Fashion Month Dispatch #2: The fashions of 2023 are a Gossip Girl (2007) time capsule.
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I moved to the U.S. in 2007 and didn’t learn about Gossip Girl until 2012 because I lived in a bubble. Despite my ignorance, its impact found its way into my wardrobe and everyone alive in those five years. I, too, wore seven necklaces at a time, knee-high suede boots, giant handbags, headbands, and even scarves like Chuck Bass.
Before my month-long rewatch in January, I didn’t understand or appreciate the costumes the first time I watched the show in 2019. I found it over-the-top and lacking direction; I apologize for my ignorance and arrogance. I have since swapped out the lens on my 2019 glasses for 2007 ones, and I am better for it.
I gushed to my editor about everything I noticed three seasons in, and my friend Ade also got an earful. In an interview, the show's costume designer, Eric Daman, said that while each character had a signature style, the main goal was to “editorialize television.” It needed to be excessive. Blair never wore the same headband, and Serena never wore the same pair of shoes or bag; it was “a living TV editorial.” These weren't intended to become signature items for Serena and Blair, but the show leaned into them and explored ways to cement them into TV and fashion history.
Since the reboot's cancellation, I have occasionally revisited theories for why it couldn’t scratch the surface of the same impact that the original had. The original’s characters were flawed, prone to bad decisions, non-pedagogic, and the whole package was thrown together so fashionably that the audience hardly cared about the plot inconsistencies and general outrageousness.
While browsing runway shows from this season and the last, I noticed we’ve regressed to the same but elevated silhouettes of the GG era. During the show’s heyday, many designers like Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, and Anna Sui (for Target) admitted to being inspired by the GG’s costuming for their runway shows. I am fascinated by this resurgence and plan to take us on a nostalgic journey chronicling some of the best and worst trends that dominated the fashion zeitgeist, comparing them to current trends.
Oversized hand or shoulder bags
We must begin with the GIANT handbags because I was a repeat offender. I stole the giant handbags from my mum’s closet, which shows my commitment to “pulling a look,” and stuffed them to the brim with what? I can’t remember. I knew I had no business attending English class in my mum’s Celine and Fendi bags with my ballet flats that weren’t Tory Burch because my mum would have never got them for me.