{"id":886224,"date":"2026-09-09T23:16:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T23:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/886224\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T23:16:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T23:16:17","slug":"kaia-gerber-and-hayes-warner-embrace-80s-excess-in-the-shards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/886224\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaia Gerber and Hayes Warner embrace \u201980s excess in \u2018The Shards\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n In FX\u2019s \u201cThe Shards,\u201d a group of friends at an elite prep school in Los Angeles are entering their senior year \u2014 and the stakes are as high as their opulent wardrobe budgets. The year is 1981 and shoulder pads are all the rage. A serial killer named \u201cThe Trawler\u201d prowls in the background, targeting fellow high schoolers. In classic Ryan Murphy directorial style, the TV series is so much more than a murder mystery \u2014 it is a testament to \u201880s fashion, music and popular culture.\n <\/p>\n

\n Take, for one, an extended dance-off<\/a> sequence midway through the season that finds the central cast shimmying, grooving and whipping their hair to \u201cSuper Freak\u201d by Rick James. For these teens, played by a cast that includes actor and model Kaia Gerber and budding musician Hayes Warner, there are concerns more pressing than reports of missing kids \u2013\u2013 like ensuring they are dressed to the nines and securing a place on the Homecoming Court.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe attention to detail is what makes it so incredible,\u201d Gerber said in a video call, the spitting image of her mother, Cindy Crawford. She pointed to the elaborate mood boards by costume designers Joshua Marsh and Lou Eyrich and the many vintage pieces pulled for the characters from the era. \u201cIt\u2019s such a specific moment in time.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The series is rooted in the perspective of narrator Bret Easton Ellis (Igby Rigney), named after the author of the 2023 horror autofiction novel that inspired the show (Ellis is also co-creator and co-showrunner). Bret is a Joan Didion-obsessed aspiring writer and a senior at Buckley prep school, surrounded by a tight-knit group of friends. Among them: his girlfriend Debbie Schaffer (Warner), who dons Blondie-inspired platinum hair and blood-red lipstick, and Susan Reynolds (Gerber), class president and a perfectionist whose boyfriend Thom Wright (Graham Campbell) is a football star. The wildcard is Robert Mallory (Homer Gere, son of actor Richard), a new student who upends the fragile harmony between the two couples. \u201cThe Shards\u201d stands out in Murphy\u2019s TV empire as a campy, suspenseful romp that doesn\u2019t take itself too seriously \u2014 except when it comes to the lavish \u201880s aesthetics.\n <\/p>\n

\"Hayes<\/p>\n

\n Gerber and Warner grew close while the show was in production, spending upwards of two hours in the makeup trailer together each morning and running scenes. It\u2019s there they transformed into picture-perfect students. In some cases, the actors got so attached to their \u201880s styling they continued it even after filming. In her real life lately, Warner has been opting for jackets with shoulder pads \u2014 some gifted from Gerber\u2019s closet \u2014 and they have both been finding themselves wearing their hair in a side part. The \u201cmore is more\u201d approach stayed with Gerber off-camera, even if it\u2019s not necessarily an endeavor she seeks out day-to-day.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cPost-pandemic, effort is very minimal, which I love,\u201d Gerber said. \u201cI don\u2019t want to spend two hours on my hair for my everyday life, but I appreciated that teenagers in high school in 1981 were actually getting ready. We now have pimple patches on our faces.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n A fan of the source material, Gerber was attached<\/a> to the project early on in development, but admitted she was still crossing her fingers it would all work out.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI was in such denial that it was going to happen,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t fully celebrate until we all got drinks a week before we did our camera tests.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\"Gerber<\/p>\n

\n Over nine episodes, it\u2019s difficult to imagine anyone else playing Susan. The character is a type-A perfect student who never has a single hair out of place \u2014 a way of being that Gerber has stepped into after years in the fashion industry where perfection is often equated with sublime beauty.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cJust because something is on paper the perfect thing to do, does not necessarily mean it\u2019s the thing that will make you feel fulfilled and happy,\u201d she said. \u201cI relate to her journey in figuring out what her desires are outside of that pressure.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n A bookworm and co-creator of Library Science, a book club project that launched in 2024, Gerber has even given thought to what Susan might have been reading at the time. She thinks a spot on her nightstand would be given to Scott Spencer\u2019s 1979 romance novel \u201cEndless Love,\u201d a turbulent love story between two teenagers \u2014 not too far removed from Susan\u2019s eventual dynamic with Thom.\n <\/p>\n

\n While Gerber brought her seasoned runway walk and poise to Susan, Warner, an acting newcomer, had a different set of tools to work with as a musician with a pop-rock edge<\/a>. Getting cast as Debbie \u2014 after writing Murphy a letter during what she called \u201cseven months of mania\u201d in competing for the role against other blonde actors \u2014 allowed her to tap into multiple facets of her creativity. She recorded original songs for the series, and got to witness singer Troye Sivan, who also appears on the soundtrack, in the studio.\n <\/p>\n

\"Warner<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe fact that Ryan allowed me to make and write music for the show is him seeing me as a full creative person,\u201d she said, referring to Murphy. \u201cI really felt like I got to put every aspect of myself into it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Is a musical episode a possibility down the road? It wouldn\u2019t be out of the question for the creator of \u201cGlee\u201d and \u201cAmerican Horror Story\u201d to make use of his cast\u2019s musical chops. \u201cWe\u2019re ready. We\u2019re all warming up our voices,\u201d Gerber said, half-joking. That would, however, depend on whether the series gets renewed \u2014 which would hopefully also bring closure to a cliffhanger at the end of the first season.\n <\/p>\n

\n By the end, the central couples are at odds, and both Gerber and Warner have picked up on the virality of TikTok edits<\/a> featuring their on-screen connection \u2014 making them wonder about the possibility of exploring their dynamic in the style of Elena Ferrante\u2019s \u201cMy Brilliant Friend\u201d or HBO\u2019s \u201cIndustry,\u201d both series that focus on complex female friendship.\n <\/p>\n

\"Gerber<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe edits make me cry,\u201d Gerber said. \u201cI think that you learn so much about yourself in these very deep best friendships, especially amongst two women as they\u2019re learning who they are. And maybe in season two we could kiss.\u201d Warner agreed, and yearns for a future of the series that sees Debbie let go of her grasp on Bret in favor of her friendship with Susan. \u201cGoodbye to the men,\u201d she said. \u201cSorry, I love them. I hope they\u2019re still in the show.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Outside of \u201cThe Shards,\u201d Warner continues to work on music. Gerber, meanwhile, continues to carve out a niche in the acting world and embrace the cultural ubiquity of her name in popular culture. She\u2019s well aware of the numerous mentions of her name on Prime Video\u2019s teen drama hit \u201cSterling Point,\u201d set in Muskoka\u2019s Canadian lake country. In fact, she approved those scenes after creator Megan Park had her team send over the clips for her awareness. \u201cI did actually grow up going there, it\u2019s very nostalgic,\u201d she said, calling the scenes a \u201crealistic storyline.\u201d On the speculation of a lakeside cameo, if schedules align between \u201cThe Shards,\u201d Gerber has some ideas. \u201cYou know what? If they call me, I will be there.\u201d\n <\/p>\n