The Breakfast Club: How Teen Archetypes Revolutionised Colour in Styling
When ‘The Breakfast Club’ premiered in 1985, it didn’t just define a generation, it defined the way teenagers expressed themselves through clothes and, crucially, colour. The film brought together five characters who embodied distinct high school archetypes of the era: the nerd, the athlete, the basket case, the princess, and the criminal. Each one is instantly recognisable not just by their behaviour, but by the colours they wear. From the soft pastels of Claire’s preppy wardrobe, to Allison’s dark and moody layers, colour acts as a silent narrator, telling the audience who these characters are before they even speak. This use of fashion as a tool for identity and rebellion was not unique to the film, Heathers used costuming in a similar way only 3 years later, but The Breakfast Club captured the phenomenon at its peak; – when cliques dominated high school culture. Today, in the age of TikTok aesthetics and curated online personas, we’re still seeing the ripple effects of the era.
Colour has always been one of the simplest and most powerful ways for individuals to signal their place in society. For teenagers, who are in the process of forming their identities, fashion becomes a crucial language, and colour acts as one of its most expressive words. For example, the colour black is most often associated with alternative subcultures, people who may identify with goth or emo aesthetics, whilst bright, pastel colours might be worn more often by people who are more interested in mainstream and popular culture. During the late 20th century, when cliques were a central part of high school culture, colour became shorthand for social identity.
Each high school archetype of the 80s through to the early 2000s had its own unofficial dress code, with colour at its core. Preppy kids often gravitated toward pastels and polo shirts, aiming for a look that was clean and polished. Goths on the other hand, were practically defined by their devotion to black, sometimes accented with dark red lipstick or silver accessories, as a deliberate rejection of their counterparts. Jocks wore school colours and varsity jackets, using their clothing to tie themselves to their teams and athletic achievements.
The Breakfast Club used costuming to reinforce these archetypes visually. Claire’s pink blouse and skirt mark her as the 'princess' before she even opens her mouth. John Bender’s layered plaid shirt and army-green jacket embody his rebellious criminal persona. Even Brian’s beige sweater and khakis signal his neutrality and conformity as a nerd. By exaggerating these palettes, the film highlighted how colour acted as a social boundary line. Something teens used to sort themselves into groups, both consciously and subconsciously.
Though the rigid clique culture of the 80s and 90s has softened, the idea of using clothing and colour to signal identity is alive and well, it just has a new, digital form. Instead of cliques, Gen Z has TikTok aesthetics: 'clean girl,' 'dark academia,' 'coquette.' Each of these styles has its own colour palette, from the beige-and-white minimalism of clean girl aesthetics to the moody browns and forest greens of dark academia. Colour still helps teenagers find belonging, but now these identities are simply chosen and performed online. It’s important to note that due to the cyclical nature of fashion, we’re now seeing many of these specific stereotypes return, just in a new form. The pastels of preppy culture are back through trends like 'old money aesthetic,' while the all-black goth palette has resurfaced as 'grunge revival' and 'goth girl fall.' The freedom to mix and experiment has increased, but the core idea remains the same: colour is a tool for storytelling, a way for young people to make sense of themselves and to find their community.
The Breakfast Club didn’t just give us an iconic detention scene, it captured a universal truth about youth fashion: what you wear, and what colours you choose, speak volumes about who you are. From the pastel preps to the black-clad goths, colour is a powerful marker of belonging and rebellion, shaping entire generations of youth fashion. Today, the school cliques have dissolved into online aesthetics, but the language of colour persists, perhaps more intentionally than ever. Whether on TikTok feeds or in the hallways, Gen Z are still using colour to define, refine, and perform their identities; just as they always have.