Views: 51
There is a viral video of Rachel Sennott that lives on in social media infamy. It’s from 2019, and in it, she’s twirling aimlessly around wearing an assemblage of items that appear to be the result of having cleaned her room too hard. Azalea Banks’s 212 plays as Sennott spins. “What? It’s LA!” she giggles while chewing gum and flinging her arms. “I’m addicted to drugs. We all are. If you don’t have an eating disorder, get one, bitch.” It’s explicitly unhinged; the exact sort of dark humour the comedian has come to be known for through projects like Shiva Baby, Bodies Bodies Bodies and Bottoms. It’s also, like it or not, undeniably LA. Six years later, Sennott has taken this satirical Angelino persona and evolved it into a hit HBO series, I Love LA.
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
Created by and starring Rachel Sennott, I Love LA follows a group of extremely online twenty-somethings trying to make it in the entertainment industry. Sennott plays Maia, a PR assistant looking to level up in her career, who takes on a new client: frenemy and erratic influencer Tallulah (Odessa A’zion). Together with struggling celebrity stylist Charlie (Jordan Firstman) and nepo baby sweetheart Alani (True Whitaker), they attempt to climb the ever-steep professional and social ladder of Los Angeles. Obviously, hijinks ensue.
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
Each character is delusional and driven in their own ways, but, as Sennott so eloquently prophesied in her 2019 post, they’ve all got major issues. Throughout the episodes, their bad decision-making leads to hospital casualties, beyond-their-means spending and disastrous TikTok cancellations. Still, they’re deliciously well dressed. Outfitting a crew so deeply ingrained in Gen Z culture is something many modern-day series have struggled to do, but costume designer Christina Flannery captures for-you-page fluency without getting gimmicky. “The goal with each of the characters was to give them their own autonomy, while also showing through costume design the background of each,” she tells FASHION. “We wanted them to feel elevated and grounded.” Ahead of the series finale on December 21, Flannery dives into the storytelling of the costumes in I Love LA.
Maia’s style is for the hustling 27-year-old
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
Flannery describes Maia as “a ’90s-inspired PR assistant in her Saturn return.” (In other words, she’s in the trenches.) As the late-twenties astrological period implies, Maia is feeling lost and searching for a new sense of purpose. Her style is decidedly rom-com-esque with a touch of edge. She wears vintage Vivienne Westwood corsets, pleated skirts and low-slung jeans with halter tops.
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
As she tries to prove herself to her girlboss millennial manager Alyssa (Leighton Meester), she wears collared blouses and office-appropriate mini skirts. Her outfits often include elements of surprise—like a peekaboo bra strap—that give her a Carrie Bradshaw unpredictability.
Tallulah’s clothes reflect her subversive social-media stardom
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
“Tallulah is an ex-New York underground anarchist to the social media platforms, while also using them to make her income,” explains Flannery. She is chaotic, fun and sorely lacking in media training, with a style that emits this edgy cool-girl essence. Her wardrobe is filled with gems that are self-referential to the TikTok-obsessed, from a celeb-loved Rick Owens strapless leather dress to a Fanci Club mesh top that could be plucked from an Instagram model’s page.
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
Like many creators trying to make it big, Tallulah’s designer wardrobe is in large part performative—concealing her dire financial situation. One of her most treasured items is a black Balenciaga City bag—the ultimate It bag for anyone with a significant internet presence—which she wears like a trophy but has swiped from another influencer.
Alani has the ultimate nepo baby wardrobe
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
Born into Hollywood royalty, Alani is “a private school girl with archived pieces gifted from her mother,” says Flannery. As such, her closet is perhaps the most covetable, with a mix of grown-up prep and archival pieces. She wears a lot of vintage Jean Paul Gaultier, including the deconstructed denim mini skirt shown below.
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
She’s the kind of person you’d find casually hanging out with Kylie Jenner and grocery shopping exclusively at Erewhon. Her style is feminine and sexy, but also effortlessly established, thanks to her hand-me-down Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and YSL.
Charlie uses his connections to build up his clothing repertoire
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
Charlie is “a wild card stylist,” says Flannery. As such, his wardrobe is fluid, depending on which projects he’s doing. “He snags pieces from his talent, and mixes and matches with vintage,” she explains. He’s insider-y and status-seeking, and his colourful statement pieces show it.
The costumes are undeniably Gen Z
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
To bring this sartorial world to life, Flannery focused on the uncertainty that Gen Z is facing. Everything is expensive and buying a home feels more out-of-reach then ever, so, instead, the younger generation is gravitating towards instant gratification. “We have access to stores like The RealReal, the Rosebowl and smaller-scale consignment shops that can give you that instant hit,” she notes. The characters strike an aesthetic balance: pairing old-school designer pieces with inexpensive thrifted staples for a realistic effect.
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
Flannery also made sure to include smaller brands like Erik Charlotte, Hollywood Lowbrow and Fashion Brand Company. “It’s beautiful to be able to use brands that are doing such unique things in fashion,” she notes. With each selection, Flannery ensured that the show didn’t get stuck on hyper-specific 2025 aesthetics that would feel dated in a year. “It’s about mixing vintage, archive, and thrift to make a timeless show.”
But they’re also a result of post-Covid culture
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
I Love LA speaks to a particular experience of post-pandemic digitized living. “The show really depicts that perpetually online life that Gen Z has grown up in,” says Flannery. “Especially with times like Covid, where a lot of them were robbed of their early twenties and had to lean into doom scrolling all day, every day. From that comes the consumerism that seemed to really blossom in those times.”
photo by Kenny Laubbacher/HBO
As a result, the series feels like an algorithmically-informed inside joke. “The great thing about working on this show is we are also working with actors who feel very front-facing when it comes to TikTok,” Flannery explains. “Rachel, as the showrunner, injects a lot of that into the scripts and gives us a place to play.” Case in point: to tackle the fashion on the show to the best of her ability, Flannery ramped up her own screen time. “When I am designing a project, I will fill my socials up with things that feel perfect for the project,” she says. “There is no escape.” Continue Reading
