{"id":473332,"date":"2026-02-11T18:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T18:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/473332\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T18:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T18:01:11","slug":"method-dressing-nine-actors-who-stayed-wildly-in-character-on-the-red-carpet-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/473332\/","title":{"rendered":"Method dressing: nine actors who stayed wildly in character on the red carpet | Fashion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Have you ever heard of a female actor that was method?\u201d Kristen Stewart said last year<\/a>, the implication being that method acting is the exclusive preserve of a particular type of man, unburdened by caring responsibilities or needing to be agreeable. But what is available to all actors (without getting their teeth pulled, taking magic mushrooms or demanding to be spoon-fed on set<\/a>) is method dressing: that is, promoting a film in an outfit inspired by their character.<\/p>\n

Robbie in high gothic. Photograph: Joanne Davidson\/Camera Press<\/p>\n

Everyone seems to be doing it, particularly in the past few months as Wicked: For Good and now Wuthering Heights have hit the red carpet. Why? It\u2019s a low-stakes way to offer an extra endorsement for the film the actor is promoting (they liked it so much they\u2019re willing to stay in character) and to drum up column inches and excitable TikTok commentary. It can also be a knowing wink \u2013 a gift, even \u2013 to fans. Some actors (or their stylists) include subtler sartorial semiotics and Easter egg accessories in their outfits that only the hardcore fandom and fashion nerds can appreciate. Either way, there\u2019s a lot of it about. But who are the Daniel Day-Lewises and Robert De Niros of promo tour dressing?<\/p>\n

Margot Robbie \u2013 Wuthering HeightsRobbie in a Wuthering Heights-inspired outfit. Photograph: David Jon\/Getty Images to Warner Bros. Pictures<\/p>\n

The undisputed queen of method and her stylist Andrew Mukamal have outdone themselves in the past week<\/a>, with a high gothic Wuthering Heights \u201ctour-drobe\u201d that requires a close line reading of the 1847 classic to decode. Her outfits feature lots of red (a leitmotif in the film; Kate Bush may approve), a snakeskin motif referencing Heathcliff\u2019s line \u201cI\u2019d rather be hugged by a snake\u201d and Elizabeth Taylor\u2019s heart-shaped Taj Mahal necklace (more Heathcliff; this time: \u201cI have not broken your heart – you have broken it\u201d). Perhaps its most floridly OTT expression came with last week\u2019s London premiere, at which Robbie wore a Dilara Findikoglu dress crafted from (fake) hair, accessorised with a replica of Charlotte Bront\u00eb\u2019s amethyst mourning bracelet<\/a>, which incorporated (real) hair from her dead sisters, Emily and Anne.<\/p>\n

Margot Robbie \u2013 BarbieRobbie channels Barbie at a press conference in Seoul, South Korea. Photograph: Han Myung-Gu\/WireImage<\/p>\n

Robbie has been method dressing for years: she was clocked doing it for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood<\/a> back in 2019, for Babylon<\/a> in 2022 and, most famously, Barbie. For the 2023 press tour, she and Mukamal created looks, complete with hairstyles and accessories, that precisely referenced multiple specific dolls<\/a>, including a black sequined sheath with a frill (\u201cSolo in the Spotlight Barbie\u201d), psychedelic mini (\u201cTotally Hair Barbie\u201d), pink polka dots (\u201cPink and Fabulous Barbie\u201d) and even a black-and-white striped number paying homage to the original doll.<\/p>\n

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande\u2018Disciplined method dressers\u2019: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the Wicked premiere. Photograph: Don Arnold\/WireImage<\/p>\n

The two stars of Wicked are exceptionally disciplined method dressers<\/a> when promoting the franchise, sticking to a palette of Glinda pink for Grande and black or green (referencing Elphaba\u2019s skin tone) for Erivo. Grande often goes further: at the LA premiere in 2024, her Thom Browne pink gingham<\/a> and Swarovski-crystal-encrusted round-toed pumps directly referenced Judy Garland\u2019s wide-skirted blue and white dress and sparkling red slippers, while in Sydney, her Vivienne Westwood floofy pink meringue of a gown closely echoed the dress Billie Burke, the original 1939 Glinda, wore in the Wizard of Oz<\/a>. Shamed or inspired by the stars\u2019 commitment, the supporting cast have got in on the act: Jeff Goldblum has worn all sorts of wizardly<\/a> whimsy<\/a>, and Colman Domingo appeared at the For Good premiere in a faux fur coat imitating the pelt of his Cowardly Lion character<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zendaya \u2013 Challengers\/DuneTimoth\u00e9e Chalamet and Zendaya, wearing a metallic robot suit, at the premiere of Dune: Part Two. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole\/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures<\/p>\n

