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“Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl. The prestige series will address just how much social media—and the landscape of New York itself—has changed in the intervening years.” – Gossip Girl, 2021 synopsis
We learned last year that streaming service HBO Max is rebooting Upper East Sider drama Gossip Girl with a whole new cast and a whole new outlook. But, while its cast may be brand new and its social progression vastly improved, the fashion looks to be as impeccably styled and wildly ostentatious as its predecessor.
Snapped filming around New York City in the last few days, in particular on the famed steps of The Met where Serena and Blair once perched in the original series, this new group of wealthy trust fund bébés have been forming a tableau of fashioned-up school style. And while I didn’t attend the hallowed halls of an esteemed New York private school in my youth, I can only assume this display to be once again fabulously theatrical in its collegiate licensing.
Snappy miniskirts with Henley blouses alongside oversized Oxford shorts that overlay micro shorts and new-season leather slouch boots. Chanel two-pieces, Gucci loafers and Fendi baguettes, it’s the kind of preppy fever dream we’ve come to expect from the franchise. A world of lattes to-go and salacious happenings, that all seems so alarmingly chic for a group of 17-year-olds. While the cast en masse draws likeness to the original, executive producer Joshua Safran has said that the new characters will draw on a more progressive human experience.
Given that the original Gossip Girl launched the careers of Blake Lively, Penn Badgely and Leighton Meester, new recruits Whitney Peak, Eli Brown and Jordan Alexander are in good stead for a flashy future. And, with fashion labels looking for new to ways to spruik their wares (many fashion week runway shows have become pandemic collateral) these young actors are not only set to offer turn-the-page storylines but legitimate what-to-wear-next costuming.
In this era of peak armchair travel, we’re devouring voyeuristic fashion-life-experience programs like never before. As we saw with Emily In Paris, they don’t even have to be particularly good for audiences to relish in their romance.
While the series’ filming has been delayed due to the pandemic, the network is still citing early 2021 for launch. Here’s your first look.
