Fashion
Channeling fictional character energy through fashion Halloween
lockdown, with its Zoom costume party quizzes and movie marathons, has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop dressing up like our favourite characters. TV and film character inspired fashion has been around forever. From Gossip Girl and Sex and the City to The Devil Wears Prada and Clueless, there are countless muses for the avid fashion fan. 2020 especially has been a year for channeling ‘main character energy’ and raiding our wardrobes for fictional character outfit recreations. Thanks to social media challenges, we’ve been getting creative with what we own, paying homage to fashion icons like Carrie Bradshaw and Cher Horowitz. However, my favourite challenges, mostly seen on Instagram and TikTok, have been the videos featuring outfits inspired by characters that you wouldn’t expect. There have been a myriad of TikTok trends that have spurred this urge to look to unlikely characters for fashion inspiration, like the ‘What I’d Wear if I Was In...’ videos back in June. This trend has been mastered by the likes of @the.navarose, who looks fire as characters in Pokemon, Star Wars, Marvel and Harry Potter. Harry Potter TikTok is a whole breed in itself, and once you get past the dramatic Draco and Cedric love triangle POVs, there are hundreds of creators putting outfits together to match the spirit (and colours) of each Hogwarts house. One of my favourites is @janiceglimmer, who mashed up Hogwarts and Disney princess inspired fashion into one by placing Disney princesses in each of the four different houses. @soupytime on TikTok began the Harry Potter character inspired outfit trend in which you lip sync to some of the characters’ most iconic lines, while wearing outfits that are not exact replicas of the characters looks from the films, but that still radiate each character’s vibes. Of course, Cosplay is a very popular way of dressing up like Hermione Granger or Tangled’s Rapunzel. But Cosplayers try to be as faithful to the original looks as they possibly can, whether they’re at a convention or just acting out scenes on TikTok. The beauty of character-inspired fashion that isn’t strictly Cosplaying is that you can add your own twists to the character looks, making them consistent to your own everyday style, while still embracing the characters’ identities. It’s a beautiful blend of your favourite characters’ fascinating personalities with your own. 10