For Luca Guadagnino\u2019s sexy tennis flick Challengers, Zendaya appeared on the red carpet not merely in a Wimbledon-ish green Loewe sparkly shift<\/a>, but one embellished with a still from the film of a player serving a ball. On the promo circuit, her stylist Law Roach had her dressed in a succession of \u201ctennis-core\u201d looks<\/a>: short, white and green and even tennis ball heel shoes<\/a>. Zendaya is another repeat method dresser<\/a>: she wore a silky red ringmaster jacket<\/a> promoting The Greatest Showman way back in 2017 and her Dune: Part Two promotional tour-drobe spanned everything from the kind of \u201cspace desert warrior\u201d garb her character Chani would wear<\/a> to a full-on metallic Mugler robot suit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rdAlexander Skarsg\u00e5rd and Harry Melling promoting the film Pillion. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Promoting his \u201cgay biker dom-com\u201d Pillion<\/a>, Skarsg\u00e5rd looked to be enjoying himself immensely in what Vogue described as \u201ckinky method<\/a>\u201d: leather and fetish details, most notably thigh-high black shiny boots and a boot-licking motif T-shirt<\/a> at Cannes. That said, he might have worn them even if he wasn\u2019t promoting a BDSM biker movie \u2013 the infamous teeny-weeny shorts he wore on Lorraine<\/a> weren\u2019t method; just Skarsg\u00e5rd having fun.<\/p>\n

Jenna OrtegaOrtega dressed in ghostly white. Photograph: StillMoving.Net\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Ortega seems to embrace the spooky goth aesthetic joyfully when she\u2019s promoting her Addams Family spin-off Wednesday, turning out in shredded black leather, Victorian ghost white and even a green Simone Rocha ghoul bodysuit<\/a>. For Beetlejuice Beetlejuice she went one further, wearing a near-exact Thom Browne replica of Winona Ryder\u2019s character Lydia Deetz\u2019s outfit from the 1988 original film \u2013 schoolgirl-style plaid midi skirt, white shirt and cardie<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jacob ElordiJacob Elordi in his Frankenstein\u2019s monster top. Photograph: NBC\/Todd Owyoung\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Robbie\u2019s co-star Elordi hasn\u2019t matched her heroic efforts promoting Wuthering Heights (this Yorkshirewoman is still smarting from hearing him say the sexiest thing about the county is \u201crocks\u201d<\/a>). For Frankenstein, however, he did wear a Christopher Kane jumper featuring the monster\u2019s face<\/a> on the Jimmy Fallon show; GQ also argued<\/a>, tenuously, that his silky, sober suits channelled the original Victor Frankenstein (\u201ca quiet, privileged, obsessive student who made disastrous choices in expensive clothes\u201d).<\/p>\n

Timoth\u00e9e ChalametTimoth\u00e9e Chalamet and Kylie Jenner in their his \u2018n\u2019 hers orange combo. Photograph: Monica Schipper\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

A gamely weird dresser on the promo circuit generally, Chalamet promoted Wonka in various method-ish outfits including a lavender Prada suit and white platform boots<\/a>, Tom Ford ruby velour<\/a>, an Oompa Loompa hoodie<\/a> and Wonka-inspired Nike Dunks<\/a> he designed himself.<\/p>\n

In his lavender suit. Photograph: Warner Brothers\/Getty Images for Warner Brothers<\/p>\n

His Marty Supreme promo looks have been upsettingly, relentlessly orange<\/a> in homage to his character\u2019s desire for orange, rather than white, ping-pong balls, including the eyeball-searing his \u2019n\u2019 hers Chrome Hearts orange combo<\/a> he and Kylie Jenner wore in December that prompted one Redditor to comment: \u201cI have now confirmed there is such a thing as too much orange.\u201d It\u2019s a commitment to his craft that Marlon Brando could only have dreamt of.<\/p>\n