How to dress like you go to Heartbreak High

Netflix's '90s reboot is remarkably keyed in with fashion, costume designer Rita Carmody talks The Oz through the looks.

Netflix's '90s reboot is remarkably keyed in with fashion, costume designer Rita Carmody talks The Oz through the looks.

We've all graduated from Euphoria High and have moved on to skulking the halls of Hartley. The show's obscenely stylish teens are sparking a fashion frenzy inside us, so without further ado, here's how to get the look.

Quinni

As Carmody mentioned, Quinni's looks were inspired by Cybergoths (y'know, the ones that rave in carparks).

Though she's more of a technicolour babe than a "last one standing at the vulgar rave." Your best bet for capturing Quinni's look is to scrounge through op-shops. If you've got better things to do than to spend your day haunted by the ghosts of once-loved clothing, here are some options you can buy now. 

Ca$h

To borrow a phrase from our dear social media editor Bianca, Ca$h is an "eshay with a heart of gold." Is this the first time a queer lad has ever graced the screen? Groundbreaking stuff. Though our dear Ca$h does not shy from experimenting with Darren's wardrobe, it's his adlay garms that have our hearts. Classic Nautica and Gant polos, cuffed trackies, and of course, TNs bah.

Ant

We've all been driven crazy by a dude like this. Oh how we've been humbled, sitting by the phone, waiting for some skate rat to DM us back about the vague plans they made. "Oh sorry just saw this lol". There's no psychic jolt quite like the sound of wheels hitting asphalt. We can't help it, skaters are just so cute.

Sasha

Sasha is an irresistible, flossy, prom queen — that perfect mix of princessy-y and totally badass. She's that one friend we all have that always has flawless, ornate eyeliner.

Darren

Darren, we all want to be them.

Heartbreak High is a triumph.

The reboot of the beloved Australian ‘90s post-teatime staple was one of the most watched television shows on Netflix in Australia, a week after its debut.

Netflix has also confirmed it also made the top ten list in 45 other countries. 

It’s hard to muster up enthusiasm for reboots in an era where television is overwhelmed by pointless, mostly rubbish revivals.

But Netflix’s remake, created by Hannah Carrol Chapman, works like a dream. There’s enough ‘90s resonance to satisfy nostalgia fetishists, but it’s fresh and bold enough to be interesting in a way that it wouldn’t be if it was just another retread. 

The original spin around Hartley High was groundbreaking, compared to the other milquetoast offering on major network TV at the time. It gave voice to suburban kids from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds who had never been represented on Australian television before. 

The new Heartbreak High benefits from being free of the confines of restrictive network television rules. It's sexier, lighter and refreshingly immodest. Embracing diversity along race, gender, sexuality and neurodiversity. It's a welcome, open-handed, and definitively Australian addition to the Gen Z canon. 

Heartbreak High is also remarkably engaged with fashion, a rare occurrence in Australian television. Every character on the show has a distinct and personal sense of style, and costume designer Rita Carmody has bound the show's styling to its storytelling.

“When I first heard about Heartbreak High being rebooted, it was a job I actively pursued. I wanted the chance to dress a whole classroom of Generation Z,” Carmody told The Oz.

“I love Gen Z’s style, it goes back to my own youth and teenage years, which were in the 1990s. It was fun to be able to go full circle on that,” says Carmody. In tribute to the original series, the show leant into Gen Z's enduring fascination with the "messy, chaotic vibe" of the 90s. 

Amerie (Ayesha Madon) in her 90s' inspired Fila windbreaker.

Dressing a school of (very alternative) Zoomers is no easy feat. As honorary members of Gen Z, even we have a hard time keeping up with the barrage of weekly TikTok ‘core’ trends.

So how did Heartbreak High rise to the occasion?

Moodboards.

“It first starts with the script, always. There are clues to who these people are," says Carmody. The research combined following a bunch of Gen Z influencers and tapping into their style, and plucking from dyed-in-the-wool subcultures (in the case of Quinni, the reference was Cybergoth.)

