How fashion in TV shows and movies enhances a characters’ story
From Never Have I Ever to Euphoria, television influences our fashion choices
Art by Rachel De Freitas
As a kid I always wanted to become a fashion designer. I always thought clothes had a story behind them. Every garment and thread used in a piece of cloth, even if it’s used to make a sock, has a story. Many people don’t tend to go in depth about their outfits and we are usually influenced by what we see, be it a T.V. show or our friend wearing a corduroy shirt.
Costumes we see on the screen influence viewers because they enhance visual storytelling and become a source of inspiration for our own outfits. What a character wears in a show or a movie builds on and allows us to understand their personalities. Similarly, what people wear in their daily lives gives us a glimpse of who they are as a person.
Fashion is an ever-changing field. Every person has their own unique style and that changes as they grow, perhaps creating their own style or taking inspiration from pop culture.
Never Have I Ever is a T.V. show that represents the South Asian community in Hollywood. Devi Vishwakumar, portrayed by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, is the protagonist and wears a sari on various occasions. The sari is not just a piece of clothing, but a symbol of royalty and femininity in Indian culture. The saris Devi wears not only speaks to who she is as a character, but influences immigrant viewers to embrace their culture and not be ashamed of wearing their traditional clothing and fearing of standing out.
The outfits worn by actress Lily Collins who portrays Emily Cooper in Emily in Paris are also loved and critiqued by many. Her flashy fashion choices reflect her energetic, bubbly personality, and her style noticeably changes from Season 1 to Season 3, showing how the success she gains in her career influences her to choose more elegant and mature pieces.
The fashion on T.V. shows can also have a heavy influence on pop culture, one being the controversial high-school drama show Euphoria. From iconic 2000s outfits to 90s grunge, the characters in Euphoria each have a unique and recognizable style that visually expresses their personalities and feelings. The fashion from this show had a huge impact on popular culture, sweeping social media platforms like TikTok with Euphoria inspired outfits and video trends.
Drawing inspiration in our outfits from our favourite shows can be fun as it shows a sense of our personality. Never Have I Ever, Emily in Paris, and Euphoria all show great examples of character and the influence T.V. fashion can have on pop culture today.
