Inspired by youth culture over the past 50 years (since the birth of the teenager) the Skins trend is about anti-fashion and not following the obvious trends. This helps firstly on a practical so as not to look dated by the time the show comes out. Each character has an individual style to reflect their separate personalities and this year the costumes have matured with the characters.
“A timeless distilled essence of youth” is how Edward Gibbon (Costume Designer) described the Skins style to me over lunch today. The look is Edward’s individual take on fashion. There are no rules. All colours can work together, no patterns clash and it’s a mixture of vintage, charity shops, designers and high street. TKMaxx is a favourite. We also customise a lot of our costumes, although most of the tiny details are only really seen if you’re looking closely.
The characters are all very confident in what they wear and each have a colour theme which helps when buying the clothes. For example Jal’s colours are earthy and natural but still strong (maroons, bronze, yellow and oranges). This series sees Jal with a bit of a make-over pleasing Larissa no end. We purposely try and stay away from black and last year the bright colours helped distinguish our cast from the background. However, people are now becoming more daring in the colours and fashion they experiment with.
Cassie’s illness is reflected in her costumes. In her head she’s in a 1920’s silent movie and therefore dresses appropriately depending on her state of mind. In Cassie land anything goes. If Michelle is Vogue then Cassie is ID
Effy has taken the Emo look to a whole new level, this year we’ve been layering and slashing beautiful dresses to create a gothic look, not always practical when filming in November!
Skins series II is rockin’ some great new looks. The boys are, as always looking great. We’ve ditch the jeans for suit trousers and tucked in shirts. Might sound ominous but it looks really smart (in a good way). So, if you’re a fan and watch the repeats then have a close look at the costumes. You may get inspired.
