Zoë Kravitz and Austin Butler are the new 90s-style icons The protagonists of Caught Stealing perfectly encapsulate the decade that is coming back both at the cinema and on the red carpet

Fashion is telling us, and now so is cinema. The Nineties are back, with layered T-shirts and low-rise pants once again filling our wardrobes, as well as those of characters moving across the big screen. Just like Hank, the protagonist of Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing, played by Austin Butler, a former athlete with a promising future in baseball, later shattered by a fatal accident, who doesn’t give up his baggy jeans and baseball cap even in the midst of a criminal mishap he becomes entangled in. The same goes for his co-star Zoë Kravitz, style icon and quintessence of the 90s.

She was the very reincarnation of that spirit in the series High Fidelity, based on Nick Hornby’s novel, which was published right at the turn of the millennium. The film is set in 1998, which required a precise reconstruction of streets and settings, as well as of the clothes. And it’s amusing to note that, since it aligns so closely with the cyclical comeback of past trends, both the production and the costume department realized that the people portrayed in the film’s East Village or Chinatown were not so different from those one could encounter today while strolling through the same New York neighborhoods.

New York style in the '90s

The Big Apple is also a source of inspiration for the characters’ outfits. Their street style mirrors the gritty and dynamic soul of the American city and its connection to the past, which the film’s costume designer, Amy Westcott, researched through her own photos from that era as well as snapshots of people in bars. According to Westcott, the ’90s reopened the doors to a specific aesthetic, but under a particular circumstance: with Caught Stealing, it was not just about recreating clothes or similar silhouettes, but about capturing the raw energy of that decade and the way it exploded through the streets of New York.

Certainly, the most punk character is played by Matt Smith, with a mohawk and leather jacket embodying the very essence of the reference style, also infused with British music influences from the time. For this, Westcott and the director browsed New York’s vintage shops—not just for his looks but also for the other characters’. The work didn’t stop at the outfits: accessories were also key in helping actors get into character. For Butler, it was the Giants cap that did the trick. The production had stocked up and artificially aged them to make them look worn-in, but on set, the actor always wore the same one, never switching, as if it were a magic tool to transform into Hank.

The looks of Zoë Kravitz and Austin Butler’s press tour

The Nineties of Caught Stealing extend beyond the big screen, reaching as far as the cast’s press tour. The 90s echoes ran strong throughout the promotional activities, with that faux-relaxed attitude Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz displayed at every event—like at the London presentation, where Butler wore a cocoa work jacket, white T-shirt with a ripped neckline, and green bleach-stained pants, next to his co-star in a semi-sheer dress, black ballet flats, and cat-eye sunglasses. A studiedly disheveled look: Butler is styled by Ryan Hastings, also behind Timothée Chalamet’s looks in Wonka and Dune: Part Two, while Kravitz worked with Danielle Goldberg, who, besides being Ayo Edebiri’s stylist, dressed actress Greta Lee at Venice82 in the new Dior by Jonathan Anderson.

But the Nineties were not just grunge and messy hair: at the New York premiere of Aronofsky’s film, Zoë Kravitz appeared in a gown featuring a long-sleeved top and a V-waist skirt, inspired by the outfit Yasmeen Ghauri wore on the runway of the 1990 Saint Laurent collection. Standing beside her, Butler held his own in a unique Givenchy by Sarah Burton leather suit worn without a shirt, paired with classic shoes and sunglasses, sticking with the electrifying 90s theme. More than just a good period reconstruction for Caught Stealing, it was another example of how cinema and fashion can reflect and sell a film’s very soul together.