American sit-com New Girl is now in its fourth season and even though its ratings are not as good as they were in the first season, the show still delivers some hilarious moments. In the first seasons the main strength of the show was ‘adorkable’ Zooey Descanhel, but as the show progressed it has finally embraced its status as the new “Friends”.
I’ve written several pieces about Zooey, her glasses and the clothes she was wearing. The season 3 finale was exceptional about that: Zooey was wearing several pieces from the collection “To Tommy From Zooey” that she and Tommy Hilfiger created. The whole episode ‘Cruise’ was a long presentation of that collection.
Fashion plays a big role in New Girl, from Zooey’s adorkable beginnings to Schmidt’s kimonos, Nick’s shirts … Recently I’ve noticed interesting tweets on my Twitter timeline about fashion from New Girl. Spylight has been tweeting what were characters wearing and also providing information where to get those pieces.
What is Spylight? The description on company’s website says that Spylight lets you shop television shows and movies instantly. You can shop your favorite characters’ wardrobes by show, season, character, and more. You can also find exact matches or shop similar looks, all in one place.
Jane Steele, set relations director from Spylight gave some information about the company for Brands&Films.
How and when did you get an idea to start Spylight? How big is the team?
“Our CEO Casper Daugaard came up with the idea. He wanted to dress like his favorite television characters. After obsessing over the idea, he assembled a team of the most capable people he knew — and built a tech prototype of the platform. We now have the Spylight website and a soon to launch iOS app that uses audio sync technology to identify what products are on screen in real time. Fortunately, the Hollywood studios loved the technology and here we are! Our staff is now close to 30 people — over 80% of our staff are women.”
How do you decide which movie or TV show will you cover?
“The studios direct a lot of what we do – along with our best judgement of popular demand, of course! We are super active on all of our social media platforms to stay up-to-date on what we should feature. Ultimately, we want to “Spylight” every major show and movie out there.”
How difficult is getting information about wardrobe from movies/TV shows and how do you do it?
“It’s a bit tricky, to be honest. Spylight works directly with the actors and costume designers to get exact information on what your favorite characters are wearing. For current seasons of shows, like New Girl and Glee, we send our fashion consultants on set to obtain this information. For past seasons of shows, we do extensive brand research and use our proprietary technology to find exact matches. We also provide similar matches for clothing we cannot identify so fans and the fashion savvy can still get the look.”
Do you also include other products besides wardrobe?
“It’s in the works! Ultimately, Spylight will change the way that shopping works. We are in the process of going through the set items like furniture to add them to our database. We have started with hair and makeup products, but soon you expect to see tables, bedding, and lamps!”
Which movie/TV show has the best costumes in your opinion?
“I may be biased because I run the New Girl account, but I have to go with New Girl. I have been working with the New Girl costume department since Season 2, so it has been a real treat to witness the creative decision-making process and the evolution of each character’s style. I believe our costume designer, Debra McGuire, along with her superstar team, have contributed to Jess’ transformation into a style icon because of her clothing on New Girl. When you think of Jess, you think of her quirky charm and her retro-inspired dresses. She is relatable and so is her clothing — which makes her outfits the best to shop!”
You can check fashion from New Girl at Spylight’s website or follow New Girl updates on Twitter.
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Jane Steele is Set Relations Director at Spylight. Read more about Jane’ Spylight style.
The point about the “Cruise” finale doubling as a long showcase for the To Tommy From Zooey collection is a sharp one — it really does blur the line between product placement and plot. That kind of wardrobe-as-storytelling detail is easy to miss when you’re just watching for the jokes. When I want a lighter break from fashion deep-dives, I sometimes hop into a quick round of krillion.me, a free browser word game you can play with friends.
The detail about the ‘Cruise’ episode functioning as a long Tommy Hilfiger presentation is a sharp observation—it’s easy to forget how much the show leaned on that collection as a plot device rather than just wardrobe. The point about the show growing into its “new Friends” status also rings true; the ensemble dynamic eventually carried more weight than any single character’s quirks. When I want a break from screen-time style analysis, a quick round of the bluffing game at mimicparty.me is a fun low-key diversion.
The point about the ‘Cruise’ episode essentially being a long presentation of the Tommy Hilfiger collection is a sharp observation—it’s interesting how product placement can become the whole set piece rather than a background detail. Fashion really does function as a character on that show, especially with Jess’s wardrobe choices carrying so much of her identity. When I want a quick mental break from screen style analysis, I’ve been messing around with noillirk.app, a small word-guessing game.
Solid point on Do you want to look like Jess or Schmidt from New Girl?. I would not force a connection to games/AI here — just noting baperrasta.app (free browser Dhaka driving game) as a light break tool.