In Defense of Glitter (Specifically, the Costumes)

Glitter, the 2001 movie-musical starring Mariah Carey, was critically panned upon its release 20 years ago. It’s still considered by many to be one of the worst movies ever made (Rotten Tomatoes gives it 82 percent rotten). But we beg to differ. Sure, the film’s plot may be patchy, and some characters are majorly underdeveloped, but the movie’s glitzy costumes, brought to life by costume designer Joseph G. Aulisi, are a bona fide masterpiece. The skimpy minidresses and tight slips are the perfect time capsule of trashy 2000s clubwear, and it’s an aesthetic that so happens to be coming back in style right now. I mean, have you seen the new Blumarine collection?

If you’ve never sat down with some popcorn and taken in this cinematic gem, the plot follows Carey as Billie Frank, a young singer in New York’s club scene who suddenly skyrockets to fame. Once she’s on top of the world, she learns that fame does, in fact, come with strings attached. It’s hardly an Oscar-worthy script, but from the opening scene, you know you’re in for a fabulous fashion ride. We see a young Billie crooning with her mother (a jazz singer) in a dark, smoky club. Her mother wears a glittery floral ruffled dress, and the striking frock looks like it could be plucked straight off an Anna Sui runway today. 

Photo: Courtesy of Everett Collection

In the next scene, we meet Billie as an adult, dancing in a nightclub wearing nothing but a leopard-trimmed bustier (the wind blowing in her hair just right—a Carey signature). Her costumes—and there are a lot of them!—only get better from here on out. As Billie begins making it big, her fashion ascends as well. We see her wearing an asymmetrical top and ruffled miniskirt (very Alexandre Vauthier today) and, later, a tight sweetheart-neckline minidress with pink sheer gloves (very Saint Laurent). My favorite scene in the whole movie is when Billie takes her two friends on a shopping spree, and the three of them wear head-to-toe gold outfits—complete with matching gold cowboy hats and berets. 

These over-the-top 2000s style hits don’t end with Carey; the supporting characters have stellar fashion looks, too. Silk, a famous singer who can’t actually sing, played by Padma Lakshmi, often steals the show in her feather-trimmed catsuits and chain belts. Max Beesley as Julian, a nightclub DJ, also wears black leather pants and tight tank tops—and it’s a going-out look that I’m dying to wear on my next Friday night out. He also has a habit of wearing boxy leather jackets, and they might as well be from current-season Balenciaga.

The pièce de résistance, however? It’s at the end of the movie, when Carey is—spoiler alert—reunited with her estranged mother while wearing a glitzy sequined gown that she had just performed in in the prior scene. Now that’s a finale dress! So, please, hear us out: If you haven’t seen Glitter yet, don’t discount it from the reviews you may have read. Instead, simply sit back, press play, and take it in from more of a fashion point of view. You may just get more outfit inspiration from it than you think. As Carey herself would say, each scene is a moment. 

Below, more Glitter fashion highlights.