Zendaya, Margot Robbie, Jenna Ortega… why do actresses tailor their costumes to their characters?

Who can play it better than Margot Robbie barbie , With her long blonde hair, light blue eyes, slim figure and long, slender legs, the 33-year-old actress has the perfect physique to play the famous Mattel doll on screen. Even his last name matches with the famous toy. The box office success of the film, directed by Greta Gerwig and released in July 2023, was predictable. But perhaps what we didn’t expect was that the Barbiecore trend would invade all store shelves with candy pink and high heels… a splash of fuchsia that we certainly attribute to the feature film, but especially On his promotional tour. In each of his appearances, the Hollywood star paid homage to his character (in plastic) by wearing his most famous costume.

Thus, in London, the public was able to see Margot Robbie in an evening dress in light pink satin with opera gloves, Christian Louboutin heels and a fur collar by Vivienne Westwood, a reference to the 1990s Barbie “Enchanted Evening”. Was made in. 1960. For the Los Angeles premiere, the headliner wore a dazzling black Schiaparelli mermaid dress with a Lorraine Schwartz diamond choker. A reference to the “Spotlight Doll” was also released in the sixties. In Mexico, the Australian actress gave herself the Totally Hair Barbie look that was a symbol of little girls in the 90s, with a short model with psychedelic patterns designed by Emilio Pucci and pink Manolo Blahnik heels. For Seoul, it was a pink Moschino dress, matching the 1964 Sparkling Pink Doll. In Sydney, an anthology dress: a black striped mini-dress by Hervé Léger, like the original Barbie’s swimsuit, released in 1959. Her Versace suits, her Balmain, Armani Privé, Valentino and Dilara Findikoglu dresses, as well as her Prada, Clothes from Miu Miu, Paco Rabanne and Carolina Herrera are all inspired by the dolls’ iconic outfits.

The credit for these expertly designed looks of Margot Robbie goes to her stylist Andrew Mukamal, who is originally from New York and used to dress the stars., “I had a board where each city was mapped out. We knew exactly which Barbies were featured in which costumes, with what references and archival accessories. (…) Margot and I created 50 Tried on 60 dresses, and every 30 minutes, a brand came to help me adjust a dress I’d been working on for months”, he believes People At the premiere in Los Angeles. A marathon of pink clothes that’s worth it: all the promotional outfits worn by Margot Robbie are now collected in a book published by Assouline on March 8.

>> PHOTOS – Zendaya, Margot Robbie, Jenna Ortega… when actresses took over their characters’ wardrobe

The way of dressing or how to relate to the public

This phenomenon is called “method dressing”. The name came from journalist Andre Wheeler, who first coined the name in an article for Vogue magazine in May 2023, in which he highlighted the mermaid look of actress Halle Bailey, who is the new face. the little MermaidThe film is directed by Rob Marshall and released in May 2023. The actress caused a sensation at every premiere in iridescent, puffy or close-fitting dresses signed by Miss Sohi, Waldrin Sahiti, Michael Fausto, Off-White and Georges Chakra. “If its name reflects Method acting, a naturalistic acting technique also known as Method or the Stanislavsky System, which encourages actors to delve deeply into their roles, then Method dressing is more akin to a performing art. Is”notes NumberWho compares this trend to cosplay.

Thus, Method dressing aims to transcend simple boundaries of representation, offering a part of dreams to the public. Just look at all the little girls who ran into Halle Bailey’s arms during her red carpet appearance, convinced they were meeting a real mermaid! “It allows the actors to create stronger bonds with their fans, as the characters come to life in reality before their eyes thanks to the costumes they wear.” With notes from fashion historian, Thierry Tessier festival.fr,

Publicity stunt and online buzz guaranteed

Another advantage: This recent trend of playing a character beyond filming offers the possibility “Expanding a project’s cinematic universe on the red carpet even before the film’s premiere”, Overview of Andre Wheeler. So a marketing technique… As an example, the magazine uses the first date of the press tour Dune II In Mexico on February 5. For the occasion, Zendaya wore the costume of Torishiju to echo her character, the warrior Chani, while Florence Pugh, who played Princess Irulan in Denis Villeneuve’s film, wore the costume of Galvan. In less than 24 hours, her look went viral on the web, with internet users comparing her outfit to her on-screen costumes. A real publicity stunt! “When premiere photos make waves on TikTok or Instagram, it restarts the machine, whether the film has already been released or has not been released yet. Communication companies have understood this very well And making full use of it.” Thierry Tessier explains.

