Zendaya

Photo courtesy of Eddy Chen/HBO

Rue Proves That Healing Isn't Supposed to be Linear in Euphoria

Fashion takes a backseat equally Rue struggles with sobriety.

Euphoria is Gen Z's headlining production, and Zendaya is its shining star.

The actor has continued to captivate viewers of the HBO drama (at present in its 2nd flavor) with her performance as Rue Bennett, a recovering drug addict. Rue is the series' unreliable narrator, bringing levity as she takes viewers through the messy spider web of side plots in Euphoria.

As the leading character, fans of the show are almost intimately familiar with Rue: she tin can be goofy and loveable one moment, and manipulative and fell the adjacent. She's nuanced and complex, and her style is also. (Spoilers ahead!)

Zendaya Euphoria stills
Photo courtesy of Eddy Chen/HBO

Unlike her teen peers in the hyper-glamourized Euphoria universe, Rue's outfits are practical. E'er paired with her high-top black Converse, she mainly wears hoodies, graphic oversized tees, basketball shorts or cargo pants, and has an affinity for layering to create her signature amorphous await. The most of import part of Rue's wardrobe is, of course, the maroon hoodie that belonged to her late father (but more on that later).

Zendaya Euphoria stills
Photograph courtesy of Boil Chen/HBO

Her skater-reminiscent wardrobe often features streetwear brands like Online Ceramics, Aries and Andrew. Oversized, messy and perfectly androgynous, Rue'south mode also represents the fluidity of her gender identity and sexuality. In some ways, her understated fashion conveys her wish for anonymity, especially when she relapses.

Zendaya Euphoria stills
Photo courtesy of Eddy Chen/HBO

From the commencement, Euphoria costume designer Heidi Bivens styled Rue as less striking than her peers; she isn't as ostentatious as Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie) or as artistic as Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer). But Rue'south wardrobe is not defective in symbolism. This is Euphoria, after all.

At the terminate of season one, it's revealed that the maroon hoodie Rue wears in nigh every episode belonged to her dad, who died when she was 14. The hoodie is intrinsically tied to her father'south presence — he'southward even wearing it in the flashback scene where she describes her ain birth.

The sweater is her greatest comfort, just it'southward also a symbol of her emotional trauma, reminding viewers that Rue's struggle with addiction is fueled by her grief for her father. When she relapses at the finish of season one, she begins hallucinating that she'south beingness lifted upwards past a crowd of people all cloaked in the same maroon color. The garment's presence (or lack thereof) in the show is intentional.

Zendaya Euphoria Season 1 stills
Photograph courtesy of Boil Chen/HBO

Season two takes Rue downwardly her darkest path yet. Starting in episode ane, she's trying to hide the fact that she'south using drugs again — lying to her mom Leslie (Nika King), her sister Gia (Storm Reid) and her girlfriend Jules. Her addiction leads her to enter an agreement with soft-spoken-yet-terrifying drug dealer Laurie (Martha Kelly), who gives her a suitcase filled with $10,000 worth of drugs to sell.

Zendaya Euphoria stills
Photo courtesy of Eddy Chen/HBO

Rue's cluttered storyline comes to a head in episode five, when she launches into a violent breakup after her mom discovers she'due south using again and hides the suitcase. She spirals, lashes out at those closest to her and attempts to physically escape the looming reality of rehab by…running in front of moving traffic, hiding in trash cans and even burglarizing a house.

The episode is a clear unraveling of Rue. In her moments of desperation, we see the hoodie re-emerge. At the end of the episode, she has a drug-induced flashback of when she spoke at her dad'due south funeral while wearing the sweater.

Information technology becomes harder to root for her as she pushes everyone who loves her away. Simply in episode half-dozen, which premiered on February thirteen, we see Rue begin to fix her mistakes, including apologizing to her sponsor, Ali (Colman Domingo).

Three episodes earlier, as she was leaving a Narcotics Anonymous coming together, the two had a fight when Rue crossed a line with Ali, who told her he was "done" and left her and her suitcase on the steps of the edifice alone. In the latest episode, she expressed regret for reducing someone'southward life to the worst matter they've ever done. Information technology's a metaphor for where she's at in her own life, after called-for nearly every relationship span. Will her loved ones forgive her, or has she gone too far?

@fashionmagazine Reply to @amaramadueke In #Euphoria, #RueBennett's understated wardrobe is symbolic. #euphoriafashion #zendaya #euphoriainspo ♬ original sound – Style Mag

This flavour, Bivens wanted Rue'due south wardrobe to reverberate her sombre storyline. "I didn't want to do any bright colours or fashionable trendy looks for her because of the seriousness of what she was going through," she said in a recent interview. Bivens added that she pivoted away from the playful colours and patterns of last season — like Rue's Hawaiian overshirt — to signify the severity of her actions.

When Rue is sober in season one, she experiments with makeup and fashion, cheers in part to Jules'southward influence. In the season one finale, the ever-fashionable Jules calls out Rue for her laid-back style. "The fact that y'all usually wearing apparel like Seth Rogen — although you make it cute sometimes — like, it crushes my soul," she remarks, ultimately pushing Rue to dress upward for their schoolhouse'southward formal. Merely this season, she retracts, eschewing makeup entirely and no longer playing effectually with way every bit addiction takes centre-stage and she alienates Jules.

Zendaya
Photo courtesy of Eddy Chen/HBO

Along with wearing darker tones in flavor ii of Euphoria, Rue distances herself from her dad's hoodie and all information technology represents. Bivens told V Magazine that originally, she had Rue wear the hoodie less often this season to requite the audience a suspension, simply that its absenteeism is representative of Rue's downfall.

"Rue's actually becoming borderline diabolical with how she's deceiving her friends and family," Bivens said, referencing how last season, Rue wore the hoodie when she was sober and "on a good track." In season two, she doesn't habiliment the hoodie every bit much, particularly in moments where she's being roughshod — like gaslighting her sister and yelling at her mom.

Zendaya Euphoria stills
Photo courtesy of Boil Chen/HBO

"To me, instinctively, it only didn't make sense to take this hoodie exist with her every step of the way. It's a reminder of her male parent and a reminder of someone who loves her," Bivens continued. "Then it's like the sense of conscience which she's trying to block out."

Afterward hitting stone bottom, episode 6 of Euphoria ends with a sliver of normalcy for Rue. Notably wearing her maroon hoodie, she's having dinner with her mom, her sis and her sponsor. Despite going through withdrawal, nosotros see her begin, ever so slightly, to mend cleaved relationships.

Zendaya
Photo courtesy of Eddy Chen/HBO

According to Zendaya, things will become better for Rue. ​​"Episode eight is where we'll get that sense of redemption," she told The Cutting. "That y'all aren't the worst matter you lot've ever done in your life. I think Rue deserves it, and I retrieve anyone who suffers with the same thing she does deserves it."

As Rue struggles on a path to recovery in Euphoria, her quiet fashion journey is poignant.