‘Heartbreak High’ costume designer Rita Carmody shares her best tips for finding your personal style
IMAGE VIA @RITACARMODY_/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY IZZY WIGHT
“You need to think about how you want to present yourself to the world. What do you want people to think about you when they meet you?”
Full of meta references, tongue-in-cheek dialogue and flawed yet lovable characters, the long-awaited season two release of Netflix’s Heartbreak High didn’t disappoint. In particular, the show’s costuming has been a much-discussed topic on the internet in the last week. Set in a mystical non-uniformed Australian school, Heartbreak High’s season two costumes – comprised of labels like Alix Higgins, Dyspnea and Ramp Tramp Tramp Stamp – were never boring.
Looking for more fashion news and features? Head to our Fashion section.
It was costume designer Rita Carmody’s use of cult-favourite local designers that added a playful element of ‘IYKYK’ to the viewing experience. Each character felt distinctly different, with a wardrobe that reflected their “culture, interests and individual tastes”. Here, Rita shares her best tips for finding your personal style.
Why is personal style so important?
View this post on Instagram
Personal style is a way to let the world know who you are. It’s a creative form of self-expression that helps you communicate your interests and vibe to the people around you. It can reflect your culture, interests and individual tastes. Clothes can’t be your whole personality, but they can help you connect with people who are like-minded souls.
If someone is looking to develop their personal style, where should they start?
For Heartbreak High, I started by building mood boards for each character with people and clothes that fit their style and personality. You can do the same for yourself. Find images that sing to you and start collecting pieces that will help you build these looks.
How did you go about developing a clear personal style for each of the characters on Heartbreak High?
View this post on Instagram
The show has a big cast of diverse characters. It was important for me that they all looked like they came from the same area, at the same public high school, but had their own distinct style. We took inspiration from all over – Instagram, TikTok, fashion mags – and worked with director Gracie Otto to nail the right style and vibe for each character. From this, my costume team built up a whole library of images as inspiration for each character.
It was also really important to me to have open conversations with the actors about their characters. Take Quinni, an autistic character played by autistic actor Chloe Hayden. I spoke to Chole about what she needed for her character and what is authentic for her as an autistic person. She needs things to fidget with so we found lots of cool fidget jewellery on Etsy, like spinning rings and necklaces that she could play with on camera.
How would you know that an item of clothing was right for one character over another?
View this post on Instagram
We would shop for the clothes one character at a time so it wouldn’t get too confusing. Each character has sartorial preferences that help to inform whether an item felt right for them, but sometimes it could chop and change.
As an example, we had an Emily Watson top and pant combo that we originally bought for Sasha. Harper ended up wearing it at the warehouse party in episode six. Life was looking up for Harper and it gave us a chance to introduce a brighter colour than she would usually wear. Plus, Asher Yasbincek looked incredible in it.
How do we know if an item of clothing will fit our personal style?
View this post on Instagram
You need to think about how you want to present yourself to the world. What do you want people to think about you when they meet you? When you’re young, it’s a great time to take risks and try new things out…
Choosing clothing that fits your personal style is about finding pieces that make you feel… confident, and authentic to yourself. Trusting your instincts and experimenting with different styles can help you refine and define your personal style over time.
What should we avoid when building our personal style?
Going broke! Try and shop secondhand when experimenting with new clothing styles and fits. The very first shop we went to for both seasons of Heartbreak High was Swop in Sydney. They have a terrific collection of on-trend secondhand ’fits and we drew a lot of inspiration from the clothes in their collection. Many of the key pieces on the show were also shopped from Depop. This helped fit the aesthetic of the show, being worn-in… instead of shiny and new.
How can we define our personal style without falling into a style rut?
View this post on Instagram
Never say never to an item of clothing. There may be a time in the future when that item feels right for you. Crocs are the perfect example – 10 years ago, Crocs were ugly and worn by little kids and old people because they were comfy and easy to put on. Now countless stylish people are wearing them in a fashion-forward way.
Always be open to trying something new. Often in fittings, actors can be unsure about an item of clothing but when they try it on, they can be surprised by how it looks and how it makes them feel… Challenge yourself to try things that you like but think might not work for you. You need to try it on to really know.
Anything else to add?
View this post on Instagram
We tried to shop Australian [labels] whenever we could. Working on a global show that was filmed in Sydney felt like a great opportunity to showcase our amazing local talent. There are also lots of band tees in the show and we made sure all of the merch was from Australian acts. Happy [to take] DMs if anyone wants to know where a piece is from!
For more on finding your personal style, head here.
Liked this? You’ll love these...
