‘Clueless’ costume designer shares the stories behind the film’s fashion

Twenty-five years ago, a little movie called “Clueless” hit theaters — and changed fashion forever.

From Cher’s yellow plaid suit and little red Alaïa (“a-what-a?”) dress to Dionne’s larger-than-life hats, the film’s wardrobe is among the most beloved in celluloid history, flipping the script on ’90s style and influencing trends for decades to come.

The woman behind all those outfit changes (60 for Alicia Silverstone alone) is costume designer Mona May, who recently teamed up with online vintage boutique Thrilling on a collection of one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by the ones in her movies, “Clueless” among them.

With prices ranging from just $30 to $200 and highlights including colorful berets, pleated tartan skirts and a bright red tutu Amber would love, the collection — which launched Monday — is enough to make any fan start buggin’.

Below, May shares the stories behind some of the most iconic looks from Cher’s computerized closet.

ON CHER’S YELLOW DOLCE & GABBANA SUIT: “The color was really important. It’s the opening scene of the movie, it’s the quad, a lot of people are crossing, there’s a lot of greenery. We tried different colors and they were beautiful, but the yellow was really popping, which we needed. The energy of the yellow was so beautiful. It was taking something that’s as iconic as a school uniform to a whole other level. And plaid, well, I love plaid forever.”

Paramount

ON THE GIRLS’ GYM-CLASS LOOKS: “A P.E. uniform is usually black and white, so I thought, what would Cher do? What would the girls of Beverly Hills do? Cher had her white T-shirt with the black strappy tank top over it — which now you can buy as a set. She was very put-together, very precise, but very simple.

“But then Dionne, she has the tuxedo shirt and the sheer sleeves to match, and her little skirt, and of course the matching white beeper. She’s a little city girl-meets-grunge, so she has her bandana. So it was really going with the character of each the girls. And then of course Amber, my fashion victim, it’s almost like a 1920s bathing suit.”

Paramount

ON CHER’S ALAÏA DRESS: “The Alaïa dress was so hard to get. We wanted something very special for our Christmas party. Something very Cher but kind of pushing the envelope, being a little bit more sexy. She was always very proper — nothing was ever too low. We knew she was going to go down on the ground, so when I reached out to Alaïa, [I asked to borrow it]. We didn’t have the kind of money to buy it. They were like, ‘We love it, we love Alicia Silverstone.’ So they lent us the dress. We had to return it, so we cleaned the floor before [she gets down on the ground]!

“I designed the jacket with the feathers so there was a Mona May original to go with it.”

Paramount

ON CHER’S CALVIN KLEIN DRESS: “We had a bunch of different stuff in the fitting and it was more negligees and slips and spandex, which just wasn’t right for Cher. It was too sexy; she’d never do it. So when we found the Calvin Klein, it looked like lingerie but it was a dress. It was very innocent as well. We had the write [the ‘go upstairs and put something over it’ line] into the script!”

Paramount

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