As Stranger Things returns for its final season, fans haven’t stopped talking about Eleven’s unexpected wardrobe change, and it turns out Millie Bobby Brown had questions of her own long before audiences did.

Costume designer Amy Parris, who has crafted the show’s aesthetic for the past three seasons, revealed that she anticipated the uproar. The now-viral look, a cropped sweatshirt with shorts layered over joggers, was pulled straight from authentic 1980s fashion. “It was absolutely a thing in the ’80s,” Parris said in an interview with The New York Post. She added with a laugh that she’s already hearing comments like, “Shorts over sweats?"

Parris said she studied old yearbooks and real teen styles from the era, looking beyond familiar pop-culture icons. Still, the outfit draws on recognisable influences: “A mix of Josh Brolin from The Goonies and Punky Brewster,” she explained, both known for their easy, thrown-together looks.

But the design wasn’t just about nostalgia. Parris noted that Eleven’s internal struggle influenced the clothing choices. With Max still in a coma, the character has no one “to guide her” anymore. As a result, Eleven isn’t focused on dressing up—she’s simply trying to look “as fashionable as she can” while navigating grief. Parris admitted she always knew the outfit would cause a reaction, calling it “a very specific ’80s moment.” Even Brown initially hesitated. After seeing early concept drawings, the actor emailed the Duffer Brothers asking, “Are you sure about this?” During a later fitting, she joked about the silhouette, quipping, “I’m so glad I’m married!”

The designer described the interactions as light-hearted. Brown ultimately embraced the costume once she saw it on camera. “You know, once she saw how cute it looked on her… She got into it, I think, once she realised how comfortable it was and how easy it was to put on,” Parris said, calling the look “a fashion risk for the time.” According to Parris, the Duffers often remind her not to lean too far into Brown’s real-world influence. “Millie Bobby Brown is kind of an entity in herself,” she said. To keep Eleven grounded, the creators ask her to make the character’s style “less cool” so viewers stay connected to the girl from Hawkins rather than the global celebrity playing her. “We want to remember that she is this character. So, we always pull back from making her a little bit too cool,” Parris added.

The first half of the eight-episode final season premiered on November 26. Episodes 5 through 7 arrive on Christmas Day, with the series finale landing on December 31.