Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1352017
Spring 2021 The Costume Designer 29 look that was diverse. We were representing many people from different walks of life, different socioeconomic back- grounds, and different body types, while still loosely play- ing with archetypes, as the original did so well." "In the first episode we wanted Mac, Zack's son, to mimic Zack's looks from the original series, to let you know exactly who he is right away." Daftary elucidates: "Lexi (Josie Totah) is all about fashion, and being ahead of trends. Her fierce looks are a source of intimidation for her peers. Jamie Spano (Belmont Cameli) is our jock but we wanted to make sure we weren't just subscribing to the ste- reotypical jock look. We modernized that look by making him more on trend and playing with colors and prints that aren't typically associated with classic jock characters. For certain characters, we wanted to showcase the resurgence of '90s style, like Aisha and Daisy." One of her greatest resources was the returning cast, and Daftary was quick to get their opinions. "I believe what we do is a collaboration to develop character and help tell their story. For example, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren and I had multiple conversations about where Jessie went after high school—college, her travels, philanthropic work she might have done, and how it could influence her style. Her original look involved lots of vests, blazers, and headbands. We matured that look a bit and gave her a kind of uniform. Since she is on the faculty at Bayside now, we thought it was appropriate that she continues to wear blazers with jeans. We threw in the occasional headband for old time's sake." All That and a Side of Nostalgia… Doing the research for a remake is different if you were the costume designer the first time around. Costume designer Denise Wingate experienced this while designing He's All That. The original She's All That was a '90s version of the classic Pygmalion story, with high school BMOC Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.) betting that he can make nerdy Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook) popular. The remake will flip the script a bit. Though many of the details are still under wraps, He's All That turns the female protagonist into a social media influencer, and the object of her efforts, a punk rock kid who is a fish out of water in Malibu. "Twenty years is a long time. I always try to do stuff that's timeless, so it doesn't date itself too much," Wingate notes. "I watched the original and I thought it held up pretty well, but they're kids in high school, so the fashions are certainly different." The new film updates the fashion to the pres- ent, but nods constantly to the earlier version. "There were ideas from the original movie that I put into this one on different characters," Wingate explains. "There are a lot of fans of She's All That—it was a bit of a cult movie back in the day. People really loved it. So I put little Easter eggs in there for people that were fans of the original." Input from the actors can be valuable, particularly on a project like He's All That where the characters' transformation is the story itself. Wingate notes in par- ticular the contributions of her leads. Addison Rae is an (L-r) Mario Lopez, Dennis Haskins, Lark Voorhies, Tiffani Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond in Saved by the Bell Photo: NBCU Photo Bank