For the past few years now, movie stars have publicized their films in promotional drag called “method dressing.” Picking up on the themes or cliches of their films, they appear on the red carpet in looks that function as goofy in-jokes – corsets on Margot Robbie for the bodice- ripping update on “Wuthering Heights,” and ensembles that telegraph “good” and “evil” for Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s “Wicked” two-parter.
Increasingly, they look less like movie stars than guests at a very expensive costume ball.
No star is a more committed method dresser than Robbie. Working with stylist Andrew Mukamal, Robbie adopted a wardrobe of Barbie-inspired ensembles to promote the 2023 blockbuster, sometimes tasking designers with recreating an exact Barbie costume. It was hokey and over-the-top, but so is the doll herself, director Greta Gerwig gently reminded us, and the sight of Robbie in hot pink skirt suits, minidresses and gowns set the tone of the film as finely drawn pop cultural froth.
Robbie’s methodology has continued with red carpet appearances for her starring role in Emerald Fennell’s sudsy adaptation of “Wuthering Heights.” There are corsets, puffed sleeves and little old timey trinkets that speak of her and co-star Jacob Elordi’s bond. This has been far less effective than her Barbie-girl, Barbie-world looks, in part because the movie is more serious (allegedly a bookish romance – allegedly!) and because the universe of the Emily Brontë book isn’t known for its extravagant clothes, unlike that of Marie Antoinette’s or Regency-era set “Bridgerton.”