Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
Hollywood Star Breaks Silence After Divisive Reactions To Bold Recreation Of Iconic Movie Looks
Lili Reinhart turned her The Love Hypothesis press tour into a nostalgic trip through some of the most memorable movie fashion moments of the ‘90s and 2000s.
Working with stylist Ib Abdel Nasser, she stepped out in looks inspired by iconic films like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Miss Congeniality, Uptown Girls, Atonement, and Ever After.
Highlights
- Lili Reinhart explained that her "The Love Hypothesis" press-tour looks were intentionally inspired by iconic movie fashion.
- Her tributes to films including "Miss Congeniality", "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days", "Atonement" and "Uptown Girls" received both praise and criticism.
- Reinhart said the looks were meant as playful homages to women and movies she loved growing up.
While many fans loved seeing the throwback looks again, others felt the constant references were too much.
Following the divisive reactions, Reinhart addressed why she and her stylist chose this approach in the first place.
RELATED:
Lili Reinhart shared that her new movie The Love Hypothesis references were actually intentional
During an interview with Film Updates, Reinhart explained that her press-tour wardrobe was deliberately chosen as a tribute to women and movies that influenced her while growing up.
“It definitely was the intention,” she said, explaining that her stylist had put a lot of work into creating the different looks. However, Reinhart stressed that she did not view the outfits as costumes.
“It’s rather a homage and a tribute to iconic women that I grew up watching,” she explained.
She also said there was no huge master list of movies that they carefully narrowed down.
Instead, the process was much more spontaneous.
“It was sort of just, we’re feeling inspired. Let’s do this one. Let’s do this one,” Reinhart said.
She further explained that the choices came from movies she remembered growing up with and dresses that immediately came to mind when she thought about what they could recreate.
“It’s all just fun and playful and for the love of the genre,” she added.
The press tour of The Love Hypothesis started with some of the biggest rom-com fashion moments
The fashion campaign was created to match the spirit of The Love Hypothesis, which stars Reinhart as Olive Smith, a biology Ph.D. candidate who gets caught in a fake relationship with intimidating professional Adam Carlsen, played by Tom Bateman, as reported by Bored Panda.
The romantic comedy premiered globally on Prime Video on September 23.
Rather than dressing Reinhart like her character, Abdel Nasser took inspiration from famous women who had already defined the romantic-comedy genre.
One of the first major references was Sandra Bullock’s lavender dress from Miss Congeniality.
Reinhart wore a custom lilac Hervé Léger halter mini dress, strappy heels, and brown-tinted sunglasses. Hervé Léger also created the original movie dress, making the reference especially easy to spot.
Bullock herself noticed the recreation and left a comment for Reinhart.
“Stunning! Now all you need is a crown stunt mat to break your fall,” she wrote, joking about the famous moment when Gracie Hart trips and falls after her makeover.
Fans also embraced the reference.
“I love how she’s paying homage to the iconic look of movie characters,” one person wrote.
Another admitted the press tour had changed their plans to watch the new movie, saying Reinhart was “FEEDING” their millennial nostalgia.
Reinhart’s Kate Hudson tribute was one of the looks that divided fans
For a Brazil appearance, Reinhart recreated Kate Hudson’s famous butter-yellow gown from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
The original look appeared during the movie’s glamorous Frost Yourself gala. Reinhart wore a vintage yellow silk gown Abdel Nasser sourced from the early-2000s label Caché.
She kept the dramatic open-back shape but changed the jewelry, wearing chandelier earrings instead of the enormous yellow diamond necklace from the movie.
Reinhart even captioned her post with a line that referenced Kate Hudson. “You probably think this song is about you, paying homage to Kate Hudson…”
However, not everyone loved seeing another famous movie look recreated.
One fashion critic complained, “Everything is a homage these days. Let’s come up with something fresh, mamas.”
Another wrote, “Stuck in a nostalgia loop because no one wants to be a trendsetter anymore.”
A third comment said, “Very pretty, but enough with everything being a reference.”
