Imagine: the most popular movie of the summer is about to come out and the actors are on their press tour. The main actress of the movie is wearing an outfit reminiscent of her character in the movie. You may think “wow, that’s so cool, I want to watch that movie now.” There’s a name for this phenomenon, and it’s called method dressing.
Method dressing was coined by an article from Vogue, and is essentially when an actor pays homage to a movie or a character in the movie they are promoting. The practice of method dressing is not only a way to show your creative style, but also seems to be encouraging people to go see the movie.
While method dressing has just recently become popular, actors have been method dressing for decades, with the first noticeable example going back to 1992, when Geena Davis wore a dress with baseball stitching to the premiere of “A League of Their Own.” In 2019, actresses Elle Fanning and Angelina Jolie paid tribute to their respective characters in “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” through their dresses at the premiere.
Method dressing didn’t become a worldwide phenomenon until 2023, with the “Barbie” press tour. During this press tour, Margot Robbie, who played the titular role of Barbie, was styled in outfits directly inspired by actual Barbie doll outfits. As method dressing has become more and more popular among celebrities, we have seen some iconic and some not-so iconic looks. Do these celebrities truly care about what they are wearing and what it says, or are they simply just trying to jump on the bandwagon, looking for a viral moment to make them and their movie famous?
Margot Robbie is said to be the first celebrity to catapult method dressing into the mainstream with her looks for the Barbie press tour. Each look she donned throughout the short press tour was taken directly from Mattel’s doll line. Robbie is arguably one of the best examples of method dressing, with her commitment to her wardrobe being almost unmatched. Sporting pink, polka dots, bows and more, she not only brought more attention and money to the movie, but she inspired many others to dress up, with people who went to see the movie dressing up in pink and Barbie motifs.
Along with Margot Robbie, Zendaya is known as the queen of method dressing. Zendaya, along with her stylist Law Roach, have been in this game since 2017, when Zendaya was promoting “The Greatest Showman.” For every movie she has been in since then, she has shown up everyone when it comes to fashion. Whether it’s crystal spider webs for “Spiderman: No Way Home,” tennis ball heels for “Challenger”s or a futuristic suit of armor for “Dune: Part Two,” Zendaya has always understood the assignment. She doesn’t just reference her character, instead she references the movie as a whole, using styles, silhouettes and statement pieces to encapsulate the aesthetic of the movie.
“Wicked” won’t be out for another two and a half months, but Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have already been method dressing for a while in their contrasting pink and green outfits. And while I do love the looks they wear, I also want more. Grande and Erivo always sport looks featuring pink and green respectively, often wearing the solid color by itself. I would love to see them incorporate more “Wicked” motifs into their outfits, not just referencing their characters and their relationship with each other, but other characters or aspects of the movie.
For example, Grande branched out when she wore a gorgeous flower embroidered dress by Oscar de la Renta. That being said, I do appreciate the contrast they put into materials and silhouettes, such as the dresses they wore for the 2024 Oscars. Grande wore a relatively modest light pink dress that was poofy and balloon-like and made out of a soft material. On the other hand, Erivo wore a dark green, low-cut dress made of leather. I just hope that in the coming months we get a little more variety than pink and green.
Blake Lively is very hit or miss when it comes to her outfits when promoting movies. In some instances, she has pulled it off flawlessly, but other times she completely misses the mark. The outfits she wore while on the press tour for 2018’s “A Simple Favor” were done really well. She promoted her character and the movie by wearing a ton of pantsuits throughout the tour.
However, for 2024’s “It Ends With Us,” I wholeheartedly believe that Lively missed the mark and ended up looking tacky at times. Every single one of her outfits had some kind of floral or nature motif on them, which we can assume is a reference to her character being named Lily Blossom Bloom and running a floral shop. And don’t get me wrong, a lot of these outfits are gorgeous and fit really well with the movie, but a lot of them also aren’t good. Luke Meagher, or HauteLeMode on social media, put it best when he said in an Instagram caption, “Blake Lively’s style is truly the definition of ‘Hot & Cold’ cause in one instance I’m gasping for air (positively) and the next I’m gasping for air (negatively).”
But the reasoning behind my dislike for her outfits goes beyond just how they look and how they are styled. For” A Simple Favor’s” press tour, the outfits that Lively wore looked like outfits that her character would actually wear. For the “It Ends With Us” press tour, I can’t imagine Lively’s character Lily wearing any of those outfits. By wearing these outfits, yes, she’s promoting the movie, but I also believe that she’s trying to come across to the public as a fashion inspiration. And I believe that that is hurting her looks, as to me, it seems she values the look of the outfits and how they will draw public attention rather than how it pays homage to the movie or her character.
Jenna Ortega is fairly new to the method dressing scene, but ever since her looks for the “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” press tour came out, she has cemented herself in the method dressing hall of fame. I fully believe that her looks for that press tour rivals the press tour looks of Zendaya. Ortega had a decent start to method dressing, with her looks from “Wednesday’s” press tour paying homage to her character, with gothic all black looks.
Most of her looks for interviews around that time were not very reminiscent of the character, with the only similarity being an all-black outfit. However, her look for “Wednesday’s” premiere is one of my favorite red carpet looks from her, with a black crinkled gown with an exposed bra, complete with gothic makeup and a black veil. This look screams dead bride and not only pays homage to the show and her character, but also to Tim Burton, who not only produced “Wednesday,” but also produced “The Corpse Bride,” of which this look reminds me of. Her “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” press tour looks have put her on another level when it comes to method dressing. Every single outfit she has worn on the press tour has referenced the movie in some way. Whether it’s the looks she wore that were inspired by the actual costumes from the original movie or the bag she brought to the London premiere that is shaped like the house in the movies, Ortega pulls it off every time, reminding us why she deserves to be a fashion icon.
Method dressing is an excellent way for celebrities and stylists to pay homage to their work and show off their creativity. When it’s done wrong, it comes across as just trying to capitalize off a trend that has become popular, to create a viral moment that puts the attention on the celebrity just as much, and maybe even more, than on the movie or show they are promoting. When it is done well, it shows how much effort the celebrities put into their looks and how much they care about the meaning behind their look and what it is saying. It’s not about what they wear, but about how they wear it and the stories they are telling through their clothes.