More than one of the reboot's main characters are seen sporting vintage styles, from vintage Fendi to a handbag from Dior's 2005 Rasta collection. Then, at a school Christmas party, a vintage velvet and laser-cut Jean Paul Gaultier dress Julien wears becomes episode eleven's standout fashion moment. It mirrors trends that are very much happening in fashion right now.
"[Vintage dressing was] definitely not prevalent or part of the story at all in the original," Daman told me. "I feel like there wasn't the mindfulness, I would say, that we have today of circular fashion and the importance of sustainability. So what is front of mind going into this is it's important for Gossip Girl to emulate the zeitgeist. To have the platform that I have and to be able to have discussions about sustainability and how we can do that with luxury and basic vintage is really awesome as well." Daman explained that actual vintage pieces would perhaps be a staple for Zoya's wardrobe, if it weren't for the logistics of filming an episodic project. "We have to get dupes and triplicates on a lot of things because they wear them for ten hours a day, back-to-back, three days in a row. [To keep the pieces clean], it's hard to do as much vintage as we would like. So the designer handbags, that's an easier way to slide it in."
Image Source: HBO Max