From Rue’s vintage Jean Paul Gaultier vest to Lexi’s Miu Miu dress, Euphoria season two is certainly delivering on the style front. And ever since watching episode two, we’ve been lusting over the incredible designer-filled closet belonging to Samantha (played by Minka Kelly) that Maddy (Alexa Demie) discovers – and plays dress-up in – while babysitting for her.
In fact, the walk-in wardrobe is filled with real-life vintage pieces from Aralda Vintage, ranging from Loris Azzaro and Christian Lacroix to Valentino and Alexander McQueen. “Alexa was actually one of my very first customers when I opened my first bricks-and-mortar store in 2017,” Brynn Jones, founder of Aralda Vintage, tells Vogue over the phone from LA. “She introduced me to [costume designer] Heidi Bivens, [who] explained the scene where Maddy tries on all these gowns. And [so] we had multiple fittings and Heidi was like, ‘I think I’m just going to use all of the pieces from you [for the closet].’”
Everything you see on screen comes from the Aralda Vintage store or Jones’s personal archive – including the stunning array of looks Maddy tries on during the scene. They comprise a gold kaftan by Halston, a 1991 Thierry Mugler Vampire dress, a sequin gown by Dior that dates back to the Noughties (and is the twin of one that Kate Hudson wore at the 2008 BAFTAs), a Valentino spring/summer 1993 dress worn on the runway by Carla Bruni, and a Chanel spring/summer 1997 dress and matching bag.
“When I was working on it, I did feel pretty passionate about it for the people who watch Euphoria and love fashion,” Jones continues. “The fashion montage is always my favourite part of a movie, like in Clueless, Pretty Woman, 13 Going On 30. It’s always such a classic moment for me, so it was such an honour to have a part [in this].”
Using her merchandising experience, Jones actually worked with the costume and production teams to put the closet together on set, with plenty of Easter eggs hidden for vintage obsessives to discover. “[We thought] maybe this woman is a vintage collector that has this amazing [archive],” Jones explains. “There’s a Gucci by Tom Ford lime-green dress from spring/summer 1996 – I’ve archived it because I can’t bear to part with it. There’s Prada, there’s McQueen, there are several Chanel coats, a Dolce & Gabbana cherry dress. Then there’s also just special vintage pieces that don’t have labels from the 1920s, 1930s, 1950s.” (Samantha is also seen wearing a stunning purple sequin gown by Norman Norell in episode two).
With Aralda Vintage also responsible for that ’90s Chanel suit that Olivia Rodrigo wore to the White House last year, there’s no doubt that vintage is having a huge moment right now. “It says a lot about what’s going on today,” Brynn concludes. “More and more people are falling in love with vintage and to have some of the best stylists in the world approaching me is incredible. It’s emblematic of how vintage is very current again.”
