30 years later, the unsuspecting fashion is “still completely” iconic: the appearance with its costume designer is checked
For unsuspecting costume designer Mona May there is a psychology to create a character’s wardrobe. “I think authenticity is one of the most important things when you design costumes to ensure that these characters feel real and not just speak like barbies,” she told refinery29. “You want the audience to leave the theater and have the feeling: ‘There was something about this figure that felt like me.'”
For a film like the 1995 classic with Alicia Silverstone as a spoiled student of the Beverly Hills High School, it was crucial to actually build the characters in reality. Yes, these wealthy teenagers had access to Runway Fashion and Daddy’s credit card, but also wanted to portray girls who loved the shopping center and were youthful and lively.
While May – whose book The Fashion of Clueless comes out in October – had no idea what a cultural phenomenon of the film, which is celebrating 30 years this month, she knew that the costumes for storytelling were of crucial importance. From the introductory shot, which a montage of glittering high school at the pool, cruise in high-end cars and shopping in their best threads-focused. “It was colorful, it was California, it was high-fashion, it was fun.
To put together thousands of costumes – 63 of them belonged to Cher alone (Silverstone) – according to May, there was no low task with a budget of $ 200,000: “[We had to find] Every headpiece, every backpack, every sunglasses, every piece of jewelry. I don’t even know how I did it, but we just decided to do it. “She emphasizes that the film was shot in the mid -1990s before social media made it easy to discover and access fashion. People were different. There was also a certain innocence in time,” she says.
For this reason, it was important that it was important to build social Sartorial cues (i.e. graphic T -shirts for the skaters, exposed panties and stockings with runs for a scattered teacher, etc.). He directs to a culturally relevant designer label (the Calvin -Klein -Klein -Lip -Kleid, the Cher’s father, without Melros, and Melros, and Melros Avou, the audience, not with the audience, the audience, the audience, the audience, the audience on levers, and the audience on the hut, and the audience on the hut Lever refers.
Since the line -up was quite unknown at that time, there were no huge “PR machines” that sent boxes of fashion houses to dress the actors. Nevertheless, May has entered Luxuse labels for looks such as CHERS legendary yellow plaucratic by Jean Paul Gaultier as well as pieces by Fred Segal and Anna Sui. She also pulled pieces from second-hand shops, surpluses from the army and then popular Mall brands: Body Glove, Roxy, BCBG, GAP, American Rag, Esprit, Vertigo and Wet Seal (RIP). By combining designer names with Mall Mainsal
“Dionne [played by Stacey Dash] is a really good example of this. She carries many different things, from high-end channel to the leopard jacket, which was economical and the vinyl skirt came from a rave shop on Melrose. Just a kind of girl. She is kind, demanding, but can also be a bit like a common girl. “
May believes that the style lasts strongly three decades later because the cult classic was ahead of its time in many ways. The film was nuanced in its representation of girls in teenage who were fashionable and naive, but were also quick -witted and attentive. They had a complexity – one may feel responsibility to translate through their clothes. “It was difficult to make this film,” she says. “[Director] Amy [Heckerling] said that many studios passed it on because they didn’t want girls to talk like this. They wanted films about boys. It was important to present young girls who speak like this: clever, being confident and knowing what they want. Smart girls deserved clever clothing. ”
May made sure that the outfits reflected the personality of the individual characters: Dionnes courageous accessories and prints spoke about their spunker personality, CHERS meticulously coordinated shoes and outfits spoke about their perfectionism. In the meantime, Tai (Brittany Murphy) had a developing wardrobe-at the beginning of the film of Baggy Flanelle and Graphic T-shirts, to cherry and finally a happy Grungs-Meets-Girly medium that was overwhelmed with its journey of loss, rediscovering and in itself.
With as many characters, the look had to work together, such as the coordinated school look of Cher and Dionn. On the one hand, it reminded of a well -known scenario to call her friend to plan outfits in front of the school night, and on the other hand it symbolized that the two counterparts were. “Throughout the film, I wanted to make sure that they were equally fashionable and just as important,” says May.
In view of the fact that the film plays in Southern California, May was important to portray the many subcultures, from the posh upper Echelon to skaters, stoners and the business children who took themselves too seriously. Although they all lived in this Platinum credit card world, Dionnes and Murray’s style, for example, was culturally relevant for black American teenagers at that time, with the Kangol hen, the leopard pressure and gold jewelry. May has achieved this authenticity by working with every actor to build the character of the character together.
For example, Dash was a bit older from New York and had a strong feeling for personal style, which played a big role in the construction of the appearance of her character. Again, according to May, “Murray [Donald Faison’s character] Had to look really good because she would never go out with a looser. ”
The same care was extended to Christian Stovitz (Justin Walker), the Suaved Transfer student from Chicago, which we will find out later is gay. May wanted the clothing with his personality and interests to fashion, which led to having hats, a blue tuxedo and a torn hair and not a reductive version of what a gay character could “look” (which at the time is not a matter of course for the industry).
The fashion in an unsuspecting, consolidated May’s signature style in all its works – which later belonged to other cult classics such as Romy and Michelles High School re -association and never kissed – and gave the film the strength. It is the reason why a single Halloween without Cher and Dionne Recreation comes by, why clothing collections exploded in 1995 and then with unsuspecting threads, and why we still celebrate the film that introduced Alaïa in many of our vocabulary 30 years later.
“It is simply incredible that this film lived in so many people. He changed it and felt it good. I am so proud that I will have a pink bow on my grave.”
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