How costume designer Sara Byblow reimagined Elle Woods' pink wardrobe for a new generation

Twenty-five years later, Amazon Prime Video's prequel series Elle, which premiered on 1 July, revisits the teenage years of the future Harvard lawyer. Played convincingly by Lexi Minetree, the series takes viewers back to 1995, as Elle swaps the polished glamour of Bel Air for grunge-era Seattle, where fitting in is anything but easy.

The wardrobe plays a starring role in that journey. Costume designer Sara Byblow uses the many shades of pink to mirror Elle's emotional arc—from the confidence and exuberance of a 16 year old to the vulnerability and self-doubt she experiences as the new girl in an unfamiliar city. Blending archival 90s fashion with custom pieces and contemporary silhouettes, Byblow creates a wardrobe that feels nostalgically familiar and strikingly relevant for today's generation.

In an interview with Lounge, Byblow talks about dressing one of cinema's most iconic fashion characters, using colour as an emotional language, and reimagining Elle Woods for Gen Z without losing the essence that made her a cultural phenomenon. Edited excerpts:

Most of Elle's outfits are in shades of pink. Could you talk about the character's moodboard?

Elle Woods' signature colour is pink. Whenever people think of her character, pink is the first colour that comes to mind. So there really wasn't a big discussion about whether or not we were going to use pink.

My biggest goal was to make sure we explored every end of the spectrum of that colour so we could really tell the story of what she was going through.

The series captures Elle's formative years, so I wanted to tell that story through the different shades of pink. For instance, her sweet 16 birthday dress in the first episode is hot pink because it's a moment when she feels her most confident. When she moves to Seattle from Los Angeles, we see her in really light, soft pinks to show that she's figuring herself out in a new city and building a new life. The same goes for her first day of school—she's so vulnerable. That's why we dressed her in a satin light-pink look, to help the audience feel that vulnerability.

Pink is such a beautiful colour because it's so feminine, but it can also be incredibly strong. It became a powerful way to tell a story of female empowerment. I'm just so grateful to be able to take the pink torch and run with it, and to tell Elle's story for a whole new generation.

The show is set in the 1990s, but all of Elle's outfits feel so current. Was that intentional?

Fashion always moves in circles, and we're living in a nostalgia era right now, so a lot of those looks naturally fit into today's context as well.

I also think the original movie has really stood the test of time. There's a reason we're still talking about it today. Our goal was to capture that nostalgic feeling, but through a modern lens.

There are definitely moments in the show where people will say, "Oh my gosh, I had that in the ‘90s," or, “That reminds me of a dress I used to own”. But at the same time, it still feels modern.

We also incorporated vintage and archival pieces throughout the show. For instance, in the first episode, Elle wears an Yves Saint Laurent dress from the 1992 runway. There are several other archival looks from the 1992 and 1993 collections as well.

For us, it was always more about the style and the silhouette than recreating a specific year. We wanted to evoke those feelings of nostalgia without boxing ourselves into, "This is 1995". We wanted a younger generation to watch the show and connect with it too.

Where did you source the outfits from?

Absolutely everywhere. There are pieces in the show that were custom-designed and made in-house, alongside archival and vintage finds from around the world.

Elle is an eclectic person. She's not someone who's going to look at a designer and say, "I'm only going to wear this label." She gravitates towards pieces that speak to her, regardless of where they come from.

We really wanted to capture that spirit in the show because I think that's what makes her such a compelling character.

Most of the other characters in the show are dressed in muted colours like blues and blacks, creating an almost anti-fashion mood...

That's exactly right. In the mid-1990s, Seattle was the epicentre of grunge music. It was a time that embraced anti-establishment ideals and an anti-fashion aesthetic.

At the beginning of the series, we wanted the audience to feel that sea of grey. Then Elle walks in wearing pink, and it's almost like she's up against a wall she can't break through. We wanted her to stand out as much as possible.

That makes it relevant even today, with growing conversations around consumerism, especially among Gen Z. Was that also a factor in giving the other characters an anti-fashion look?

I think this show has come at the perfect time. There's a reason Reese (she's one of the executive producers of the show) decided this was the moment to bring Elle Woods back. I think the younger generation is really open to that idea now. More people want to express their individuality rather than blend into the crowd. Fashion has become such an integral part of who we are today.

Beyond cinema, fashion is such a powerful visual storytelling tool. If you walk down the street and see someone in baggy jeans carrying a skateboard, you immediately form an impression of who they are. If you see someone in a perfectly tailored Chanel suit with pearls, you have a sense of what kind of life they lead.

As costume designers, that's what we do—we help tell the story and express what the characters are feeling without them having to say a word.