On the 25th anniversary of the cult-classic comedy starring Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino, costume designer Mona May reflects on its iconic fashion.
Within the first few minutes ofRomy and Michele ’s High School Reunion , the titular best friends and roommates rave over how incredible their kit are before heading to the club . look up to her red rubber-base paint oceanic abyss coat and Acinonyx jubatus - photographic print girdle in the mirror , Mira Sorvino ’s Romy says , " I ca n’t believe how cute I look . " Lisa Kudrow ’s Michele , dressed in a naughty , feather - lined jacket crown , agrees . " I lie with . You bang what ? This is , like , the cutest we ’ve ever looked . "
As they say , they ’re " not being conceited , " they ’re " just being honest . " It ’s true — the 28 - twelvemonth - old Angelenos do looksofreaking cute . With a W.C. like theirs , full of platform horseshoe and homemade beady attire , they always look fabulous . But dress are more than just looking precious for them : Style is integral to their approximation of ego - facial expression and their friendship , which is the heart of the 1997 funniness directed by David Mirkin and publish by Robin Schiff .
After 25 year , the style ofRomy and Michelefeels more on - vogue than ever , one ground why the movie about former gamey school Ishmael who dwell about inventing Post - its at their 10 - yr reunion is a cult classic . Today , when ' 90s - inspired clothes have infiltrate contemporary style and it ’s the average to play with colour and print , it seems like the boutique the couplet opens at the end of the flick could be tangible and incredibly popular . More than that , though , Romy and Michele ’s ethos — the impression that what ’s cool is being yourself and letting that amount through in what you wear — seems more " in " than ever .
Image by Chineme Elobuike for Thrillist
Much of the pic ’s iconic fashion bequest can be owed to costume designerMona May , who has work propagation of fashion fiends with an impressive résumé that includesClueless , The House Bunny , andNever Been Kissed . May sawRomy and Micheleas a fashion pic from the showtime . She recognized in the screenplay the characters ' phylogenetic relation for dressing up and design their own looking at and was excited about the project when she was draw near by conductor David Mirkin , with whom she had previously act on the early-’90s study funniness seriesThe Edge . " He called me and say , ' I really need you to do it because I bed your point of vista , the exuberance , the vividness that you use , " May differentiate Thrillist . " you’re able to bring the fashion to this and to these characters . He gave me a bit of a bill of fare blanche to just go for it . "
While there was n’t a Brobdingnagian budget or many week of grooming , May made mood boards with magazines cutout , met with production designer Mayne Berke ( The Princess Diaries ) to see what the world of Romy and Michele ’s Venice flat would look like , source gamy - death clothes here and there , like Moschino and Valentino , and hit vintage stores to make and bring to life her vision of the film ’s style . " The type were concerned in mode , [ but unlike]Clueless , where they had money , here they made their own way because they did n’t have the money , " May say . " Now [ thrift shopping ] is very popular , but not in the ' 90 when the movie was made . You did n’t wear high and low . So I think the pic was , at the time , very invigorated because there were designer pieces , then there were thrifted patch , and there were basic pieces mixed in . It really feel like a wardrobe that somebody could do . "
When it came to set up everything together and the fittings — Kudrow and Sorvino alone had somewhere between 40 and 50 costume changes — it finish up being a hands - on process , fathom like how one might suppose Romy and Michele draw quick on a Friday night . " It was such a collaborative effort , " May says . " The accommodation were so much fun . Sometimes we did the fitting together , too , so it was like , ' Oh , my god . Are you wear that ? No , I ’m outwear this ! I ’m borrowing it from your cupboard ! ' "
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May says , " It ’s such a proficient thing , I think , for the designer to work with actors and be very exposed because they have to fill up the skid . As you even do the fittings , more and more particular occur out and they set out feel who the character is for them , too . " As tangled as the stars were , though , they each had their own ideas and unlike favorite pieces . Kudrow , for one , was obsessed with the cherry accessary from the ' 50s that May thrifted , and Sorvino supply pieces from her own closet , like the silver attire she wears to the club to sample to snag a red-hot date to the reunification .
" What was very important [ to Sorvino ] was to make the distinctions between their graphic symbol , " May say . It ’s something you’re able to see in each of their ensembles , despite dressing likewise , with Kudrow ’s Michele always glamming it up with boas and bedazzle heels and Sorvino ’s Romy being a bit more toned - down . May read it ’s particularly evident in the duo ’s businesswomen cosplay , in which she project Michele to have a more feminine neckline and mini and Romy in a pinstriped military man ’s suit of clothes . " It was actually Mira ’s idea , too . She said , ' I really wanted to be more masculine , ' and it was great . "
One of the intellect the film and its face have resonated with so many for so long is because it ’s so unabashedly feminine . Nearly all of the rig adopt color , gaiety , and nervy accessary . That embrace of femininity is something that ’s long been a end in May ’s work .
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" Something that I want the hearing to go away with is , ' Oh , I be intimate this . I can wear this . That ’s really cunning , ' " she articulate . " I call up whenCluelesscame out , it was so interesting — it was like grunge was ending and there was license for girl to dress feminine again . I think thatRomy and Michelewas a follow - up to that , like , ' permit ’s play ! permit ’s add bedazzle , rent ’s add vinyl , have ’s add a furry feather boa ! ' It ’s fun , and I consider we require that in lifetime . "
The manner ofRomy and Michelealso feels more relevant than ever because of how much young people have recently embraced personal mode — even when it might break rules or go against what ’s voguish — whether that ’s on TikTok or with the revivification in popularity of thrifting . ( " I just get really happy when they finally let her shop , " a teary Michele says while watchingPretty Womanat the jump of the film . ) That root word of own your individuality runs through the film . Early in the prom flashback , the lady friend are dressed like ' fourscore - epoch Madonna , and we see that , as May say , " they were the coolest — they just did n’t know it . " That continue right up to the finale when they change into their homemade pink and blue dresses at the reunion .
" Iloveddesigning those garb because it was so important to be who they were , " May says . " I think it ’s very of import to new girl [ to see ] because it ’s like , ' This is who we are . We are not going to fake it . We are not going to pretend . This is really us . ' " And , yet again , they look so freaking cute — the cut they ’ve ever looked .
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