Season 2 of HBO’s hit show Euphoria is still a hot topic of discussion, with the show’s fashion captivating the attention of fans.
Weekly viewers from all over the world stream the drama series, and Variety recently reported that, despite having to compete with the Super Bowl, 5.1 million people tuned in to watch the show just a few weeks ago. If you scroll through Twitter or TikTok on a Sunday night, prepare to have your timeline filled with spoilers and jokes you probably don’t understand unless you’ve seen the latest episode.
But all memes aside, the fashion is still one of the biggest parts of the show. Whether it’s Maddy’s dress from the party scene in Episode 1 or Cassie’s country music star look, Season 2 of Euphoria has delivered nothing but iconic fashion moments. The show’s costume designer for both seasons, Heidi Bivens, has completely elevated the characters’ styles. Wearing everything everything from Miu Miu to Jean Paul Gaultier, it’s safe to say the Euphoria leading ladies are the best dressed kids in town.
From the first season to the second, the characters have had major style evolutions. With the second season taking a darker, more serious turn, the outfits reflect the tone. Here’s a breakdown of the style evolutions of the main characters of Euphoria.
Maddy Perez
Whether you have watched Euphoria since its premiere or just started tuning in, it’s nearly impossible to escape the outfit photos of Maddy Perez, played by Alexa Demie. Rightfully so, Maddy has set trends that hundreds of people have worn in the past few years. The infamous I.AM.GIA carnival outfit from Season 1 along with her iconic makeup looks made Maddy the fashion icon of the show.
In Season 2, Maddy’s outfits reflect her maturity and growth. “Well her vibe this season is definitely darker. I think she also is feeling more grown up…She’s a little bit more mature than her age this season, probably,” Bivens said in an interview with Vogue. Maddy wears more black in Season 2 playing into this darker style, with her Episode 1 sexy cutout dress from Akna Store for the party scene and the Marc Jacobs and Devon Lee Carlson collab dress with lace details for her birthday party. “We knew we wanted to use something by Marc Jacobs,” Bivens said in the behind the scenes look at the end of Episode 4. After the episode premiered Carlson shared on her Instagram stories that as soon as the sample was made she sent it over to Demie, who was the first person to get the dress. We think it’s safe to say Maddy is still a trendsetter, and look forward to seeing her looks during the finale.
Kat Hernandez
Kat Hernandez, played by Barbie Ferreira, had a major style evolution in Season 1. She went from wearing girly and soft styles to sexy looks including corsets and chokers. Even though we haven’t seen much of Ferreira’s character this season, the looks Bivens has put the actress in are fantastic. In the season’s promo photos, she’s wearing the above look that’s something Olivia Rodrigo would totally wear — the highlight being the one love skirt from OMIGHTY. Then, for Maddy’s birthday party, Kat wore a custom Aune dress by founder Xenab Lone Jamilt that had jaws dropping. But, the best look so far has to be the babydoll dress she wore to the party in Episode 1 that was a collaboration between Bivens and Mimi Wade. “I think her taste and her style is individualistic in that I don’t think she’s swayed by what the other girls are wearing, or deciding what she’s going to wear based on what other people are wearing. I think she does have a strong idea of what she thinks is cool,” Bivens said, describing Kat’s style in Season 2.
Lexi Howard
Maude Apatow plays the lovable Lexi Howard. Out of all of the characters, Lexi might have the best wardrobe seen in Season 2. She has a preppy school girl vibe that fits her refined personality. “Lexi has always been the most conservative out of all the girls, and is more bookish than any of them. So the brands she tends to gravitate towards are feminine, but maybe in a more intellectual way than her sister. That’s the thread I tried to keep running through all her costumes, she might have had the most costumes out of any character this season,” Bivens said. Since Lexi’s iconic style is more refined than her peers, Biven’s shares that she put Lexi in more designer pieces to match her feminine style, regardless of it being realistic. “I did abandon this idea that I really held on to the first season, to try to keep all of the costumes believable, like these characters could buy them. So you’ll see Lexi wears a lot of Miu Miu this season.” The Miu Miu plaid red dress from Episode 2 and striped polo t-shirt from Episode 3 have been some of her best looks this season.
Jules Vaughn
Otherwise known as enemy number one to many fans right now, Jules Vaughn, played by Hunter Schafer, was another major trendsetter from Season 1. This season, we see Jules styled more like a typical high schooler, dressed up for parties but laid back for school. This is a bit different from her round-the-clock dressed up looks from Euphoria’s first season. “In the beginning of the show her character really looks to men for validation and it’s important to her to have attention from men, but as the story progresses she starts to give less fucks about what guys think, and she experiences love in a different way,” Bivens said in an interview with SSENSE. “I think she’s surprised by that, and starts to come into her own. Then we don’t see these candy anime looks anymore.”
Her party look from Episode 1 is entirely done by what Bivens considers “cutting-edge independent designers” like Orseund Iris and NIHL. Bivens also shared in her interview with Vogue how Jules’ growth and even her relationships have impacted her style. “A lot of scenes came up where it just didn’t make sense to put Jules in the silhouette of the costumes of the first season. Obviously, she still has a lot of those clothes in her closet — it’s not like she got a whole new wardrobe overnight. But you’ll see this relationship between the new character, Elliot, and Jules and Rue, and how at times their style could be almost interchangeable. I think that was something fun to explore in subtle ways, how friends influence each other,” Bivens said.
Cassie Howard
Sydney Sweeney plays the chaotic character Cassie Howard. When it comes to style evolutions, Cassie has probably had the biggest one. Emulating a lot of Maddy’s looks and borderline becoming a country music star, in Season 2 the audience sees just how much Cassie’s look reflects the character’s current journey. “I think what you see her trying to emulate is what she wishes she was, and so, more than a lot of the other characters, I feel like Cassie’s clothes are a costume. You’ll see that in future episodes where she’s really grasping. She’s still trying to figure out how to present herself to the world, and I think so much of what she does and how she dresses is about wanting to be loved,” Bivens said.
Rue Bennett
Zendaya was the youngest woman to win the Emmy for best actress in a drama series for a good reason. Her portrayal of Rue Bennett in Euphoria is impeccable and in every episode her performance gets better. Style wise, Rue has always been pretty laid back. She has a chill vibe that’s seen in all of her outfits. Right off the bat in Episode 1 we see her in cool vintage pieces from Jean Paul Gaultier paired with Roberto Cavalli pants. Rue’s staple outerwear piece, her dad’s burgundy jacket, isn’t seen as much this season. “I think there was a lot of clinging to old memories in the first season, with the death of her father, and while that sweatshirt didn’t disappear — it definitely is still around — I think there’s just so much opportunity over the passage of time for us to show something besides just that sweatshirt. Just to make her character feel more well rounded,” Bivens said, explaining her styling choice.
No matter how you feel about the characters right now, you can’t deny that they’re all stylish. Whether you have a preppy style like Lexi or an edgy style like Jules, the Euphoria girls are likely to give you major fashion inspiration.
“In terms of style, I played it safe the first season. I really tried to be conscious of making it realistic…this season, that went out the window, because I just wanted to have fun,” Bivens told Interview Magazine. Going into the season finale, it will be interesting to see what Bivens styles the girls in for the remaining scenes. Something tells us the best is yet to come fashion wise on Euphoria.
Featured photograph by Eddy Chen / HBO.
