In the age of online shopping, stores have taken a back seat. However, Forbidden Fruits is putting mall culture — and style, or “mallcore” — back on the map. Now in theaters, the new indie film stars Lili Reinhart (Apple), Victoria Pedretti (Cherry), Alexandra Shipp (Fig), and Pumpkin (Lola Tung), a close-knit crew who work at the overpriced store Free Eden – a nod to Free People. “From the beginning, we knew the clothes were going to be very important because they work in the store,” Sarah Millman, the film’s costume designer, tells TZR. Of the Dallas-based fantasy store, he adds, “It’s an amalgamation of many types of stores.”
Think about Forbidden Fruits 2026 characters I can take Telling Girls dive. They may not come from wealth, but these young women rule the shops – commanding the aisles with the same confidence and attitude. For example, take the fountain scene in the 2004 rom-com, which was, in fact, set in the same mall as Forbidden Fruits. Needless to say, Telling Girls served as Millman’s touchstone. “It’s talked about a lot because, of course, it’s catchy and accurate,” Millman says of the early aughts film. Elsewhere, for example, Pumpkin wears a small denim dress, while Cherry wears a pink tonal look – capris included – that emphasizes the first moral influence.
But with “fruits”—four fruits, each of which is named after a fruit—remains in the meeting place they call “Paradise,” the clothes also needed a dark, magical place that is not there. Telling Girls. “I looked Heathers because there is this preternatural worldly spirit in it.” Once the store closed, the characters ditched their mallcore look in favor of moodier ensembles, including gauzy black capes and suede skirts.
While dreaming up the wardrobe, Millman built racks for each character, filled with the pieces he envisioned them wearing. He says about this performance: “It was not a very ordinary situation; it was a collaboration. Reinhart, meanwhile, was wearing several pieces from his film room. In the opening scene, for example, the actress dresses herself in her Coperni blue knit. Her character, Apple, is something of the “Patrick Bateman” of the alliance, Millman notes, talking about American Psycho. Millman explains: “He’s wearing a mask and he’s an emotional person, so his outfit shows that he’s really trying to control the narrative around him. So, Apple is often seen in sleek silhouettes, slimming on the body and dark colors – save for the look mentioned above.
Cherry sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from Apple, says Millman. Drawing on Hollywood icons such as Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe, the actress creates a sensuous look, with bustiers and a palette of soft shades. As for Fig, she is a resident of the mall goth club, and Hot Topic serves as a sartorial book. Then there’s Pumpkin, the latest addition to the pack. “She’s the special one,” Millman says. “She’s a character that really embodies the Texas sunshine,” Millman adds, noting that Pumpkin is the best girl around.
Because the players were making less money, access was the key to passing Millman. To that end, the group relied on one shopping center in particular: American Eagle. “American Eagle sent us so much that we had a really good foundation,” the clothing designer shares. The adaptation also provided clips from the film, with Susan Alexandra making the beaded bracelets worn by each character.
Likewise, the film’s modest budget meant that Millman found some wardrobe pieces at thrift stores. “My client, Sarah May, and I are big junkies, so we’d go out and browse the vintage stores in Toronto, where the movie was shot.” That’s not to say that designer pieces were off the table. Rodarte, on the other hand, appeared during the alliance games: Apple in a red dress decorated with a bow, Cherry in a peach ruffled satin number, and Fig in a black lace dress. “In each paradise, we wanted them to feel above their daytime appearance—almost sacred in a covenant-like place.”
For Millman, working with a female character was almost a welcome change – especially after his last project, Printerstarring Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman, and Lior Raz. “Meredith, the director of the film, is very generous with her work. She brought me into meetings that I wouldn’t have been a part of, like the production plan, and because the departments are so interconnected, I saw that collaboration in a way that I never did before,” he shares.
Of course, you might not give up shopping online for shopping after seeing them The Forbidden Fruitbut relying on the mall rat approach is not a bad idea. With brands like American Eagle, Abercrombie, and J.Crew on the rise again, you’ll be right there.
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