Bringing Back Retro Fashion In Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso”
With vintage clothing trending, let's take a look at the Hollywood glamor fashion aesthetic in Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.”
Sabrina Carpenter’s song and music video “Espresso” is all about confidence and femininity. Let’s take a deep dive into how her retro glam outfits fit into this theme.
The song Espresso and its subsequent music video was released Friday, April 12th. The setting is based around the 1950s-60s, giving off a Hollywood glamor vibe with its lighting and, most importantly, costume design. She planned and recorded the song just before her debut at Coachella this year. Currently, the music video has over 14 million views on YouTube.
Sabrina Carpenter has embraced vintage fashion well beyond the debut of Espresso. She, however, is starting a new era with these looks, switching from her 90s glam and Y2K aesthetic to a much more vintage and old Hollywood vibe. I’ll be looking at just 4 of her most iconic outfits in the video, but to see all of the outfits featured, check out the video yourself:
Espresso’s music video features seven outfits in the period of the 3-minute video. At the start of the film, Sabrina stole from the man who gave her an unwanted advance. The large number of outfits implies that she went on a shopping spree with his credit card. The swimsuits display Sabrina’s complete confidence in herself in real life and in the music video.
In real life, she shines with her confidence and in the music video, she gets to buy all these amazing outfits while attracting all the men surrounding her. She also embraces her femininity with what she wears as she sings about her desirability, implying that she can get any man she wants and won’t settle for one who won’t treat her well.
The outfits
Look 1
The first swimsuit Sabrina Carpenter comes out in is a custom Carol Ai Studio sky blue bathing suit adorned at the hip with a gold sequin starfish. She also wears a pink head wrap that’s reminiscent of the 1960s. Headscarves were popular in the 60s because they signify political counterculture and experimental fashion. The late 60s was when bathing suits were merging with everyday fashion. You can see that she’s wearing stiletto high heels along with a headscarf to accessorize her suit.
Carol Ai Studio is a boutique tailoring agency that collaborates with all different sectors of the fashion, film, and entertainment industry. They’ve worked in tandem with well-known brands and production houses like Nike, Gucci, Zara, Harpers Bazaar, Vanity Fair, and more. They had done a similar collaboration using retro designs for Margot Robbie’s press tour for the 2023 movie Barbie.
This look is all about both classic style and individuality. This bathing suit is the only one that has color, as the other four women in the film are featured wearing yellow-beige swimsuits with matching beige heels. She’s also the only one featured in the film to wear a head scarf, separating her from everyone else. Her outfit is reminiscent of the classic, confident old Hollywood diva. This look goes along with the confidence she shows in herself when she sings, “And I got this one boy, and he won’t stop calling. When they act this way, then I know I’ve got ’em.”
Look 2
The next swimsuit Sabrina comes in is a brown architectural Viktor & Rolf couture two-piece swimsuit. The two-piece bikini bathing suit comes from Viktor & Rolf’s Autumn/Winter 2023 haute couture collection titled ‘Embodiment.’ The bikinis of the 1950s tended to be on the more conservative side, like this brown set. It wasn’t until the 1960s, however, the bikini became part of mainstream culture.
Viktor&Rolf is an avant-garde luxury fashion house. Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren founded the company after their graduation from the Arnhem Academy of Art and Design in 1993. They’re a widely respected and recognized brand because of their provocative Haute Couture and conceptual glamour designs. Their mission is to create pieces with both beauty and elegance through an unconventional approach. The architectural ruffles on Sabrina’s retro swimsuit are a definite testament to the fashion house’s use of elegant, unconventional design.
Sabrina is yet again wearing a swimsuit that expresses her individuality, except through the architectural design of her outfit instead of the color. Sabrina is introducing an innovative design in swimwear, using the architectural swimsuit. The ruffles celebrate her femininity as ruffles are a staple with hyper-feminine wardrobes. As a result, the swimsuit goes perfectly with the song lyric, “Say you can’t sleep, baby, I know that’s that me, espresso.” That’s because she’s comparing her feminine, confident self to caffeine, which also tends to keep people from sleeping.
Look 3
The third bathing suit look is a sheer black Norma Kamali Bill Mio swimsuit that’s reminiscent of a 1950s sweetheart neckline suit. Womenswear around the 50s emphasized feminine silhouettes such as the sweetheart neckline. Couture women’s fashion was seeing a rapid change as new designers cropped up with silhouettes that were meant to extenuate what was considered feminine. This trend became popular with Christian Dior’s design style.
The designer Norma Kamali is considered an icon as she’s invented numerous firsts in fashion. These include The Sleeping Bag Coat, casual dressing as a global fashion lifestyle, inventive activewear, wash and wear easy care, and travel-friendly Jersey knit collections. Most importantly, though, she also created swimwear that’s inspired numerous companies’ designs for decades.
This look is yet again an example of old Hollywood glamor. The sheer mesh that encompasses the suit extenuates Sabrina’s body. It’s also skin-tight enough to let her dance in it on top of this surfboard without restricting her movement. It’s also a dark brown, which not only goes with the theme of espresso, which is the basis of the song, but it also contrasts the colors of what the other girls are wearing in the background yet again. She’s special, like espresso. Hence, the bathing suit matches the line, “Walked in, and the dream came true for you.”
Look 4
Arguably, one of her most eye-catching looks is the last one. It is a beaded retro set from Retrofête. The outfit consists of Retrofete’s Lucienne Embellished Bra Top and their Ilyria Embellished Skirt. The set is almost like a cocktail dress with its many crystals and fringe but for the beach. It’s shown as the sun is coming down, which makes it that much more like it was meant to be formal wear. The 1950s era in which the video is set was also when the concept of a cocktail dress was introduced.
Retrofête is a brand whose designs are based on vintage glamor and exuberance. Its name actually melds synonyms for “vintage” and “party.” The goal of the company is to bring evening wear into the daytime. They want their customers to feel like they’re the life of the party at any time on any occasion.
The trending vintage aesthetic
Vintage clothing hasn’t just been an aesthetic that Sabrina adapted, but a long-withstanding trend. Dressing according to what was worn in a prior decade actually started in the 1940s, when they were wearing period clothing like corsets and top hats. The 1960s, however, is the decade we associate with the modern idea of what’s considered “vintage” instead of just old.
Vintage clothing has also become popular due to the rising trend in thrifting. Many have turned to thrifting because of the quality crisis in modern clothing. Popular clothing stores have begun using cheaper fabric and less-quality stitching than years prior. This hasn’t just been happening with mainstream brands but with couture brands as well.
Some also choose vintage because they want to be immersed back into a previous time. The decade they pick appears simpler and/or more glamorous to them. Whatever the reason, Sabrina Carpenter is a leader in this trend. As she is emerging in the pop industry, she has created a unique genre that classifies her as a pop princess.
Article first published on Trill Mag.
