Clean-cut, wholesome and decidedly demure. Look at the ultra-Disneyfied costumes in this month's "Hannah Montana" movie and you'll see the latest reflection of the accelerating shift toward more parent-friendly tween fashions.
Forget Britney-era bling 'n' bras or clingy American Apparel spandex -- 16-year-old "Hannah Montana" star Miley Cyrus wasn't even allowed to wear leggings while the cameras were rolling. Spaghetti straps were verboten, as were bare bellies, micro minis, one-shouldered tanks and anything resembling a camisole.
In part the decision was a pragmatic one aimed at keeping Cyrus connected with "Hannah Montana's" 6- to 14-year-old tween demographic, even as the actress herself moves beyond it. "We wanted her to look as natural, normal and neutral as possible in most of the film -- hair and makeup of course, but especially costumes," says director Peter Chelsom.
Veering away from "Hannah Montana's" garish TV get-ups, as well as Cyrus' increasingly grown-up off-camera style (remember her glittering, somewhat stately, scalloped Zuhair Murad couture gown for this year's Oscars red carpet? Not your average 16-year-old's party dress), he and the film's costume designer, Christopher Lawrence, dialed down their young star's look.
The goal was to clearly differentiate between Miley Stewart, the carefree girl in the "Hannah Montana" franchise (and alter ego of its flashy fictional pop star), and Miley Cyrus, the real-life star whose brand is valued around $1 billion. And they were mindful of the impact of "Hannah's" style, which plays out in a vast array of branded apparel, not to mention body shimmer, guitar picks and even a "Hannah Montana" ceiling fan ($99.95 from Disney's shopping site). "Miley Cyrus is a role model for young girls," Lawrence says. "And that's something we took very seriously."
Movies set in the present day tend to feature store-bought looks, but Lawrence knew that the clean-cut, Hayley Mills-inspired image he wanted for his star would be a tough find in Abercrombie & Fitch, Limited Too or American Eagle Outfitters, stores that are popular among tween and teen shoppers.
"When you go out shopping for young girls, colors are acidy and fabrics are clingy," he says. "You see lots of spandex cotton, tank tops and spaghetti straps, really short skirts and tight jeans. Some of this stuff is way inappropriate." With that in mind, he made nearly all the costumes himself. (Original costumes were also necessary for licensing reasons, as several are being re-created in miniature for new "Hannah Montana" dolls.)
Lawrence brainstormed with fashion designer Nony Tochterman, founder of the House of Petro Zillia label and boutique on 3rd Street, known for its uber-feminine, whimsical designs. Then he went away and created a series of guilt-free, girly looks -- coquettish Carrie Bradshaw-esque outfits for the glamorous Hannah Montana character, and rustic "Little House on the Prairie" get-ups for girl-beneath-the-star Miley Stewart. "Feminine, pretty clothes -- but the kind a girl can still climb a tree in," Lawrence explains.
Like a ruffled powder-pink dress with a bow and ruffled skirt, for instance, paired with a Chanel-inspired mini jacket for Hannah Montana's Rodeo Drive shopping moment. The most memorable of the film's looks -- a demure-yet-punky white cocktail dress that channels Audrey Hepburn in "Sabrina" -- was worn with a mini cardigan to cover the actress' pale shoulders.
When the Hannah Montana character quits L.A. for Nashville, reverting to her Miley Stewart persona, we see her in an array of country girl looks -- and not the haughty Ralph Lauren equestrian kind. Think down-home plaid shirts, sweet '70s-style prairie skirts worn with Frye boots, and denim tight enough to be trendy, but that always flares to a practical boot cut.
The most risque get-up in the entire movie is a slinky sheath dress covered in multicolored paillettes, conjuring images of the Studio 54 dance floor -- but even that sexy little number had its siren potential dimmed thanks to "nice broad shoulder straps" as designed by Lawrence, who was always careful to leave plenty to the imagination.
The movie's tendency toward the tame is very much in line with what's happening in tween fashion, says Gloria Baume, fashion director of Teen Vogue.
"There's a general shift away from 'Britney style,' " she says, referring to the kid-ult, exploitative fashions that started appearing in stores around the turn of the millennium: Padded bras and high heels for 8-year-olds. Tube tops for babies. Thongs for 6-year-olds. The kind of kids' styles that ventured far beyond Renaissance-era conventions of dressing kids like adults, entering into distinctly Humbert Humbert territory.
