A photo taken on the set of the new Gossip Girl series went viral last year, in part for its feeling of déjà vu. The scene was ripped from the original GG circa 2007: hot teens lounging on the steps of the Met, sipping coffee, trading gossip. But it also looked extremely 2021, with a more diverse cast and of-the-moment styling knee-high boots, cycling shorts, chunky loafers replacing the headbands and platform pumps of yore.
The image caught the attention of Monse’s Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, who have remixed prep school icons in the past. But the Gossip Girl frenzy coupled with a general post-pandemic urge for experimentation pushed them to go bolder for fall 2021. Giant sweaters emblazoned with crests and symbols come with chewed-up, fraying edges; pleated skirts look like they’ve been unevenly shortened at home, a nod to Kim’s own habit of chopping up her high school uniforms; skirts have the trompe l’oeil effect of a blazer being wrapped around the waist; and tough