Zoey Deutch is exhausted. She just had a 26-hour travel day, starting in Italy and ending in Colorado, and even took a trip with a stranger from Denver to Aspen to co-host the opening of Saks’ new pop-up store. You’d never know it, though, because she looks stunning. Dressed in a floor-length white beaded dress with a brooch embellishment, the actress commands attention in every corner of the party at Casa Tua. Considering it’s a fashion event, almost every guest wants to know who Deutch (Proenza Schouler) is wearing, but it turns out there’s no real method to her sartorial approach. “I feel very all over the place with my fashion,” she tells ELLE.com. “I don’t know what I’m really looking for when I’m shopping, but I’m very clear: if I see it, I like it, I love it, I got it.”
In her new movie Not okaywhich drops today on Hulu, Deutch is playing more one Emily in Paris aesthetic, even though she has no doubt never seen the show. The social media satire follows him as Danni, a misguided influencer who pretends to have survived a tragic attack abroad in order to gain influence on social media. Deutch, who is no stranger to Hollywood as the daughter of Back to the FutureS ‘ Lea Thompson and director Howard Deutch, or Instagram (she’s 27; the app launched when she was in high school), prefers to leave its message to interpretation. “It’s an interesting opportunity for the audience to watch and play God,” she says. “Do you think she should take another shot, or do you think she doesn’t deserve it?”
Here, Deutch talks all things Saks, her eclectic sense of style, and the pros and cons of social media.
Growing up, did you feel any pressure to have a career in Hollywood just because your parents did?
I don’t know if I was aware of any pressure; I have not been and am not aware of this in my conscious self, but perhaps deep down. More than anything, I felt support and a deep gratitude to know that this path was an option; I know it’s not a luxury afforded to most – choosing the life of an artist, a writer, an actor, a singer doesn’t even seem possible. I feel very grateful that my passion was encouraged.
What is your relationship with social media? Has it changed over the years?
There are parts about it that are very comforting because I grew up with it and it’s been ingrained in my brain since my formative years as part of my life. My best friend Willa [Bennett] and I had MySpaces together when we were, like, 10 years old, and we were doing this thing that’s now a thing before it was a thing, and we were really good at it, and we loved it. We always took these artistic photos. It was very creative; it wasn’t as empty as it seems to me now. We would do these funny photo shoots: clothes, painting, mixed things. It was a form of expression in a way that you don’t necessarily identify with social media. It sounds really silly to say, “We were so creative on MySpace,” but we were! When I’m editing photos or colors and playing with things like that, it’s soothing for my brain – I shut it down. Friends send me pictures and I play with colors. I enjoy it. It’s that side of her, then the side that I find deeply toxic and despise.
Are you jumping on the BeReal bandwagon?
I joke that I’m mad that I missed this moment because my generation wore fishnets and tight skirts and eyeliner in middle school and high school, and they wear sweatpants and Reeboks. i’m like, hell! You guys are lucky. All of these things are reactions to Photoshopping and FaceTuning being incredibly glamorous and overwhelming. I think it’s cool.
What was it like working with Dylan O’Brien again?
After we filmed Clothing in London, I told him about this film. [Director] Quinn [Shephard] I met with him and was very excited to work with him again in a very different capacity. Both of these films were shot during serious Covid times, so we were in a bubble. We were basically each other’s only person we hung out with. He has become a very dear friend. Also, he’s hilarious.
Dani’s outfits in the movie are many Emily in Paris-esque, but your style is certainly very different from that of your character. What have you bought recently that you like?
I recently bought this blue Rodarte dress from Saks that I’m obsessed with. It feels very ’50s. I’m trying to find a special occasion to wear it – I don’t want to waste it!
What do you usually look for when shopping?
I feel very all over the place with my fashion. One day I’m a butter-making, flux-clad Amish [pieces], and the next day I vibe with a flame costume, and the next day I’m in overalls like a 12-year-old boy going to Disneyland. I don’t know what I’m really looking for when I’m shopping, but I’m very clear: if I see it, I want it, I want it, I got it.
Zoey Deutch as Danni Sanders Not okay.
What initially drew you to the script? Not okay?
I was taken by the cancellation culture chatter. That was the part about it that I really jumped at.
How do you feel about cancellation culture?
I think it’s counterproductive for all of us to sit behind our computers and play God and decide who lives or dies. It’s not super constructive and it doesn’t properly represent the human experience. I just don’t know what message it sends, that if you make a mistake, it’s over and you might as well quit. But of course, there are more nuances than that. This is a movie about someone who does a bad thing, and I think it’s an interesting opportunity for the audience to watch and play God. Do you think she should take another shot, or do you think she doesn’t deserve it?
Do you think there is a social media protocol to follow when tragedy strikes?
You certainly don’t pretend to have survived it, as Danni does [laughs]. This is a clear line that you should not cross. I think in general in life, if you’re authentic and empathetic and you’re leading with those qualities, that’s a good way to be.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Claire Stern is the deputy editor of ELLE.com. Previously, she served as an editor at Bergdorf Goodman. Her interests include fashion, food, travel, music, Peloton and hills– not necessarily in that order. She had a Harriet the Spy notebook and isn’t ashamed to admit it.
