10 Unexpected Behind-The-Scenes "Mean Girls" 2024 Costume Facts, Straight From The Movie's Costume Designer
The Mean Girls movie is clearly resonating with younger generations as it continues to be a hit at the box office since its release in theaters a little over a week ago.
This newer movie musical version has a fresh feel while still paying homage to the original film that came out over 20 years ago. The movie's costume designer, Tom Broecker, and his team are responsible for the movie's fits. We spoke to Tom about all things Mean Girls and behind-the-scenes costume details — including how he snuck in little Easter eggs, modernized some of the original film's iconic looks, his favorite look, and more.
1.Creating something new and fresh for this version of the film while respecting and honoring the original was challenging for Tom and his team.
"There was so much anxiety about trying to live up to it — to feel worthy of it. We're starting with this thing, which is already iconic. So there's a little bit of weight to it. I thought to myself, 'How can I carry this mantle forward, and then eventually you just have to go, nope — our movie is different. This is something different. It's also 20 years later, and in that 20 years, the world has changed, and our attitudes about everything have changed. So you have to bring those ideas forward," Tom told BuzzFeed.
2.Tom and the costume team looked to social media and streetwear to find inspiration for the 2024 version of the characters' looks.
"The whole creative process really happened through the contemporary world, which is funneled through Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and the streets. I live in New York, and it's the greatest street ever, the greatest city ever to just look at people. I live down by NYU, and so there's a constant parade of 18–19-year-olds walking around, and I’m seeing what they're wearing," Tom said.
"I have a lot of friends who have kids who are between the ages of 12 and 18. My niece also just graduated from high school in Indiana last year, so I would steal her yearbook, look at Instagram, and all that sort of stuff," Tom explained.
3.Tom said it was a collaborative process when putting a character's look together — and each of the actors had a say-so in what their version of their character was wearing.
"So all of that was super important. An important thing, more so with costumes, is providing that safe space, so that the actor then can feel wholly available to experience their feelings about how they feel in clothes."
4.Small Easter eggs scattered throughout the movie reference specific scenes in the original film.
"[2024] Gretchen has a pair of sheer socks on in the first cafeteria scene, which is a direct copy of the original argyle sweater that the original Gretchen wore. I found them and was like, 'Oh my God, these are perfect. It's just one little moment there that says so much to me," Tom said.
Another little detail is the backward "K" necklace that Karen wears which is a nod to a specific scene in the 2004 movie.
"We had her wear it [the Karen necklace] backward. I didn't know whether people would really understand that it's worn backward or think it's actually a mistake. No one said anything on set the first day that she wore it backward, and I was like, 'Okay, so people must accept that they understand what we're doing. That was the big one that was like, 'Oh my god, are people really going to understand what's really happening here?'" Tom revealed to BuzzFeed.
5.The Plastics' winter talent show looks were more influenced by the Ariana Grande "Thank U, Next" music video than the original movie.
"There's this Halloween costume literally called 'Mean Girls sexy Santa' costume, and so I just thought it would be really funny if we just got those [for the talent show scene]. But they were sold out everywhere, so we couldn't use those, and it was just as well," Tom said.
"We ended up making the costumes, and we wanted ours to have a little more sparkle [than the original costume]. The directors were actually more influenced by the Ariana Grande 'Thank U, Next' music video thing, and so we pushed that way a little harder," Tom said.
6.Hailey Bieber inspired one of Regina's looks in the movie.
"One of my favorite outfits is an outfit that Reneé as Regina wears for literally two seconds that you don't even really clock it. It’s this completely sheer bodysuit with her bra [showing] and a black vinyl miniskirt, and she wears a giant pink puffy coat over it with her sunglasses on, and she's carrying a purse," Tom explained.
"She's just walking into the school, and the reference for that was from this great Hailey Bieber photo I had seen, and I was like, 'Oh my god, I love just the feel of that.' I think she has such an amazing style. So it was just sort of like, 'Hey Reneé, can we do this?' And she was like, 'Yeah, let's do it,'" Tom told BuzzFeed.
7.Popular Gen Z clothing brands helped influence the look of the Plastics.
"We did look at influencers. We were on Instagram and TikTok every single minute of every single day and all those sorts of things. The internet is a visual cue for you to look at and sort of be like, 'Wait, now pay attention to this, because there are 5 million other people who are teenagers looking at this other teenager, and they're going to be influenced by that person. So let's dissect what that person has on,'" Tom said.
"I didn't really know what Cider or Princess Polly was — that wasn't my language before this film. There's a whole category on the internet called 2024 TikTok fashion brands. So if you want to be reflective of the world of these teenagers, then you have to look at that stuff," he added.
8.Tom and his team not only looked at the original film to reference, but they also looked at the Broadway musical version to pick and choose what they wanted to copy or change.
"We had two source materials to look at constantly — the Broadway show and the original movie. So it allowed us to be like, 'Okay, pick and choose here and there. And while that worked there, we don't like that, this can go here. And also, this is 2024, and 2024 needs to be 2024, not 2019 or 2004," Tom told BuzzFeed.
9.While some looks stayed true to the original movie's script, others were completely changed, like some of the looks in the Halloween party scene.
"In terms of Halloween, certainly, the song has a lot of costume references. Karen is the sexy mouse, so we played around with that, and it still had to be lingerie. I didn't want anyone in black besides Gretchen, who's in the cat costume, and Cady’s dress came from Etsy. It was like, 'Well, where would someone who is new to Chicago find a zombie bride dress?'" Tom told BuzzFeed.
"We knew that with Reneé’s version of Regina, the Playboy Bunny [costume] — the sexuality of it just didn't seem current. Then, in the Broadway show, she played this red she-devil, and I talked with Tina [Fey] about it because that also didn't quite seem right — I didn't want her to be a devil. So ultimately, talking with the directors, they had this idea of a golden vulture, birds of prey, sort of thing," Tom said.
"They really wanted it [the costume] to have that Beyoncé hair movement, so there were two guys that we had to dress in costumes holding giant air hoses so that Renee's hair would move. So that was pushed into that bird of prey. She is the person who is on that level, going to turn and attack anyone she wants to see," he said.
10.Tina Fey and Tim Meadows characters' wore very similar outfits to what they wore in the original.
"The polka dot blouse is something that Tina and I had a long conversation about referencing the original polka dot. It's similar enough, but it's different, 'Oh 20 years later, that teacher still has polka dots.' We did a lot with Tim [Meadows] referencing the sweater vest and that sort of stuff," Tom said.
Did you see the new Mean Girls movie yet? Share all your thoughts with me in the comments below!
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