Rose Mcgowan's Top 7 Iconic Outfits To Fuel Our Nostalgia

When McGowan showed up to the VMAs in 1998 wearing a "naked dress," she grabbed attention. She has since explained, in an interview with Jameela Jamil for her I Weigh series, that the garment was meant to convey a very precise message after the alleged assault by Harvey Weinstein. The Jawbreaker star really put her statement in the boldest way possible.
After fifteen years after the release of the gruesome adolescent thriller Jawbreaker, we felt it only fitting to honor Rose's most well-known characters, including the sexy speed freak and the go-go dancer turned zombie murderer.
This list has fetishistic clothing in the ultimate Tarantino cartoon-gore movie "Death Proof" or as the queen of cult '90s adolescent films, Tatum Riley in Wes Craven's teen horror, Scream, Courtney Shayne in Darren Stein's Jawbreaker, Amy Blue in The Doom Generation, and many more stylish characters served to stoke our nostalgia. It consists of Rose McGowan's most recognizable looks from both on and off the screen. See below for our best selections.

#1 At the MTV VMAs, 1998

Source: Barry King/WireImage

One of the most recognizable outfits to ever grace the MTV VMAs red carpet was worn by Rose in 1998. Very impressive! Rose, however, saw more than just a fashion statement in the entirely transparent, beaded dress in question; she saw it as a political message. Rose spoke to actress Jameela Jamil about the VMAs event, which occurred twenty years before she became one of the Silence Breakers for the #MeToo movement: “It was my first public appearance after being raped. And I thought, it was kind of like Russell Crowe and Gladiator when it comes out in the ring and he’s like, ‘Are you not entertained?’” In her memoir, Brave, Rose stated that the dress was “a reclamation of my own body after my assault”.

#2 Scream, 1996

Source: Scream, 1996

After receiving critical acclaim for her performance in The Doom Generation, Rose made her Hollywood debut as Tatum Riley, Neve Campbell's feisty BFF, in Wes Craven's cult classic horror film Scream. Rose's last scene outfit of a lime green sweater and patterned short skirt stands out among her iconic 90s Scream outfits (plaid miniskirts, denim blazers, and even a cropped sports jersey).

#3 The Doom Generation, 1995

Source: @seattleantiquesvintage

Rose McGowan made her Hollywood film debut in 1992's comedy Encino Man after relocating to Los Angeles at the age of 15. The actress landed her first major job three years later, playing Amy Blue in Greg Arraki's The Doom Generation. Since its 1995 release, the film has gained cult status, with Amy, played by Rose, serving as its face on Instagram and Tumblr moodboards alike. The most recognizable of Rose's several Doom Generation ensembles—and one-liners—belongs to a single piece of jewelry. In one of the movie's most often screencapped scenes, Amy can be seen sporting a pair of white horn-rimmed sunglasses that are wonderfully framed by her well-known haircut.

#4 At the Living Out Loud premiere, 1998

Source: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

The feather boa was the go-to accessory for stylish girls in the 1990s, the decade of Cher Horowitz and Anna Sui. Just ask Rose, who celebrated the 1998 comedy-drama Living Out Loud premiere in a lime green version. Naturally, she wore the flashy, feathery adornment with the Lurex sweater and a pair of leather pants, two additional fashion essentials from the time.

#5 Jawbreaker, 1999

Source: TriStar/courtesy Everett Collection

Director Darren Stein cast Rose in the 1999 dark teen thriller Jawbreaker after seeing her in The Doom Generation. Darren remarked to i-D about the casting, "She had a beauty and a bite I hadn't seen in a modern film. I almost thought it would be too obvious or easy to cast her as Courtney, but it turned out she was exactly what the film needed, and the film wouldn’t exist without her.” Since its initial release, Jawbreaker has grown to become a cult classic, in part because to Rose's distinctive performance as Courtney, the ultimate cruel girl-turned-murderer, and the movie's instantly identifiable visuals.
Stein enlisted the help of Clueless costumier Vikki Barrett to create the distinctive look of the movie's mean girls, "The Flawless Four." Barrett designed a wardrobe that reflected the "innocence of the 50s juxtaposed with femme fatales of the 20s, and punk and fetish looks from the late 70s and early 80s." Corsets, rubber pencil skirts, classic heels, argyle sweater vests, and monochrome outfits fusing 1950s twinsets with 1990s miniskirts were all part of Rose's Courtney's sugar-and-spice style.

#6 At the Jawbreaker premiere, 1999

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Rose McGowan's Jawbreaker premiere gown may have been influenced by the movie's costume designer, Vikki Barrett, who also worked on several of Cher Horowitz's well-known looks. The look was less "Flawless Four" and more "Clueless." The outfit, which consists of a silver slip, a fur-trimmed shawl, and perspex shoes, is reminiscent of the girlish minimalism worn by the Clueless lead, as well as Calvin Klein minis, organza button-ups, marabou-tipped pens, etc.

#7 At the MTV Movie Awards, 1999

Source: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images