The style showcased in HBO’s Euphoria, has once again caused a stir online and has influenced fashion and beauty trends on TikTok and beyond.
“Euphoria is pushing fashion to be whatever the wearer wants it to be. There is no such thing as dress code or being overdressed,” Lara Walsh Fagherazzi, Chair of DCU’s Style Society said.
This season of the dark high school drama sees Alexa Demi’s character, Maddy, wearing a lilac two piece and a tiny bag more fit for a club than for carrying school supplies, which prompted a series of memes about the outfits on the show being less than practical.
“The colourful looks and ‘overdressed for school’ fashion pushes through what the show is presenting with dark storylines and that’s what makes it so enticing. You can look like you’re ready for a wild party while dealing with personal issues,” Fagherazzi said.
This season of Euphoria deals with themes of addiction, depression and mental illness and has captivated young audiences with its ability to bring these issues to light.
The fashion within season two so far has undergone a change, with each character’s style evolving to keep up with their storylines, “the development of fashion and beauty from the first season to the second isn’t necessarily obvious, but the character’s, I find, are becoming more unhinged and less predictable,” she said.
Changing storylines and style can be directly linked throughout the course of the show and can be especially seen in Jules, played by Hunter Schafer and Kat, played by Barbie Ferreira.
“Jules sports a less colourful style this season, cutting her hair and sticking to neutrals, while Kat seems to get rid of her cam girl storyline, she gets rids of her harnessed accessorised fashion which she developed with it, and instead begins to sport a more colourful, slightly punk pop style,” she added.
Euphoria has had a major influence on style and beauty trends, with glitter, gems and pops of colour soaring to popularity after the show came out in 2019.
Fagherazzi’s favourite fashion icon in the show is Maddy: “Cut outs will be sticking in fashion thanks to Maddy Perez who gives liberty to more skin in women’s fashion.”
“She can effortlessly glide through one style to the next, from noughties inspired mini skirts while babysitting, to her Marc Jacobs lace trimmed birthday dress, to her vintage Blumarine cardigan, sourced by Irish reseller Eden Vintage, she keeps it fresh and new with every outfit with minimal style repeats, while remaining one hundred per cent Maddy and I love that.”
Heidi Bivens, the stylist behind the highly curated and trend-inducing looks on the show, said in an article with Interview magazine:
“I know I sort of pushed the boundaries with some of the risqué looks that might not normally be allowed at school, but in general I tried to be really consistent with what kids can actually afford. This season, that went out the window, because I just wanted to have fun.
“Maude Apatow’s character, for example, is wearing Miu Miu. Like, she can’t afford Miu Miu, her parents aren’t buying her Miu Miu.”
The seventh episode of Euphoria will air on the 20th of February, 2022.
Claire Young
Image credit: HBO