“Euphoria” never met a dress code it didn’t want to violate.
Since the HBO drama premiered in 2019, its fashion has been just as essential to the storytelling as any line of dialogue — launching trends and leaving audiences agape with the sheer audacity of its looks.
Costume designer Natasha Newman-Thomas, who joined the series in Season 3, has ushered in a more grown-up era for the no-longer-teenaged protagonists. “I’m trying to push boundaries wherever I can because that’s what makes things dynamic and interesting, and starts conversations, whether people like it or not,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.
As the series wraps its third and seemingly final season on HBO, take a look back at the fashion moments that defined each chapter.
Season 1
The first season’s wardrobe was a fever dream of vintage pulls, eBay finds and Swarovski crystals. Alexa Demie’s Maddy Perez was an immediate standout, with her penchant for matching sets and eye-popping cutouts.
Barbie Ferreira’s Kat underwent a punk-goth style evolution — leather harnesses, mesh, corsets — while Hunter Schafer’s Jules built a candy-colored world of anime-inspired layers and technicolor eyeshadow.
The Halloween episode was a free-for-all of film-inspired costumes, with the cast channeling everyone from Baz Luhrmann’s Juliet to “True Romance”-era Alabama Worley.
Season 2
Costume designer Heidi Bivens went darker and more designer-heavy when “Euphoria” returned in January 2022, tying each character’s wardrobe more tightly to their emotional spiral.
Zendaya’s Rue kept retreating into the same oversized burgundy Hanes hoodie, while Maddy graduated to a wardrobe of vintage designer dresses and more sophisticated, though still skin-baring, looks. Her New Year’s Eve dress — paired with “ultimate power wings,” as makeup artist Donni Davy described her eyeliner look to Page Six Style — launched countless dupes.
As Cassie, Sydney Sweeney’s gingham top and floral skirt, which Maddy memorably compared to “Oklahoma!”, became an instant meme, as did her pink swimsuit moments before the birthday party hot tub meltdown — and the latter inspired a 500-person waitlist for the style.
Season 3
“It’s not high school anymore,” Newman-Thomas told Harper’s Bazaar of the final season. “Each character has their own universe.”
Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie’s wedding brought fashion chaos: the bride spilling out of a corseted Wiederhoeft gown, Maddy taped into a custom green cutout “revenge dress,” Jules in a barely-there Acne Studios number and Rue in a suit with her ever-present dirty Converse.
Nate’s $7,300 Bottega Veneta leather flannel, worn to a construction site, and Maddy’s faux-fur Ernest W. Baker coat at the pool, were reminders that practicality has little place on “Euphoria.”
Whatever the future may hold for the beloved show, the clothing has certainly made a mark on costume design history.
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