How Forbidden Fruits Puts Mall Fashion Back On The Map

In the age of online shopping, malls have taken a backseat. 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 tight-knit crew working at overpriced boutique Free Eden — a not-so-subtle nod to Free People. “From the beginning, we knew the costumes would be pretty important because they’re working in a store,” Sarah Millman, the film’s costume designer, tells TZR. Of the fictional Dallas-based shop, she adds, “It’s an amalgamation of a lot of mall brands.”

Think of the Forbidden Fruits characters as a 2026 take on the Mean Girls clique. They may not come from wealth, but these young women rule the mall — commanding the corridors with the same self-assurance and attitude. Take, for instance, the fountain scene in the 2004 rom-com, which, as it turns out, was filmed in the same mall as Forbidden Fruits. Needless to say, Mean Girls served as a visual touchstone for Millman. “It’s referenced a lot because, of course, it’s iconic and perfect,” Millman says about the early aughts movie. In one scene, for instance, Pumpkin is clad in a pleated denim miniskirt, while Cherry wears a tonal pink look — capris included — underscoring the early aughts influence.

But with the “fruits”— the four leads, each named after fruit — staying behind for an after-hours coven they call “Paradise,” the wardrobe also required a darker, witchier edge absent from Mean Girls. “I looked at Heathers because there’s this preternatural worldliness to it,” the costume designer shares. Once the boutique closed, the characters shed their mallcore looks in favor of moodier ensembles, including gauzy black capes and suede dresses.

While dreaming up the wardrobe, Millman built out racks for each character, filled with pieces she envisioned them wearing. “It was not a very typical scenario; it was much more collaborative,” she says of the process. Reinhart, meanwhile, wore several pieces from her own closet in the film. In the opening scene, for instance, the actress dons her own Coperni blue knit set. Her character, Apple, is something of a “Patrick Bateman” of the coven, Millman notes, referencing American Psycho. “She’s got her mask on and she’s a traumatized human, so her costumes reflect that she’s really trying to control the narrative around her,” Millman explains. As such, Apple is often seen in low-plunging, body-skimming silhouettes and dark hues — save for the aforementioned opening look.

Cherry sits on the opposite end of the spectrum from Apple, notes Millman. Drawing on Hollywood icons like Brigitte Bardot and Marilyn Monroe, the character channels a pin-up sensibility, complete with bustiers and a palette of softer shades. As for Fig, she’s the group’s resident mall goth, with Hot Topic serving as a sartorial reference. Then there’s Pumpkin, the latest addition to the pack. “She’s the outlier,” Millman says. “She’s the character who most embodies a Texas ray of sunshine,” Millman adds, noting that Pumpkin is the quintessential girl next door.

Given that the characters were making minimum wage, accessibility was key for Millman to convey. To that end, the team leaned on one mall mainstay in particular: American Eagle. “American Eagle sent us so much that we had a really beautiful foundation,” the costume designer shares. Reformation also supplied pieces for the film, while Susan Alexandra created the beaded bracelets worn by each character.

In a similar vein, the film’s modest budget meant Millman sourced portions of the wardrobe from secondhand shops. “My buyer, Sarah May, and I are huge thrift hounds, so we would run out and pull looks from vintage stores in Toronto, where the film was shot.” That’s not to say designer pieces were off the table. Rodarte, for one, made an appearance during the coven scenes: Apple in a red bow-adorned dress, Cherry in a peach ruffled satin number, and Fig in a black lace gown. “In every ‘Paradise,’ we wanted them to feel elevated from their daytime looks — almost sacred in a coven-like setting.”

For Millman, working with an almost entirely female cast was a welcome shift — especially after her last project, Tuner, starring Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman, and Lior Raz. “Meredith, the film’s director, is incredibly generous with her process. She brought me into meetings I wouldn’t normally be part of, like production design, and because the departments are so intrinsically linked, I got to witness that collaboration in a way I hadn’t before,” she shares.

Sure, you might not ditch online shopping for a mall outing after seeing Forbidden Fruit, but leaning into mall rat style isn’t a bad idea. With brands like American Eagle, Abercrombie, and J.Crew on the rise again, you’ll be right on trend.