Olivia Hussey starring in 1968 Romeo and Juliet.

By the time Seventeen While running a fashion show starring Hussey in September 1968, she was modeling fast fashion equivalents of her own movie costumes. As designers like Yves Saint Laurent and Ossie Clark moved away from fashion’s miniskirt lines and angular shapes, Juliet’s longer, softer dresses served as a Shakespearean transition into a new fashion era. Renaissance-style bodices and crushed velvet bell sleeves by legendary ’70s designers like Biba’s Barbara Hulanicki and Marion Donaldson were aftershocks of this trend. You can still see it today in Dôen’s manor-born nightgowns and Khaite’s tulle bodice dresses with tight but puffy sleeves. Taylor Swift referenced the film in 2021’s reimagined version of “Love Story” by wearing an ivory silk nightgown reminiscent of Hussey’s.

Olivia Hussey Romeo and Juliet.

But there is a bitter irony here: the 1968 version. Romeo and Juliet featured both Hussey and fellow teen star Leonard Whiting as naked, underage sex symbols; this is something both actors have condemned in recent years as clearer language about consent and intimacy has entered the film industry. The iteration was marred by the bare line, but the film’s legacy remains largely due to the outfits.

In the ’80s, Juliet’s vibe receded and space was made for her. working girl– Stylish sportswear pieces like polos and mom jeans, as well as padded jumpsuits and handkerchief skirts worn with Denise Huxtable-style sweatshirts. However, it turns out that Juliet is waiting on the sidelines for her next leading role. It wouldn’t be long before he was back in the spotlight.

Claire Danes as Juliet in 1996.

1996

Baz Luhrman when Romeo + Juliet Released on the big screen in 1996, the film was a box office success and career maker for then-17-year-old Claire Danes, who played the film’s hapless heroine. Costume designer Kym Barrett made Juliet’s famous party dress from heavy cotton, and for the wedding scene she created another white silk suit similar to the one Giorgio Armani made. At the film’s premiere in Los Angeles, Hollywood It girls like Reese Witherspoon and Neve Campbell dressed to match the theme with puff sleeves and crushed velvet. The Danes wore modest Miu Miu skirts and embroidered coats on the press tour. Thanks to the recent arrival of E! and MTV News, millions of kids were able to watch these fashion trends on television after school.

“If you were a teenager who was very obsessed with fashion, you would watch (Romeo + Juliet) As a teenager I thought ‘Oh my God, is there a Miu Miu in Shakespeare?!’ says Chakartash, laughing. “Everyone wanted to dress like that.” By February 1997, Anna Sui had donned Juliet’s already iconic angel wings on runway models, and Betsey Johnson had recast Juliet as Alek Wek (in a velvet minidress and giant cross necklace) and Ling Tan (in a crushed velvet maxi dress). ”red eyeliner).

“We were coming out of this era of toughness in the late ’80s and early ’90s,” explains designer Nicole Miller, whose own Capulesque bodices were among fashion week hits at the time. “Everything was so hard. We were returning to a time of softness, emotion and femininity. It was time to let your clothes come from the heart. And of course we went to the clubs every night. The Canal Bar. Nell’s. The center of attention. That ‘Juliet’ look; she didn’t watch TV.” “Or even if you hadn’t seen that movie, you could see it everywhere in the ’90s.”

2010s

There were some notable love letters to Juliet in the 2010s, including the breathtaking Valentino couture collection in 2016, which reimagined the heroine’s iconic red velvet gown in red silk. Wildfox Couture’s 2011 “Montagues and Capulets” collection transformed Shakespearean tragedy into super cute baby t-shirts and hoodies, paving the way for streetwear brands like X Girl and INTL Collective to add their own spin to the aesthetic. these amazing pants.

Meanwhile, brands like Simone Rocha and Vivienne Westwood continue to translate Elizabethan romance into romantic pieces on the catwalk. When asked why Juliet is still a Pinterest reference, designer Anna Shaheen of Cucculelli Shaheen insists it has something to do with the agency. “Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy,” he says. “But Juliet has a strong mind; he is not grinning or helpless. He refuses to bow to Congress. For fall, she and partner Anthony Cucculelli used opulent Renaissance-style embroideries on sharp, modern blazers to combine Juliet’s many incarnations into one gorgeous coat.

2024

Rachel Zegler’s Juliet wears a wedding dress made of Armani fabric after the famous final scene.

This past Fashion Month, Chloé and Collina Strada presented two of the most intriguing interpretations of the modern Juliet, with a controlled silhouette created by thin, feminine materials such as organza and chiffon. Or you can channel Zegler’s onstage Juliet in the white column dress made of Armani satin that she wears in the show’s final tragic moments. Chakartash says the costume team made three versions of the dress so Zegler could walk around in fake blood and wear a new dress at the next show. To clean the dresses between appearances, the costume team soaks them in cold water and Dawn dish soap overnight.

Chakartash says dressing like Juliet is a cleansing in itself. “Romeo and Juliet “On the surface it is a very misogynistic game,” they explained. “But Juliet takes control of everything she can. It makes you root for him. Maybe it doesn’t work for the character, but it gives hope to all of us as viewers. And by dressing like him, you give yourself that hope. Maybe one day things will be different. Fashion gives you this chance.”

Faran Krentcil is a fashion journalist and critic based in New York. He is the founding editor. fashionista and a graduate of Duke University. His work was published in the journal Wall Street Magazine, Vogue, Harper‘Bazaarand more.