Method Dressing: From Film to Fashion

At the world premiere of the highly anticipated Wicked in Sydney, Ariana Grande strolls the yellow carpet wearing a voluminous, light-pink Vivienne Westwood gown. Eagle-eyed fans quickly noticed that Grande’s look is highly reminiscent of the Wizard of Oz’s Glinda the Good Witch with its puffy sleeves, silver sparkles, and large butterfly choker. The only items absent from the ensemble are Glinda’s iconic crown and star-shaped wand.

Within recent years, this phenomenon of method dressing, or actors wearing clothing referencing a film’s aesthetic as a promotional tactic, has boomed in popularity. As seen in press tours and red carpets for films like Barbie, Challengers, and Wicked, method dressing has helped increase hype and promote the movies to potential audience members. While it frequently involves explicit references to a character’s costume, there is a fine line between method dressing and cosplay. Method dressing can be a slippery slope: stylists and marketing teams want the looks to go viral and create buzz online but the continued use of the tactic often causes fatigue among audience members. 

As a recent example, Wicked’s Grande and Cynthia Erivo have executed a popular method dressing campaign to promote the long-awaited film. The pair’s outfits often follow the same color palette as their on-screen counterparts, with Grande’s outfits primarily consisting of pastels and Erivo’s outfits usually in black or green. While some argue the color scheme can be a bit redundant, the two actresses’ outfit choices go well together and highlight their characters’ special connection. Since Grande and Erivo are often photographed together, their outfits are seen as a pair, which is uncommon as most method dressing instances are a solo endeavor. Given the film’s plot, this is a smart choice as it conveys the friendship of Glinda and Elphaba off-screen. 

While most method dressing campaigns are typically met with audience approval, Blake Lively’s press outfits for It Ends With Us attracted criticism online. In the book-to-film adaptation, the actress plays a character who owns a flower shop. To help promote the film, Lively wore many outfits that followed a floral theme. While fans admired some of Lively’s looks, the overall consensus was that the star’s outfits were too repetitive because of the heavy emphasis on florals. On her press tour, she frequently wore colorful, embellished mini-dresses and suits patterned with floral motifs, which led to fans critiquing the styling. Despite criticism, some of Lively’s looks were well-received like the multicolored Versace dress previously donned by Britney Spears she wore to the movie premiere. However, the campaign was not as strong as other recent examples. 

The Barbie press tour is one of the best-executed instances of method dressing to date. Actress Margot Robbie and her stylist Andrew Mukamal collaborated with numerous haute couture brands to create custom doll-inspired looks for the film. Nearly every outfit was inspired by a real Barbie doll, with looks spanning back to 1959’s original doll in the iconic black and white swimsuit. On the press tour, Robbie had several heavy-hitting looks like the pale pink corseted Vivienne Westwood gown she wore to the London premiere and the black sequined trumpet dress by Schiaparelli seen at the Los Angeles premiere. Robbie and Mukamal even teamed up to create a book documenting the process for each look, complete with photos from fittings, original designer sketches, and never-before-seen ensembles. The styling choices went viral on social media and many fans guessed which doll corresponded to each look. What made the Barbie campaign so successful was the attention to detail on each outfit and the reliance on different dolls as inspiration, so each getup was eye-catching and distinctive, leaving fans eager for the next. 

As seen through the examples above, method dressing is a fabulous way to connect film and fashion and is a symbiotic relationship for directors and designers. Through method dressing, designers can construct custom pieces outside their comfort zone while earning widespread attention for their creations. Actors can benefit financially from the increased promotion of their movies via clothing choices. While some method dressing campaigns may not meet the mark with fans, the widespread discussion of outfit choices still draws attention to the film being promoted. Overall, the technique of method dressing unites the film and fashion industries in a unique way that often proves successful for both parties.