The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. When she was at the dance and wearing the overalls and trying it with the strap down, strap up, she was learning about herself through the clothes. And though Cher says she has a “way normal life for a teenage girl,” her closet has sparked a fashion fantasy that’s now older than Instagram.

The clothes in the app, as well as the other 59 outfits Cher wears, were put together by Mona May, the costume designer of Clueless, (as well as Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Cheetah Girls: One World, Enchanted and many more). She estimates that she made hundreds of costumes for the film because her team dressed every kid in the background of a party or in class. Cher Horowitz is a ditzy but well-meaning 16-year-old based on Jane Austen’s Emma, who was famously “handsome, clever, and rich. In one of her first scenes, Cher flicks through a computer app that shows a paper doll version of herself and various combinations of outfits.Vogue may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers.

It was so great to use designer names as a reference to the times and to be able to say it’s an Alaïa or Calvin Klein. It’s everywhere, driving the plot, setting up some of the best lines, and one of the reasons the movie is so indelible that the 25th anniversary of its release (which is Sunday! Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. May discussed nine at length, from the famous yellow suits to the most fabulous gym uniforms in cinematic history. But even though it is implied that Cher is wearing designer clothes (she name drops Alaïa, famously), May didn’t have a ton to work with at the beginning of shooting.We had to find someone connected to Alaïa and worry about if we could get the dress for free, if we could alter the dress to fit Alicia. Especially in comedy, when actors can be big, the costumes can overpower, and if the costumes are big, that can overshadow the essence of it. The safety pin on both outfits is a play on grunge, but also the traditional Scottish kilts have pins on them. There was one tee that was cancer awareness, and we had one that was from an obscure bar in Austin—always thinking of fun cool messages throughout the film.

And the phone and bottle holders I made—my friend just saw on ASOS they’re doing those chain bottle holders again 25 years later.