Selena Gomez finally released the music video for "Bad Liar," where she plays four different roles (a Farrah Fawcett-type PE teacher, a basketball-playing high school student, and two parents — both the dad and mom) all set in the '70s. With each outfitted in clothes straight from the decade, it's a sartorial feast for the eyes. Racked recently interviewed Keri Perkins, costume designer for the video, and got some interesting behind-the-scenes gems on dressing Gomez. Read on for the best bits from the interview.
1. 'Dazed and Confused' was a big influence.
Perkins was hired because she did the costumes for the 1993 movie Dazed and Confused, which, fittingly, is set in a high school in 1976. Director Jesse Peretz even pulled images from the movie while creating a board for the shoot.
2. A lot of actual vintage costumes from the '70s were used.
"We were able to do a lot of the background [cast] –and a lot of Selena's looks, too–from my own stock of vintage pieces," Perkins said, "and then I pulled some in LA once I was there, too, from Palace Costume." Some costumes were reused from other films she's worked on, including Skateland and Everybody Wants Some!!
3. Gomez's personality would change with each costume.
"Once she got into each character, she really stayed in it," Perkins told Racked. "Like when she had on the Farrah hair, she just got so bubbly and so cute. It was just really delightful to watch her and to work with her."
4. The basketball jerseys were made with iron-on letters.
Also, they were bought from Forever 21.
5. The PE Teacher's jacket is from Target.
Perkins says it was also one of the only newly bought items in wardrobe. Affordable!
6. Some of Gomez's costumes are 20 years old.
"It's totally vintage," Perkins said of the singer's patchwork top in the first scenes of the video. "I'd never used it on anybody before! I held onto it for 20 years, just to put it on Selena! Same thing with the nightgown she wears at the end–it's such a cool piece, and I've never used it on anybody."
7. There were doubles made of every outfit.
Even if it meant having an assistant paint "plaid" on the collar of the duplicate peach polo she wore as the PE Teacher.