Additionally, Zendaya’s stylist Law Roach has made no secret of using Method Dressing for the Dune II promotional tour. ,we adopted the way of dressing, The looks served as an extension of the film’s wardrobe. It was deliberate and targeted.”he confesses British Vogue, A successful bet: Photos of the woman who was crowned Fashion Icon 2021 dressed as a robot in a 1995 archive Mugler jumpsuit for the premiere in London in February, like her futuristic one by Stéphane Rolland in New York The white dress was set on fire. , and brought her piece Alaïa to Paris.

For our fashion historian, the film is as big an issue for production companies as it is for the brands that groom actors in the art of method dressing. “Large structures like Universal, which have invested millions in the production of Marvel, have a fully established communication plan regarding what type of costume or costumes the artists should wear and which artistic director or stylist they should contact, with A significant budget has also been allocated for press tour outfits. So any brand would agree to play the game, because it’s a lot of visibility for them… Dress Margot Robbie or Emma Stone for oscarThis is ensuring global publicity.

Proof of this is the Barbiecore and mermaidcore fashion, which exploded into ready-to-wear during the summer of 2023 during the airing of Barbie and the Little Mermaid. “Hailey Bailey in the little Mermaid There were plenty of iridescent pieces, accessories with scales on the shelves, influencing the Summer 2023 collections. Barbie, it was crazy, there was pink everywhere on the street. All this proves that there are extremely strong ties between luxury groups and cinema. Plus, they have a lot of firepower.”

Blake Lively and Angelina Jolie, pioneers of method dressing

Given the success guaranteed by Method dressing, why didn’t stars and their stylists adopt it sooner? “Because before we didn’t have that much visibility on movie promos. We saw them a little bit in magazines or on television, but with social networks, it’s become even more accessible,” Thierry Tessier believes. The first time we saw a star dress like her on-screen character was for a photocall during the promotion of the film in 2018. emily’s shadow, Blake Lively plays Emily Nelson, a confident businesswoman who suddenly disappears. Throughout the press tour, which was revealed gossip Girl Wears apparel inspired by power dressing, “The art of dressing up for women to show the extent of their power”, as our experts remind us. Givenchy suits, Ralph Lauren suits, fitted jackets… Blake Lively is turning into a real businesswoman “in real life.”

After him, Taron Egerton, who lent his features to Elton John rocket Man In 2019, this trend was adopted again by Scarlett Johansson and Brie Larson. Avengers: Endgame, And during the tour of Angelina Jolie’s second opus harmfulStill in 2019. With the cinema industry suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, we will have to wait until 2021 to see fictional characters in reality again: For the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Zendaya and Law Roach hit it off with a spider web print dress by Valentino for the Los Angeles premiere of Jon Watts’ film, then a suit jacket by Alexander McQueen with crystal spider webs on the shoulder pads. Exercise Addicted, Zendaya Relies on Method Dressing During Release Dune: Part OneStanding out in her custom-molded Balmain dress and Rick Owens and Valentino pieces.

This trend turns into a phenomenon from 2022: Anya Taylor-Joy turns peach in pink Dior jumpsuit Mario BrosMargot Robbie chooses outfits similar to Nelly Laroy babylonIn Alaïa and Valentino drapes, Jenna Ortega honors Wednesday Addams’s Gothic style for the series Wednesday And Lily James adopts Pamela Anderson’s look for the promo Pam and Tommy, Recently this is the casting of the film Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird That got people talking: Hunter Schafer was photographed in a Schiaparelli dress reminiscent of her character Tigris, while Rachel Ziegler wore a Dior dress for the London premiere honoring her character Lucy Gray Baird. Did. Method dressing on the red carpet isn’t done!

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