How ‘Clueless’ Began a Prep Style Renaissance 30 Years In the past

Mona Could lovingly scolds me on Zoom. “I need ladies to attempt various things and be foolish characters—and to not be afraid to get out of black,” she is saying. “I am speaking about you, Meg!!” Quickly sufficient, I’m tasked with pulling out colourful gadgets from my wardrobe for her discerning eye. “How about some good greens on you?”

I ought to have identified higher than to aim an understated black second for an interview with a dressing up designer—particularly this costume designer. Could did, in any case, single-handedly affect a era of younger ladies to go vibrant and daring with their garments. The time period “iconic” is usually thrown round too freely, however relating to Mona Could, it suits. She gave us the pink and blue minidresses of Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion; the whimsical Disney-fied ball robe of Enchanted; the all-white feather boa look in Never Been Kissed. And, in fact, the delightfully preppy, fashion-forward world of Clueless.

Could’s resumé is crammed with beloved motion pictures, however Clueless is probably her best triumph. The influence of her work on the 1995 movie, which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary on July 19, cannot be overstated. The pink Alaïa mini! The white Calvin Klein slip costume! The Jean Paul Gaultier yellow plaid skirt go well with! These and so many different unforgettable appears from the movie are a part of trend historical past.

The “Clueless look” fairly actually redefined youth trend of the ’90s, and it grew to become a long-lasting image of youngster tradition. Re-creations of outfits from the movie may be discovered in all places, from latest teen movies like Bottoms and Do Revenge!, to Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” music video, to numerous celeb Halloween costumes.

Certainly, it is arduous to think about a time when the visible world of Clueless did not exist—however, in fact, all of it got here from the minds of Could and the movie’s author and director, Amy Heckerling. 

Whereas Cher, Dionne, and Tai will be the movie’s three main women, there’s a fourth character who’s simply as essential—and that’s, in fact, the style itself. “[The fashion] was very sturdy within the script,” Could remembers of her first impressions of Clueless. “And I feel partially why I received the job, too.” She had beforehand met Heckerling on a pilot that wasn’t picked up: “and we fell in love with one another, creatively, you already know.” 

Could was born in India and grew up in Warsaw. She went on to review trend in Paris and New York earlier than discovering her method to the world of costume design. “That [experience] was one thing that [Heckerling] needed to carry to the movie, I feel she needed to carry that trend—and to carry one thing that wasn’t so American,” Could says. “I used to be simply so excited, as a result of actually, coming from trend and loving costume design, there was such a possibility for me to carry these two issues collectively.”

From the beginning, Could and Heckerling shared a imaginative and prescient. “It actually was in regards to the ladies in highschool who had been wealthy, who had Daddy’s bank card, who go to trend exhibits in London, Paris, and simply have no matter they needed. That was one thing that was very sturdy within the script,” Could says. It was, in different phrases, a really completely different imaginative and prescient of youngster trend than what was taking place in the true world, the place grunge had been the common teen uniform. Clueless was, she says, “not what was taking place on the road in 1994.”

Could wasn’t pulling immediately from the catwalk, although. “If we simply put them in runway fashions, it would not really feel proper. They’d appear to be snooty fashions—you actually would not know who they’re,” she explains. “It was crucial that they really feel youthful and actual and genuine. So, I needed to take the style from the runways after which translate it into the highschool setting.” 

Clueless is peppered with basic prep college items—Mary Janes, over-the-knee socks, A-line pleated skirts, frilly tops—a sort of “Catholic college lady however make it excessive trend” strategy. Along with up to date runways and educational uniforms, May additionally sought inspiration from the Austen novel that impressed the movie, Emma.

“It was essential to take a look at Emma. What I received from the interval that Emma was written in was the femininity that was additionally actually essential to carry into our movie,” she says. “That was one thing that Amy was very adamant about, too.” Thus, Clueless nods to the Regency period with its trend, too: a bit cap sleeve right here, a refined empire waist there. “I actually at all times wish to work with items which might be female,” she goes on. “I at all times love a bit twin set, a bit peacoat, a bit beret.”

Out of this mish-mash of inspiration comes the long-lasting Clueless appears we all know and love at present—and maybe one of the best instance is the long-lasting yellow go well with. “Should you take a look at the basic Catholic college uniform, you might have the plaid skirt with the little sweater vest, proper?” says Could. “So, we thought, ‘How would we now do this in our personal loopy, cool world—on trend steroids?’ And also you get the Jean Paul Gaultier yellow go well with.”

By the way, Could tried a number of different main colours on Silverstone earlier than deciding on the now-famous canary yellow. The blue was “good,” the pink was “Christmas-y,” however the yellow? “It was like this second! She grew to become this ray of sunshine!” remembers Could. “I like to speak about coloration and power, and it actually was like, ‘That is it!’ I imply, she is the solar ray of the varsity.”

However maybe what’s so sensible about Could’s imaginative and prescient for Cher is that she clothes like an actual teenage lady. When she’s not parading round in an outfit put collectively on her ahead-of-its-time laptop program, she’s stress-free at residence. Perhaps she’s carrying a white t-shirt underneath a pink vest with a scrunchie in her hair, or maybe a giant set of pjs. “I actually cherished that,” Could says. “It was crucial to attempt to floor the characters—to not make them trend victims in any manner.”

