Designing an Icon – Sara Byblow on Bringing Teen Elle Woods to Life for Prime Video’s ‘Elle’
1999’s Legally Blonde, starring Reese Witherspoon, remains a touchstone for many millennial women, inspiring a generation to pursue law school, chase their ambitions, and stay true to themselves—all while looking fabulous. Now, more than 25 years after the film first premiered, Prime Video has unveiled Elle, an all-new YA series that explores the formative high school years of the iconic Elle Woods, offering audiences a fresh perspective on one of pop culture’s most beloved heroines.
The hit series has been a must-watch on Prime Video, and audiences have utterly warmed to the presence of a teenagd Elle Woods, played by the fabulous Lexi Minetree, and the journey that Elle takes as she navigates first love, friendship, family upheaval, and discovers the inner strength that will ultimately define her. Stylish, nostalgic, and full of heart, the series blends the sunshine of Beverly Hills with the rain-soaked grunge influences of 1995 Seattle, creating a unique visual identity that gives the franchise an exciting new edge.
In celebration of Elle’s arrival on Prime Video I was very fortunate to be able to sit down with the series costume designer Sara Byblow, to discuss the enormous task of recreating an entire decade, and for Byblow, joining Elle was a rare opportunity to build a character whose future audiences already know so well.
Watch the full interview below:
Sara was exceptionally love to chat with, and her passion for exploring this new, and previously unseen chapter of Elle Woods life, and along with re-creating an entire fashion decade was an utterly fun project to work on, and proves that pink never goes out of style.
Filled with heart, humour, fabulous fashion, and genuine emotional warmth, Elle has completely won over the hearts of audiences everywhere, with this series delivering both a feeling of comforting nostaslgia and refreshingly original take on this fabulius character.
Elle is streaming now on Prime Video.
Image: Prime Video
