Clueless on Rodeo Drive – The Mayor and the Costume Designer talk Fashion – As if!

Thirty years ago high schoolers dressed down, and then came the
movie Clueless. In her yellow plaid kilt and many other colorful
and stylish outfits, Cher Horowitz, the good-natured if
meddlesome high-schooler played by Alicia Silverstone, made
audiences laugh with her, love her, and envy the looks created by
costume designer Mona May. 


“Everybody dressed grunge in 1994 when we were preparing the
movie, and the movie set a new rule of dressing. You know, I
created a whole other fashion landscape,” May tells Lyn Winter,
host of Rodeo Drive –The Podcast, in a special episode to
coincide with the 30-year anniversary of the movie and the launch
of the third annual week-long Rodeo Drive Celebrates Fashion
program spotlighting the unmatched craftsmanship and innovation
in fashion on the legendary “street of dreams”.


May is joined by Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona R. Nazarian PsyD,
who shares her fond memories of the film, her personal love of
fashion, as well as pride in the leading role played by Beverly
Hills in Clueless, which was shot in multiple locations including
the Electric Fountain, the Witch's House and, of course, the
iconic street of high fashion - Rodeo Drive. “I think what makes
Rodeo Drive so special is that people still want to be able to
come and walk here as Cher did in the movie, that it's still
relevant. The stores are still spectacular. I mean, where else
can you find Frank Gehry and Louis Vuitton coming together to
make these beautiful buildings come to life? It's just so
exciting,” says Mayor Nazarian.


May also shares her journey to becoming a costume designer and
getting her big break with Clueless, followed by work on movies
including Romy and Michelle, Never Been Kissed, Wedding Singer,
Enchanted, House Bunny, and Stuart Little.


May was born in India and then moved with her family to Europe
and then New York. She studied fashion before moving into costume
design, and met Clueless writer/director Amy Heckerling while
collaborating on a pilot about two party girls in New York
City. 


“The pilot didn't get picked up, but we formed this incredibly
creative relationship. Amy is an incredible writer, an incredible
artist. She loves fashion, so we were like two birds together. So
when she wrote Clueless, she called me and said, ‘I really want
you to do this film. I need a very different point of view,
something that's going to last a long time’.” 


May created a timeless look for the teens in the movie that took
cues from L.A.’s sunny spirit and its greenery and flowers, from
fashion icons, and even from the period of the book that inspired
the movie, Emma, by Jane Austen. Think, empire waists and cap
sleeves. Her goal was to make the young actresses feel
“quintessentially feminine” while empowered. Then there was
Cher’s unforgettable plaid skirt. On eyeballing “Jean Paul
Gaultier yellow,” recalls May, “We had the vision. And it was
perfect, because she became the queen bee, yellow sunshine, and
completely the queen of the school.”


Now a new generation is getting to enjoy the film once again.


As she welcomes Clueless fans both young and old, Mayor Nazarian
says of the film, “It just makes you feel really good. It uplifts
you, and we need that now, I think. Everybody needs
it.”  


This special edition of Rodeo Drive – The Podcast is presented by
the Rodeo Drive Committee with the support of Beverly Wilshire, A
Four Seasons Hotel.


Executive Producer and Host: Lyn Winter


On behalf of the Rodeo Drive Committee: Kathy Gohari


Scriptwriter and Editorial Advisor: Frances Anderton


Editor and Videographer: Hans Fjellestad


Theme music by Brian Banks


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.