%20(1)3.jpeg "How Jawbreaker Delivered Epic Fashions With a Tiny Costume Budget")
To give the main trio a distinct and cohesive look, Stein and Barrett landed on colorful pieces with retro silhouettes. “We were immediately on the same page,” says Barrett of the duo’s initial conversations. “We wanted it to be timeless, with a little bit of fifties and sixties mixed in.” They nodded to the era’s pencil skirts and fitted dresses, for one, but incorporated a cheery color palette inspired by—what else?—jawbreakers. “We let the colors of the jawbreaker inform all of the girls’s colors,” says Stein. “You had lots of roses, bright reds, and purples.” This elevated approach to school outfits was also applied to the casts’ accessories of sky-high heels and cutesy bags. “We didn’t want this to feel like any other school, so nobody was carrying backpacks,” says Stein. “We decided they would all carry vintage purses.”
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Still, each of the three characters had their own fashion flavor going on. For Courtney, the most evil of the trio, the designers went for a look that was strong and severe. “She was the leader—she wanted to be seen, and to intimidate,” says Stein. “Courtney isn’t just a typical mean girl; she’s pure evil in the body of a high school girl. So we thought it would be natural if she was dressed like a femme fatale.” They styled her in corsets and the aforementioned retro pencil skirts, but did them in modern fabrics like rubber, and added tights that were dyed to match them. McGowan says she looks back on the character fondly—especially the clothes. “I remain endlessly proud of costumer Vikki and Darren’s brilliant collaboration,” she says. “Every detail in the film’s costuming was considered. What I love about Jawbreaker is that everyone came to win—and we did.”
Then there were the minions, of course. “Marcie’s character was a tamer version of Courtney—a little bit of a wannabe,” says Barrett. “Her silhouettes were similar to Courtney’s.” Julie, meanwhile, was the sweetest of the trio, and the duo played that up with her style. “She transitions into more gentle colors and denim [throughout the movie],” says Barrett. “It got more realistic—not as wild as she started out.” Fern—who transforms into Vylette, thanks to a movie makeover from the clique—also asserts her newfound confidence through her wardrobe. “As Vylette becomes more and more powerful, the pink gets more bright and glaring,” says Stein.
