‘Stranger Things’ costume designer dismantle Max’s look from season 5

The fifth and final season of Stranger Things is now streaming on Netflix, and fans are fully immersed as Eleven and her friends prepare for one last battle to save Hawkins from Vecna’s grip.

As viewers pore over every detail of the closing chapter, the show’s costume designer Amy Parris and hair department head Sarah Hindsgaul recently sat down with Us Weekly to unpack some of the visual Easter eggs woven throughout the first installment season, including one particularly complex look tied to Max, played by Sadie Sink. 

Parris began by revealing that designing Max’s appearance while she is trapped inside Vecna’s mind proved to be her biggest challenge of the season. 

“I think the hardest [look to design] for me in season five was Max in that cave,” she shared, referring to Sadie Sink’s character.

According to the designer, the outfit was intentionally layered with meaning. 

“The cave look was a mix of a lot of different pieces that she’s found,” Parris explained. 

“A story to figure out [is] where she’s come from and what she’s found in the in-between of what we don’t see as a viewer, knowing she’s been searching Henry’s mind for a long time.”

Parris added that Max’s wardrobe reflects fragments of the people she encounters while navigating Henry Creel’s memories. 

She said that this should feel mismatched yet purposeful “like it’s a boy’s shirt over a woman’s blouse with some jeans from a dude and maybe some boots from Joyce [Winona Ryder].”

Before wrapping up, the designer teased a subtle callback hidden in Max’s footwear. 

“The boots are actually very similar to the boots that Joyce is wearing [in] that really quick 1950s scene,” Parris noted. 

“Those could have been her boots, right?”