As of January 22, Netflix has released the first season of Fate: The Winx Saga, a live-action adaptation of the 2004 animated series, Winx Club. An adaptation could only mean that the iconic world of Winx — crop tops, baggy jeans, neons and pastels, and sparkling transformation sequence — would be coming to life. Suffice to say, prepare yourself to take your low expectations and lower them. You are not the target audience.
The whitewashing of both Flora (correction: Terra) and Musa and the Techna erasure was bad enough; however, the true villain of this production are the outfits worn by the main cast in the trailer and promotional photos. It was almost as if the stylists told the cast to dress in the dark with vague instructions to stick to their character’s color scheme. Of course, that is hardly the truth of the matter when the actress portraying Bloom adorns an entirely red ensemble. Logically, it would make sense for the Fairy of the Dragon Flame to have a red color scheme. Then again, what child was looking for realism in an animated fantasy of fairies and witches in 2004? Everyone knows Bloom’s color is blue, and this intentional avoidance of the original color scheme is, quite frankly, disrespectful.
Bloom, we’re so sorry.
Moving forward to the next symbol of disrespect — despite the amount of pain this color palette brings — Stella’s actress was styled in navy. Navy! Is there a greater injustice than dressing our Fairy of the Shining Sun in dark colors? Absolutely, but this stylistic choice has tainted the integrity of Stella’s bright scheme of orange and yellow attire. The wardrobes dedicated towards the rest of the Winx are equally as disappointing and not worth noting. The styling has given us baggy couture, Riverdale-esque clothing without the fashion, and dark color schemes.
One would think that with established material on both the characterizations and essence of the show right in front of them — open book if you will — the production team would easily be able to replicate the bright colors and glittery veil of our childhood. There are no words that can encapsulate the disappointment created by the fashion disaster heard from all around the world or, more accurately, every little girl who finds herself with the YK2 aesthetic engrained in her veins.
The outfits simply reflect the dark and gritty direction Netflix decided to take with this adaptation. This translates to an absence of bright colored skirts and tiny tops, sparkling heels and jewelry, and glittery transformations of the Winx World we all knew and loved.
Words by Bri Shufford
Graphic by Katelyn Adessa