girl is adorned in plaid patterns and the perfect, coordinated skirt and jacket sets. This kind of costuming solidifies the it girl look and creates a timelessness from these movies that make the styling of the characters something to be sought after by people today.
Miniskirts, hyperfemininity, and of course the color pink are infesting the fashion world. Valentino pink has terrorized red carpets in the past year. Miu Miu, Arlington, Diesel, and more have released collections in the past year that feature miniskirts. Femininity is queen in the 2020s once again. These teen girl movies cannot be forgotten in conversations as to why the hyperfeminine is bleeding into high fashion today and overall mainstream trends as the characters continue to be brought up again and again as style icons. Contemporary costume design has direct ties to the fashion world in the present day.
Costume design is essential in characterization as it shows the hierarchy of power, a character’s place in their story arc, state of mind and morality, and overall provides the shells of who this character is and how they interact with that world. In specifically contemporary teen girl movies, the costuming is not only personal the coming-of-age girl following trends and the navigation of style that is universal throughout time, but also has direct impact on trends and high fashion.
Styling by Charisse Chow and Esther Blum (IG @estherblumstyling)