“Every character gets a comprehensive mood board to start with filled with reference images that we think these people might be. We wanted to dress them all in different looks, but keep that teenage feeling where one person might wear a necklace that someone else is wearing later. Where you’re all borrowing looks from each other.” 

"Borrowing looks from each other." The shared necklaces of Heartbreak High.

Carmody also consults the actors. “There’s an opportunity for actors to feed back into the boards and their characters, and tell me who they think the characters are and want to portray them.”

“That dialogue is really important,” Carmody said, particularly with characters like Darren, a non-binary person of colour, and Quinni, an autistic character played by actress and author Chloe Hayden, who also has autism. 

“She chose a lot of the jewellery that Quinni wore throughout the show,” Carmody said. “We had fidget pieces and poppers and things that Chloe, as an autistic person, uses in real life. She wanted those things for Quinni as well.” 

Chloe Hayden as Quinni.

Showcasing Australian designers and brands is at the forefront for Carmody, brands like Double Rainbouu, Dypsnea, Alice McCall, and a standout Wah Wah x Kaylene Whiskey knitted sweater all feature.

“I always wanted to show a look in Australia that needed to be different to what’s already out there on streaming platforms,” Carmody said.

It was equally important for Carmody to pay Australian bands and artists their dues. Throughout the show, teens don shirts from the likes of ragged noise punks DZ Deathrays, Yolngu rapper and dancer Baker Boy, grunge stalwarts Magic Dirt, Melbourne raw rockers Bitch Diesel, and beloved pub rock band The Bombers. 

Kylie Minogue and The Bombers merch.

“I didn’t want any American band tees,” Carmody said. “Even in the background, people would turn up in Bob Marley or Rolling Stone shirts and it just wasn’t on. 

“It needed to be Australian or it wasn’t allowed on screen.”

Carmody admits that the music acts Heartbreak High landed on “was a bit of potluck.” 

“There are a few throwbacks. We found this vintage The Bombers shirt for Amerie, who are a Sydney pub band from the 90s, we just thought it was a cool t-shirt more than anything. I love the idea that a teenager might buy a vintage band shirt, not really knowing who it was.”

“Emery also wore a Magic Dirt shirt to bed. I like the idea that it might have been one of their mums, that she’s adopted for her pyjamas. We chose Baker Boy for Malikai, because he’s so cool. As an Indigenous, stylish guy, it made sense for him to wear that T-Shirt.”

“DZ Deathrays was a big conversation, a lot of bands were in the running for that one. It had to be the right kind of band that were loud enough for Spider’s lines.” 

She notes that there are a bunch of band tees donned by extras in the background. “I think there’s a Delta Goodrem one out there.”

Carmody and her department tapped into the psyche of how we, as Gen Z, source our clothing.

“There’s a lot of vintage, and op-shopping,” she said. “The Alice McCall set that Emery is wearing in the Mardi Gras episode came off Depop.” 

Amongst the affordable brands, streetwear and vintage threads, Darren’s wardrobe catches the eye. The character rocks the grail Dion Lee corset, which retails for $500, and t-shirts from Heaven by Marc Jacobs. 

Darren's iconic Dion Lee corset.

“Dion Lee is expensive, and we imagined that a character like Darren might have saved for a while for those pieces,” Carmody said. 

“They are more aspirational for sure. There are a few expensive pieces, but we wanted it to have truth.”

Who amongst Gen Z hasn’t waited for FarFetch to add the extra 15% off sale items, so we can snaffle up the Margiela Tabi’s we’ve been pining over for months; or woken up at the crack of dawn to be the first at Kirribilli Markets to score a hallowed pair of Miu Miu sunglasses. 

“I think those few expensive pieces we had imagined that the character should save for and that they thought were important enough to spend the money on,” says Carmody.

“The whole show is a love letter to public education, and it needed to have that truth."

"You have your key pieces that you save for when you’re a teenager, and you’re scouring markets or Depop.”