We rarely see Skye wearing anything other than green, cutout outfits. “Green is obviously synonymous with envy,” Buxton reflects. “Skye’s actions are bitchy, but she’s just an insecure 16-year-old girl. She’s projecting, she doesn’t know herself at all.”
While Tara seems to be more self-aware and “doesn’t need to peacock with clothes”, Skye wears her green dresses like a uniform to look older.
“We do women a real disservice by telling them what sexy is supposed to look like, and we do Skye a disservice as a 16-year-old to tell her that this is what’s sexy,” Buxton says. “If certain clothes make you feel good, brilliant. Just make sure you dress for yourself and not for someone else.”
Skye Peer Pressures Tara Into Wearing Green
One of the most powerful scenes sees Tara clad in a neon green mesh dress she’s borrowed from Skye as she walks down a deserted street. For Buxton, this was possibly the statement piece of the entire film. “It just had to scream at you,” she says. “As soon as it went on Mia’s body, I was like, ‘That’s the one’.”
The more sexually-experienced Skye pushes a couple of her green, fast-fashion-like outfits on Tara, whose wardrobe mostly features parachute pants and t-shirts. By wearing her friend’s signature colour, Tara tries to conform to her aesthetic, signifying Skye’s peer pressuring her into ticking things off her holiday list – including having sex.
“That dress is pure Skye’s fashion, it’s cut right down, it’s see-through. But it has to make Tara the focal point as well,” the costume designer says.
