Is ‘I Love LA’ Gen Z’s ‘Sex and The City’?

“Oh yeah, we made a rhinestone-embellished thong. That’s probably the only thing we made from scratch,” quips Christina Flannery. The Chicago-based costume designer is known for her work on series such as The Righteous Gemstones and The Chi, but we’re chatting across time zones—me in Mumbai, her in LA—about her latest release, the Rachel Sennott starrer I Love LA.

Did your teenage years involve a steady diet of 90210? Now picture those characters and their dysfunctional relationships as Gen Zs, in a world filtered through social media and vape smoke. “We wanted to make a show that feels attainable,” she tells me. “LA is a melting pot of aesthetics. There’s a big influencer culture there. It’s like a modern-day version of Sex and The City where people anywhere can watch it and still say, ‘Hey, this is fun and cool’ and also not feel alienated in a way.”

I Love LA, now streaming on JioHotstar, follows a group of tight-knit, co-dependent friends as they navigate life and careers in LA. The series has fashion woven deep into the narrative. Case in point: in episode two, two influencers get into an ugly catfight over a Balenciaga Le City tote. Outfits and their constant documentation are de rigueur, even if the occasion is grocery shopping. Case in point: “The Trader Joe’s in Silver Lake is the second busiest one in the world. People don’t show up in sweats. It’s that grind culture. You never know who you’re going to run into or network with. You always have to be ready, stay ready.”

A ’90s moodboard

Skin and a cheeky sensuality, both synonymous with the ’90s and early 2000s, are a constant theme through the show. The show’s protagonist, Maia (Sennott), is an aspiring talent manager. Sennott’s portrayal distills Carrie Bradshaw’s hyper-feminine, heel-trotting hot mess to a tee. Remember that scene from Sex & The City where Carrie is chasing after her boyfriend’s lost dog, scuttling on New York sidewalks in a prairie top, dolphin shorts, and kitten heels? Here, we see Maia cafe-hopping in a pleated minidress, painting the town red in a Dilara Findikoglu corseted fit, or pairing a grungy Re/Done T-shirt with a slim Prada longuette skirt circa 2012.

Beyond Bradshaw, Flannery’s moodboard was full of images of It girls from the ’90s and early 2000s. “I was looking at pictures of Claire Danes in her Miu Miu lingerie-esque dresses, Kirsten Dunst in her saccharine camisole tops, and Reese Witherspoon, who had this erotic minimalism,” Flannery says.

Somebody that you used to know

From the Girl Boss to the Cool Girl or the harrowed Talent Manager, the show is filled with a series of distinctive yet oddly familiar character tropes. Maia’s boss, Alyssa (Leighton Meester), dons a sophisticated closet of wispy archival Dolce & Gabbana dresses and Ulla Johnson rib knits. While Maia doesn’t directly mimic this, we see splices of influence in her girly Betsey Johnson dresses. “Alyssa belongs to the girl-boss millennial era, and Maia aspires to be here. So, while Alyssa is more reserved and Maia is more contemporary, you see her inching closer to Alyssa’s style of dressing through a colour palette, or sometimes a button-down shirt.”

Maia’s softness contrasts starkly with her best friend, Tallulah (Odessa A’zion), whom Flannery describes as an “anarchist” both in personality and style. The couch-surfing influencer dresses in a DIY wardrobe that’s built through borrowing or stealing from friends, brands, and designers. There are emerging brands like French label Justine Clenquet and vintage Vivienne Westwood, all in one wardrobe. Flannery describes her look as, “Think Bikini Kill, riot grrl subculture... There’s also a queer element there. It’s all very ‘fuck you’.”

A true visual treat for fans of The Bear is seeing Ayo Edebiri take on the role of popstar Mimi Rush. Flannery elaborates, “We were going for an FKA twigs, alien feel. It’s heavily inspired by Japanese and Korean street style, so I incorporated a lot of international brands like Windowsen and Marina Eerrie, a designer from Puglia. My proudest find, however, was an archival Alexander McQueen jacket found in the sci-fi section of a clothing rental store. The owners didn’t even know it was a designer piece!”

Comeback brands and Depop treasure

Flannery used to once own a thrift shop herself, so it’s no surprise that she scoured LA’s finest and most obscure corners, including Pasadena’s mammoth Rose Bowl flea market, to acquire some gems. The designer also brings to light some brands that aren’t obviously associated with Gen Z style—Jean Paul Gaultier, Fred Perry, Fossil… “I discovered things on places like 1stDibs, The RealReal and Etsy, as well as local pop-ups. It was all about matching things that are for $50 with something that’s, like, $400,” she shares.

Most ’90s kids have memories of adopting certain trendy, often questionable accessories of the time. We see those very pieces—tiny butterfly hair clips and bedazzled tops—return, albeit with a chic subversion. Only this time the tank top has the word ‘cynic’ emblazoned on it. “There’s a really incredible photo of Carrie Fisher wearing that tank top back in the ’70s. I discovered that top as a happy accident well before even actually prepping for the show on Fashion Brand Company, and I knew it had to be a part of Maia’s wardrobe.”

Flannery ends on a philosophical note. “Today, it’s all about context and subversion. Now, when worn with natural makeup, a visible bra strap doesn’t look obnoxious—it looks cool, in an Addison Rae kind of way. As teenagers, we were forcing things just to conform. On the other hand, these girls have individuality, and I feel quite jealous thinking why I couldn’t look so cute back then.”