At this time, this delicate steadiness of femininity, youth, playfulness, and designer trend looks as if the plain strategy for a fashion-forward teen flick—however on the time, it was revolutionary. In truth, among the actors initially struggled to embrace Could’s radical imaginative and prescient. Amongst the skeptics was the star herself, Alicia Silverstone. “When she received the half, I do not assume she actually understood what it was going to be—that the style was going to be such a giant a part of it,” Could says. “She was already an activist, simply working round in her sweatpants with the canine. It was fascinating within the fittings—she was virtually generally aggravated by having to attempt on all the garments.” 

Nevertheless, as time handed, studying in regards to the garments and understanding them helped Silverstone create the Cher everyone knows and love at present. “The method of being within the becoming room was actually essential since you study in regards to the character. You are beginning to put the sneakers on, you are beginning to put the garments on, and, increasingly, you begin changing into the character,” she says. “And it was, I feel, the identical for Alicia. She started to learn to carry herself and transfer with confidence. I feel it was a means of her studying in regards to the character via the fittings.”

Stacey Sprint, who performed Dionne, couldn’t have been extra completely different in her strategy. “She already knew trend. She got here into the becoming room and she or he already had the model, she already had the groove, she already knew tips on how to put on the garments,” Could remembers with a smile. 

Then there was Brittany Murphy, who performed Tai. She, too, had a novel strategy to her character’s clothes. “She was such a beautiful human being—and a really, very attuned individual,” Could says. “She was like, ‘Mona, I wish to actually be grunge. I do not wish to be fairly. Make me actually saggy, so there’s room for us to play from there.'” 

Could lights up as she begins speaking about Tai’s makeover. “I really like makeovers in movies!” she exclaims. “It is one thing that all of us attempt—as ladies particularly—we attempt on completely different identities.” By the movie’s conclusion, Tai has discovered the right steadiness in her persona—and, in fact, it is mirrored in her garments: “The top is basically lovely once we see her on the skatepark. She’s herself. She’s received this cute little skate look—the striped t-shirt, a bit headband, and the braids. She discovered one thing and now she’s actually herself. It was actually lovely.”

Virtually, the challenges of placing collectively the costumes for a movie like Clueless had been immense. It was, in any case, the “analog” occasions. “I actually needed to discover the items. I had to purchase a giant guide known as Collezione to see outdated fashions from the runways—to see what was taking place in London, in Paris,” she remembers. “It wasn’t actually that simple. And I had a really conservative funds—63 adjustments for Alicia Silverstone, 40 adjustments for Dionne, and Tai. And everyone else!”

“All people else” was lots of of extras—all of whom arrived in their very own grunge clothes every morning and wanted a brand-new Mona Could-approved look. “We needed to change them head-to-toe,” she says. “Each additional that you just see on the display—we gave them the garments, we gave them the sneakers, we gave them the backpacks, we gave them the hats, you already know.” As for sourcing the garments, Could went in all places from the thrift shops to the mall.

It was, in different phrases, a painstaking, exacting course of. In the end, Could was thrilled that her costumes had the possibility to shine on the display due to the movie’s Director of Pictures, Invoice Pope. “It wasn’t like regular movies the place you simply see a large shot after which a close-up of the actor’s face,” she explains. “He actually took the digicam, and the digicam gave us the attention of trend.”

Clueless wasn’t anticipated to take off the best way it did. Upon its launch in 1995, it garnered $10.6 million on its opening weekend and rapidly grew to become the primary film in America. Its influence on teen trend was on the spot, Could remembers. “I imply, it was loopy. On the streets, you’d immediately see the ladies carrying the good stuff.”

Did Could single-handedly finish the grunge period? Properly, she definitely contributed to a brand new explosion of coloration and experimentation. The movie was a reminder that trend ought to and may be enjoyable, and Could thinks that younger ladies on the time had been prepared for it. “It actually was a really particular second for that film to come back out,” she says, “the place I really feel like ladies had been able to step up and alter the threads from the saggy to the female. And it was a global sort of craziness.” 

After all, many movies are launched and have a brief influence on tradition. Barbiecore and Challengers are just some latest examples. However few movies are in a position to make their influence felt for many years to come back. Clueless continues to be transformative to this present day. Younger ladies nonetheless watch it and nonetheless discover themselves taking inspiration from Cher and Dionne, attempting out a plaid skirt go well with second or donning a pink slipdress for a home get together. 

“It is wonderful. I do not even have phrases. It is so lovely {that a} movie can have such an impact on generations of girls,” Could says with emotion. “I meet ladies, and so they all have tales about once they noticed Clueless first. And the way they began sourcing their very own garments, or they went for Halloween as Cher and Dionne. It is a terrific testomony to how [we] created one thing that touches individuals’s hearts.”

Mona Could’s guide, The Style of Clueless will likely be launched on October 5, 2025.