This week marks the fifteenth anniversary of the The OC. The show that gave all noughties' teens a weekly slice of life at a glamorous Californian high school. The black tie debutante balls, Cribs-worthy mansions, and, of course, an endless array of designer outfits.
We poured over the wardrobes of the lead characters, and in particular the preppy mix of polo shirts, rara skirts and cashmere knits worn by Marissa Cooper, played by Mischa Barton.
However, in a new interview with Page Six, the show’s costume designer Alexandra Welker has revealed that Marissa’s much-loved outfits were not quite as they seemed. In fact, her impressive array of designer garms, notably her collection of Chanel bags, were actually fake.
'It was a challenge because everything had to look super high-end,' Welker told the publication.
With the show yet to hit the big time, Welker struggled to find designer brands who would work with her. 'There was absolutely no borrowing [from brands] involved either, because nobody had ever heard of us, so they were very [wary] of loaning anything.'
However, Welker was determined to create the expensive wardrobe of a Newport Beach teenager, and searched high and low for believable alternatives.
'People got really worked up over that Chanel book bag; they thought that the idea of a teenage carrying one to school was obscene!' Welker said. 'I’ll be honest, those Chanel bags that she carried, those weren’t something I could have on my budget. But I found this amazing store in Downtown LA that sold the best-looking fakes I’d ever seen! So we used some really, really good knockoffs.'
As the show rapidly gained a loyal legion of fans, and viewing figures went through the roof, it wasn’t long before designer brands were calling Welker.
'By the Season One finale, brands were falling all over themselves to lend to us.'
Ironically, Mischa Barton quickly bagged an ambassador role with Chanel fine jewellery, and the rest, as they say, is history.
'I’ll always be grateful to Mischa Barton. She started doing a lot of modeling because of the show, and the folks at Chanel loved her. They actually loaned me a couple of samples, and once we started using real Chanel, of course, I had to let those fakes fall by the wayside.'
READ MORE: Where Are The Cast Of The OC Now
Where are the cast of The OC now?
1 of 22Ben McKenzie (Ryan Attwood) then
Here's Ryan 'from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks' Atwood back in the day. Phwoar.
2 of 22Ben McKenzie (Ryan Attwood) now
And here is is now. Still phwoar. Is it just us, or does he look essentially the same?Since leaving The OC, Ben has continued to act starring in such films as 2013's The Advocate and Batman: Year One. He's had major success on the small screen, with lead roles in Southland, Gotham, and Line of Duty.
3 of 22Adam Brody (Seth Cohen) then
You were either a Seth girl or a Ryan girl, and Seth was the whiny, nerdy, but sweet-natured type with a very specific (read: inexplicable) type of sex appeal.Not anymore.
4 of 22Adam Brody (Seth Cohen) now
BLOODY HELL, WOULD YOU LOOK HOW FIT HE'S GOT? Since leaving the show, Adam has had a number of smaller parts in a range of indie films and series, most recently alongside Cate Blanchett in Mrs America.He's married to Leighton Meester who played Blair in Gossip Girl and they have a child together.
5 of 22Mischa Barton (Marissa Cooper) then
Here's Marissa Cooper. We really wanted to be her back in the day, but looking back she was very much not OK and we're very glad we weren't.
6 of 22Mischa Barton (Marissa Cooper) now
Here's Mischa now, and can we all just take a moment to APPRECIATE THAT DOG. Since leaving The OC, Mischa has appeared in loads of films, in particular a load of moderately successful American slasher films for some reason and our personal fave, St Trinian's. She was also a contestant on Dancing With The Stars in the US.
7 of 22Rachel Bilson (Summer Roberts) then
Rachel Bilson played Seth's girlfriend Summer Roberts, and the pair actually dated IRL while filming the show.
8 of 22Rachel Bilson (Summer Roberts) now
Rachel later starred in films like The Jumper and The Last Kiss, and had recurring roles on American sitcoms How I Met Your Mother, Nashville and Hart of Dixie.
9 of 22Willa Holland (Kaitlin Cooper) then
Willa played Marissa's younger sister Kaitlin, who had an absolute mare in season two when she was shipped off to boarding school and seemingly didn't see her family for about 10 years. But she returned in series four after her sister died to wreak havoc.
10 of 22Willa Holland (Kaitlin Cooper) then
After leaving the show, Willa appeared on a number of TV shows - notably (for us) Gossip Girl, in which she played Agnes (the one that burned all of lil J's dresses).
11 of 22Autumn Reeser (Taylor Townsend) then
Autumn played the quite frankly extremely irritating character Taylor Townsend, who inexplicably ended up with Ryan at the end following Marissa's untimely death.
12 of 22Autumn Reeser (Taylor Townsend) now
Autumn has appeared in a number of films and series since leaving The OC, and was also one of the leading members of The Thrilling Adventure Hour, a staged comedy show. She also starred alongside the actual Tom Hanks in 2016's Sully, which was nominated for an Oscar.
13 of 22Chris Carmack (Luke Ward) then
Chris played Luke Ward, who had possibly the biggest personality change of any character ever, and was responsible for the iconic line, "Welcome to The OC, bitch".
14 of 22Chris Carmack (Luke Ward) now
Chris is now a successful musician, and he's also appeared in films like The Butterfly Effect 3 and The Reef.
15 of 22Peter Gallagher (Sandy Cohen) then
Sandy Cohen played the OG Dilf Sandy Cohen, and we're still obsessed.
16 of 22Peter Gallagher (Sandy Cohen) now
YEP. STILL (sort of) A DILF (would we push GRILF? Who knows). He was already a well known actor when he joined the cast, having starred in 1999s smash hit Black Beauty, and his continued to have a successful career since with recurring roles in Grace & Frankie, Law & Order, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and loads more.He's also starred on Broadway.
17 of 22Kelly Rowan (Kirsten Cohen) then
Kelly played Seth's alcoholic mother Kirsten, who went on to have another baby at the end of the series.
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18 of 22Kelly Rowan (Kirsten Cohen) now
Kelly's taken a step away from acting with her last film credit, Tulips in Spring, from 2016. Before that she had a recurring role on TV series Perception, as well as one-offs on CSI: Miami and The Murdoch Mysteries.
19 of 22Melinda Clarke (Julie Cooper) then
Melinda played the absolute queen of Juicy Couture tracksuits Julie Cooper, who, like Luke, had a massive personality transplant throughout the series but was hands down one of our favourite characters (and possibly the best villain ever).
20 of 22Melinda Clarke (Julie Cooper) now
Melinda has subsequently starred in loads of TV series including Entourage, Nikita, Dallas and The Vampire Diaries (to name a few). She's got a few film credits under her (designer) belt, too, like 2017's Enough About You.
21 of 22Tate Donovan (Jimmy Cooper) then
Tate Donovan (or JOSHUAAAA from Friends, as we know him) played Marissa's dad Jimmy. Also a Dilf.
22 of 22Tate Donovan (Jimmy Cooper) now
Tate has since appeared in a number of films - including Oscar winning Manchester By The Sea - and continues to have bit-parts in various TV and short films. His last recurring role was as James MacGyver in CBS's MacGyver.