Reinhart continued the movie-inspired theme with several other recognizable looks
Lili Reinhart on her press tour outfits for ‘THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS’:
“It’s not a costume to me. It’s rather an homage and a tribute to the iconic women that I grew up watching.” pic.twitter.com/FM0Q5rwDta
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 23, 2026
For Ever After, she wore a custom Rodarte gown inspired by Drew Barrymore’s pale-gold dress from the film’s famous masquerade scene.
The gown featured soft draping, sheer sleeves, and floral details. Reinhart also said the movie held a special place in her childhood, adding that she “coveted” her VHS copy and fell in love with period pieces because of the film.
She then moved to one of the most recognizable dresses in Atonement.
Her custom Tory Burch gown used the same deep emerald color as Keira Knightley’s famous dress. Reinhart also posed on a rolling library ladder, echoing the setting of one of the movie’s best-known scenes.
That recreation divided viewers too.
“Homage hype is so tired, y’all. Celebs steal old looks for attention, and fans act like it’s art,” one critic wrote.
But another viewer reacted very differently, saying Reinhart looked gorgeous and that the outfit might convince them to watch The Love Hypothesis.
The actress also recreated Jennifer Garner’s look from 13 Going on 30, complete with a brown satin slip dress and the original Nanette Lepore coat worn in the movie.
The coat was not a replica. Reinhart’s stylist reportedly found what was believed to be the only remaining archival copy and borrowed it for the press tour.
It was Reinhart’s Brittany Murphy tribute that became one of the most emotional moments
One of Reinhart’s most personal references involved Brittany Murphy and Uptown Girls.
She wore the exact Blumarine Spring/Summer 2002 style that Murphy wore as Molly Gunn in the 2003 movie. Her stylist sourced the archival piece through Rebe Archive, and Reinhart styled her hair to echo Murphy’s appearance.
Reinhart made it clear that this one meant a lot to her.
“A genuine dream dress since the day I first saw it when I was 7 years old,” she wrote, adding that Murphy’s performance had made the character unforgettable.
The response was largely emotional.
“THE MOMENT THE WORLD HAS BEEN WAITING FOR!!! I miss Brittany so much, so happy to see you bringing her memory back for a night with her dress,” one fan wrote.
Another said, “Brittany Murphy is smiling down from heaven right now; this is so beautiful!”
Reinhart has also previously acknowledged the physical resemblance fans see between the two actresses.
“Everyone says Brittany Murphy—everyone. They think I’m her, reincarnated,” she said.
Reinhart ended the press-tour run with another deep-cut reference
At the Los Angeles premiere, she wore a custom bubblegum-pink velvet Miu Miu minidress inspired by Elisabeth Harnois’ dress from My Date With the President’s Daughter. The fitted design echoed the original with its scoop neckline, white piping, and thin straps.
The choice immediately hit the nostalgia button for viewers who grew up watching Disney Channel.
One fan joked, “Is there an Oscar for Best Press Wardrobe? If not, let’s change that here and now.”
Another wrote, “I still think about this dress. I THINK THIS ONE’S MY FAVORITE SO FAR!!!!”
View this post on Instagram
But Reinhart’s team has argued that the outfits were never meant to replace her own fashion identity.
Abdel Nasser said the project was about celebrating the women and stories that came before Reinhart. He also pushed back against people who called the looks unoriginal, saying, “Lili does have her own style. She is making her mark on fashion. She’s not just copying rom-coms.”
He added that many of the movie-inspired looks were saved for fan events because Reinhart wanted to give audiences something exciting to recognize.
“There’s going to be haters, but we aren’t doing this for them,” he said. “We’re doing this for the people that see what we’re doing and love what we’re doing.”
“The Brittany Murphy one made me emotional,” wrote one netizen
Poll Question
Total votes ·
Thanks! Check out the results:
Total votes ·
Newsletter
Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls
By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!
Explore more of these tags
Related on Bored Panda
26
0