The Rich Kids of The Politician
Graphic by Margeaux Rocco. Image via Atlas of Wonders
If there’s one thing in entertainment that will always draw in viewers, it’s rich kids in cool clothes. The new Netflix show The Politician knows this golden rule to a tee, and honestly, works it better than most. The show, which centers around a group of privileged high school kids running for student government, uses its fashion to heighten the performance and aesthetic it’s trying to present: a 2019 Gossip Girl with a politically aware tint. It’s mesmerizing to watch Astrid — played by Lucy Boynton — waltz around in a Mui Mui blouse and plaid Chanel jacket while wielding her no f**ks given elitist teenage attitude. Not only do the characters, like so many wealthy teens on TV before them, act far beyond their age, they dress like it too.
Ben Platt, who plays the neurotic, perfectionist protagonist Payton Hobart, enters almost every scene oozing a sophisticated, up-tight air around him. His collared shirts and blazers are always accompanied with matching Vejas. And don’t forget about his vintage Alfa Romeo, which he whips around with a certain je ne sais quoi that forces us to fall into the aesthetic every part of the show helps create. From the houses, to the color schemes, to the hairstyles, the show, under the creative direction of the legendary Ryan Murphy — the creator of American Horror Story and Glee —, transports us to a different world.
Image via The A.V. Club
The words Murphy used to describe the space he created for the show were ‘Opulent,’ ‘affluent,’ and ‘Republican.’ No character embodies such qualities more than Georgina Hobart, Payton’s mother, played by Gwyenth Paltrow. As inspiration for her character, Murphy pulled on images of Lauren Hutton and Jackie Onassis in ‘huge sunglasses’. In the show, Georgina waltzes around her mansion talking about her philanthropy and love for refugees, gardens in red Carolina Herrera dresses, and is constantly adorning jewels from her trips around the world. She is perfectly aloof of her luxury, the perfect combination to make us both hate and love her enough to watch every one of her scenes with a curiosity as to what outlandish thing she is going to say or wear next.
Image via Wussy Mag
There is so much elitist absurdism scattered around this show that it’s a bit overwhelming. Each character seems to have their own quirk of how they think the world works compared to how it actually does. Like how, without giving too much away, Astrid develops an affinity for the tackiness of poor people, or how Payton’s girlfriend, Alice, played by Julia Schlaepfer, always has her butler serve her the same green juice everyday.
Image via Hello Magazine
The clothing these characters wear is just a glimpse into the privileged and sheltered world in which they thrive. But I’ll be damned if I don’t enjoy watching stuck up rich kids dramatising high school life in luxury brands. Keep on being absurd, The Politician, it’s drawn me in.