Euphoria fans question Zendaya’s designer wardrobe for junkie Rue: ‘Pay that lady back!’
Zendaya as Rue in Euphoria season 3 (Image: HBO)
Euphoria has sparked fresh backlash after viewers spotted Zendaya‘s character Rue wearing a Saint Michael hoodie reported to cost around $1,000, despite the character being portrayed as broke and in serious debt in the series three premiere.
The hoodie has been widely discussed online because the episode also establishes that Rue owes her drug dealer $100,000, and has been working for dealer Laurie for two years in an attempt to pay off the debt.
Some of the reactions have been blunt. One viewer wrote: “Rue has holes in her socks but yet she’s wearing a $1000+ hoodie?” Another added: “Rue if you don’t sell that hoodie and pay that lady back”.
READ MORE: Euphoria fans brand Sydney Sweeney scene a ‘humiliation ritual’ as Cassie enters adult industry
The scrutiny has not been limited to one item. Rue is also shown wearing a patchwork jacket from the same brand, reported to have originally cost $4,050 and to be reduced to $2,835.
Other characters’ wardrobes have also been pulled into the debate, with fans highlighting Jacob Elordi’s plaid Bottega Veneta shirt, retailing for $6,080. His character Nate also wore a $1,143 brown polo shirt from the same designer brand.
During the season three premiere, Nate spoke with fiancé Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) about wanting to keep costs of their upcoming wedding down, which Cassie was not happy with.
Elordi became a brand ambassador for Bottega Veneta in 2024, however season three costume designer Natasha Newman-Thomas told the New York Times she sourced his character’s wardrobe before speaking to him about it.
She explained: “[Nate’s] employees don’t know that it’s Bottega. They’re just like, Oh it’s like a flannel. But the investors are like, Oh, I see that woven leather belt, they see the Rolex, they know what’s up.”
Why Rue’s hoodie is causing backlash
The latest round of “fashion detective” posts taps into a long-running conversation about how Euphoria balances gritty storylines with high-end styling. For some viewers, the luxury labels feel at odds with plotlines built around financial struggles and crisis.
Others have argued that many audience members will not recognise specific pieces as designer at all, especially when the items read on screen as a standard graphic hoodie or plaid shirt.
Newman-Thomas explained to the New York Times that Saint Michael is owned by her friend Cali DeWitt. She said that with showrunner Sam Levinson, they wanted a “Gonzo journalist aesthetic” for Rue, and Saint Michael provided them appropriate clothing options.
Heidi Bivens’ ‘f*** it’ approach
The show’s former costume designer Heidi Bivens previously addressed the realism debate in a 2022 interview with Dazed. “Oh f*** it! I was so sensitive to all of those comments during the first season,” she said.
Bivens added: “But in the second season of Euphoria I was just like ‘come on, this is not reality’. Sure the show deals with real issues but Sam had given all of the departments permission to break any preconceived idea of what we thought the reality of the show was.”
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