HBO’s Euphoria features Gen-Z pop culture and some of its most relevant cultural and fashion moments and, in a way, the show heralded the next era of teen dramas. The fashion in Euphoria is nothing short of iconic and from vintage favorites and streetwear brands to some runway essentials, the show’s aesthetic is quite aspirational and yet, quite rooted in this generation’s priorities.
It helps that the characters' fashion does a lot of the work in establishing their personalities and thus it clearly demands substantial time, effort and research. But when all is said and done, who is the best dressed on the show?
Chris
In Euphoria, Chris is trying to find his own ground, and to an extent, his wardrobe reflects that. He’s not a thoughtless dresser, but there’s an easy, low-effort vibe to Chris’ fashion choices, which is perhaps deliberate.
Even his hoodies are edgy and one-of-a-kind. He’s an outerwear person and loves styling jackets and plaid zip-ups with a basic tee, which gives insight into his character. He usually brings in two or three elements together, which suggests that he’s indecisive about sticking to just one look, and doesn't yet know what works best for him, much like his character.
Fezco
Rue’s friend and dealer, Fez, is a ray of sunshine, albeit in a weird, intimidating way. His wardrobe is almost even cheerful, which is refreshing because it’s so different from what the people around him are wearing. What makes Fez’s fashion noticeable is that he almost always goes for a riot of colors and his wardrobe often screams, "Look at me!" A lot of his clothes, including his half-and-half striped polo, are colorfully deconstructed and from famous streetwear brands, like Supreme.
Euphoria costume designer Heidi Bivens revealed that the streetwear choices for Fez, McKay and Rue were deliberate picks because the brands she chose have affordable options, something high school kids could maybe even afford or could be found in neighboring thrift stores.
Gia
Gia’s style is peak Gen-Z and like most people from her generation, she’s in love with retro styling and thrift fashion. However, her styling is really effortless and she usually doesn’t mix too many elements together. It’s possible that some of her fashion choices are inspired by her older sister, Rue, who also likes breezy, athletic attire.
Despite being a decisive dresser, Gia likes having fun with her clothes, so even if she's wearing a basic tee, she’ll style it with suspenders or go really vintage with a colorful striped crop top. Her fashion on the show is very significant because she is only seen wearing pieces that are obviously affordable and yet have a lot of sartorial credibility.
Lexi
Lexi isn’t really an innovative dresser and doesn’t take a lot of fashion risks. Even her most memorable picks, like her blue-green hot air balloon sweater, are versatile but classic. Lexi doesn’t exactly have a definitive sense of style, which was perhaps a deliberate move made by the showrunners since she’s in midst of figuring out a lot of things about herself.
It is certainly understandable why she doesn’t push herself, fashion-wise. There are days when she goes for something like a breezy tank top, but most of the time, her clothing is a little conservative and includes things like crew-neck sweaters, a simple military jacket that goes with everything, or a basic black crop top.
Nate
With Nate’s wardrobe, the costume team basically upgraded jock fashion standards to fit Gen-Z priorities. Nate was also more well-off than most of his peers and this shows up in his fashion choices. His clothes are an assortment of easy, typically "masculine" choices, like crew neck sweatshirts, Adidas polo shirts, hoodies, plaids and denims.
The show follows Nate’s struggle with his sexuality and so it makes sense that he would try harder to stick to "traditionally male" and "macho" styling, however, he’s also a cool dresser, so there are obviously no dowdy turtlenecks or Letterman jackets in his collection.
Cassie
Cassie is a fearless dresser and she also knows exactly what works for her frame. Her wardrobe is a mix of fast fashion and classic items and she often mixes them up to stand out. Cassie loves playing up the bombshell look, albeit subtly, as suggested by the big blown-out hair and the Fashion Nova dresses.
Her wardrobe features many statement pieces, which are not really about mix and matching, but suggest that she usually shops for an entire look, like her pink cropped half-zip bodysuit, her newspaper print dress, or even her flamboyant Alabama Worley costume. Her style is chic, feminine and spirited.
Maddy
Maddy Perez's fashion is, in fact, a talking point on the show. Her love for dramatic pieces, like the big, floor-length fur coat like Sharon’s Stone’s coat in Casino was something that was meant to give a glimpse into how she perceived herself. Maddy is a really feisty dresser and her fashion decisions are rebellious and unpredictable. She can show up in a bralette and pants one day and opt for a retro button-down cardigan and A-line skirt the next day, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t found her look.
Maddy simply hates being pigeonholed, even by her clothes, so she is seen switching up her style a lot in the show. It’s interesting how all her looks are impeccably paired, which would suggest that she spends quite a bit of time on each of her looks, and though they are meant to come off as effortless or last-minute curations, she has an intelligent fashion sense.
Kat
No one surely had so much fun dressing up on the show as Kat Hernandez, easily one of the best dressers on the show. Kat would mostly wear things no one would expect her to wear, which made each of her look very awe-inspiring. On the show, her body consciousness as a plus-size woman is a huge part of her narrative and the fact that she celebrates her body and doesn't feel the need to hide it is both refreshing and empowering because plus-size fashion really hadn’t had its moment on TV until now.
Kat’s racy bustier-tops, sheer shirts, longline bras, and black harness are great standalone picks because they are refreshingly styled to flatter her silhouette specifically and draw attention to the fact that she knows what looks good on her and she has the confidence to prove it.
Rue
Androgyny is the key to Rue’s sense of style. It has to be acknowledged that Rue likes to dress differently, although how much time she is willing to spend on a look is debatable. Her tie-dye shirt and gender-neutral printed half shirts are the peak of coolness, but they are also really easy to style, and it also makes sense that Rue would buy pieces that can be worn in more than one way.
Her looks have a deconstructed and retro vibe, which would suggest that she often shops at thrift stores and is not a fan of fast fashion. But to decode Rue’s sense of style, it’s important to understand how she continually pushes an anti-normcore message with her fashion choices.
Jules
Jules’ fashion is a mix of e-girl, Gucci chic and grunge, and although she loves switching up her personal style, she also loves mixing and matching unlikely pieces. Jules wanted to be a designer and go to Parsons, so her dedication to fashion is evident, but she's also a total pathbreaker and often brings back some very effective trends from the '80s and early '90s and reinvents them for this era, like her velvet tank top and sheer animal print.
Jules also enjoys getting noticed for her fashion sense and some of her pieces are rather flamboyant, like her yellow and pink color block sweater, longline metallic translucent coat, or mesh-seamed crop top.