The oversize blazers, the over-the-top brooches, the croquet mallets: “Heathers” is back!
TV Land is bringing the 1988 cult classic — which starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater as a pair of misfit high-school sweethearts — to TV, with a new 10-episode series adapted for the present day, premiering March 7.
It has a lot to live up to.
“Heathers” is one of the greatest and most notorious teen comedies, with pitch-black humor and savage satire. It’s also a film that represents the ne plus ultra of ’80s fashion.
“I grew up watching the original movie with my sisters nearly every day,” Aubrey Binzer, costume designer for the “Heathers” reboot, tells The Post, adding that clothes were a huge part of the film’s allure.
The broad-shouldered power blazers, riotous colors and quirky accessories, worn by Ryder’s reluctantly popular Veronica and the three titular mean-girl Heathers, still inspire countless Halloween costumes and stylish high-school flicks to this day.
“It’s almost like I’ve been preparing for this show for [more than] 20 years,” says Binzer, 38.
Binzer — who has mainly done costumes for music videos by the likes of Snoop Dogg and Chvrches and sketch-comedy shows such as “Kroll Show” — wanted to pay homage to the movie’s iconic outfits without slavishly copying them, so she used color to establish a connection between the source material and the revamped version.
“In the movie, each Heather had her own color [that she would wear],” says Binzer. Queen bee Heather Chandler always donned assertive red, while her somewhat-resentful, well-heeled second in command, Heather Duke, played by Shannen Doherty (who has a cameo in the new series) was frequently clad in green. The more innocuous Heather McNamara favored yellow, while the moody Veronica relied on black or blue. “I decided to stick with that for the show,” says Binzer.
The new Heathers are a more diverse bunch: Heather Chandler (newcomer Melanie Field) is proudly plus-size, Heather McNamara (Jasmine Matthews) is biracial and Heather Duke is gender-fluid (and played by male actor Brendan Scannell).
To update the looks for modern times, Binzer eschewed the original film’s preppy aesthetic for a bold, iconoclastic, even intimidating style. “Everyone looks kind of mousy compared to the Heathers,” says Binzer. “They stand out in every scene they’re in.”
But Binzer does have a few surprises for die-hard fans of the film.
“I did put some Easter eggs in,” she says, such as an off-the-shoulder outfit the new Veronica (Grace Victoria Cox) wears on a date that is a direct reference to one Ryder wears in her first outing with Slater’s mysterious, sociopathic J.D. in the movie. “There are these subtle nods for the people who know the original.”
Here, get to know the gang and their signature styles.
Heather Chandler, the queen bee
Signature color: Red
Style MO: 1980s Madonna meets Kelly Osbourne: loud, aggressive and figure-flaunting. “Heather Chandler is superstrong, and she rules the school with her wacky and over-the-top fashion sense,” says costume designer Aubrey Binzer, who shopped for Chandler’s sparkly, flamboyant clothes at shops such as the gleefully tacky Di$count Univer$e. “She’s quirky and outrageous.”
Heather Duke, the rich bitch
Signature color: Green
Style MO: Luxe and glamorous. “Heather Duke is a gender-queer boy, so it was super fun collaborating with [actor] Brendan [Scannell] and figuring out if he wanted to be more femme this day, or butch that day,” says Binzer of the character’s sexual fluidity. But one thing that unites Heather Duke’s outfits: their lavishness. “Heather Duke is the richest Heather of them all, so we put him in a lot of Comme des Garçons, Opening Ceremony and high-end vintage pieces.” And like the movie version of his character, he wears lots of old-fashioned collar pins and gold brooches affixed to his sumptuous green blazers for some extra-classy bling.
Heather McNamara, the follower
Signature color: Yellow
Style MO: Sporty spice. “Heather McNamara is very beautiful, sleek and classy, ” says Binzer. “But I wanted to give her some edge.” While she’s not as flamboyant as the other girls in her squad, she makes a statement with tight, black athleticwear that flatters her lean figure and her bright yellow accents. Tight leggings and crop tops by Fenty Puma and Adidas, as well as jumpsuits by Diesel, get a baroque boost from statement designer jackets and accessories by Prada and Moschino.
Veronica Sawyer, the complicated outsider
Signature color: Blue
Style MO: Winona 2.0. “Veronica is the most understated of the main characters, but that doesn’t mean she’s a bland dresser,” says Binzer. For this contemporary version of Veronica, Binzer looked to the original movie and borrowed Ryder’s penchant for short ruffled skirts, haphazard pattern mixing and out-of-the-box accents, such as a monocle. “There’s something mysterious about Veronica,” says Binzer, who also incorporated insects into many of her looks, from a scarab pin to a headpiece topped with a bedazzled beetle.