TV series no longer produce fashion icons

When talking about fashion icons on the small screen, the first two that come to mind are Carrie Bradshaw and Francesca Cacace. Journalist and relationship expert in late 1990s New York, one an Italian-American nanny (in the original version she came from a Jewish family in Queens), the other, have for years carried the burden on their shoulders of being the female television characters whose wardrobe was most discussed, admired and, above all, imitated.

The looks of Carrie Bradshaw and Francesca Cacace

The blonde and the brunette were seemingly very different and yet had some things in common. Firstly, they were eccentric and fearless, the absolute protagonists of their aesthetic choices, trendy and passionate. This was thanks to professional stylists and costume designers (Brenda Cooper for The Nanny and Patricia Field for Sex and the City) and a well-chosen and successful combination of personality and style. Secondly, they were very distinctive from the start, repeating recognisable and therefore instantly identifiable and familiar styles. Crotchless miniskirts, tight dresses, long tousled hair and brightly coloured outfits for Francesca, eccentric combinations, contrasting volumes and glamorous New York looks for Carrie. With the ubiquitous Manolo Blahnik heels and ever-changing blonde hair.

Inspired by them, pages sprung up first on Tumblr, then on Instagram and finally on TikTok to identify the garments they wore in the iconic scenes of their respective TV series. Complete with 'dupes', i.e. similar but not identical garments (we dare you to find the nanny's Moschino outfits or the 30-year-old single woman's Dior Galliano dresses in a shop now) to recreate their looks.

The looks of TV series from the 2000s

With the great return of the millennium and the fashion of the decade of the 2000s, the time of Disney Channel's very young stars soon arrived. As shown by user Lila.gnx on TikTok, who has dedicated several videos to reproducing their outfits, Ashley Tisdale in her High School Musical days (2006) and Zack and Cody in Grand Hotel and Miley Stewart/Hanna Montana are all the rage. Low-waisted trousers, long and frayed tops, extreme layered looks, colourful and unusual accessories, pointy shoes.

The looks of TV series from the 80s and 90s

Finally, the sitcom queens of the 80s and 90s deserve a mention: Rachel Green (style icon from the hair down), Monica Geller (recently rediscovered) and Seinfeld's Elaine Benes with her slicked-back hair, off-the-shoulder blazer and tiny loafers. An indelible figure of US style at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. And even though Julia Louis Dreyfus declared that she hated her style, Elaine is more popular today than ever.

The looks of contemporary TV series 

Which contemporary protagonists in the TV series have this power? Who can we draw inspiration from now? Who will we emulate in 10 years' time? Since Skins (Effy Stonem was a cultural reset for a whole generation of girls and boys who grew up on bread and MTV), it has become increasingly difficult to identify female characters who have meant so much in the history of the small screen, almost from the beginning. With a few exceptions (Fleabag's black jumpsuit, Euphoria's make-up), no one seems to be able to assert themselves so obtrusively these days. There could be several reasons for this. Perhaps some aesthetic role models (think Jocelyn from the controversial film The Idol) are simply unrealistic and unattainable, and others are so over-the-top and out of this world that they become the subject in a negative or ironic way (think Emily in Paris). There is also the problem of saturation. When between four and ten new episodic products are released every month, streamable from any device, and about a third of them promise (by eyeballing standards) disturbing and inspiring female protagonists, something inevitably gets lost in the flow, and the thousands of impulses fight and cancel each other out. If the life of a new media product is decided in the time it is being discussed online, it means that the final season of a series of TV (and its world, its characters and its characters' clothes) will be born and die within a week or so. There is no time to hold anything back.

The relationship between fashion and TV series yesterday and today, what has changed?

And not only that. In the past, as seen in Sex and the City, the media system and the fashion system existed in symbiosis. They had no direct contact with the public and functioned by inspiring each other in a closed circuit and then providing the product of their union to the public, who were inspired by it from various points of view (including the aesthetic). Now the movement has become cyclical and no longer proceeds from top to bottom, but in an intricate and fluid open circuit of references. The author and producer are constantly listening to what the audience is saying, thinking and doing.

All in all, young girls are tired of being inspired from 'above'. They prefer to inspire themselves by looking at social or street style and taking inspiration from various sources that were not so prevalent in the past (think cartoons or characters from books and fanfiction). This is not to say that there will never be another Carrie Bradshaw, but it will certainly be harder to pick out a single, iconic, radiant and enduring character from the flood of references, images and cross-references.