Dress for the role you have.
Written by Cliódhna McDonnell
Actors and socialite’s fashion have been making waves since Diana’s iconic ‘Revenge Dress’ and Audrey Hepburn’s ‘Little Black Dress.’ Fashion at film premieres is no exception, with copious amounts of legendary fashion designers at their fingertips and bigger budgets than ever before. Film premiere fashion has become a genre of its own. Previously, actors and celebrities have been spotted rocking elegant dresses and crisp suits at their premieres but as of recent creativity and clever marketing have taken over. The new technique of ‘Method Dressing’ is taking the premiere world by storm.
What is it?
‘Method Dressing’ is the innovative technique behind our new favorite expressive red carpet looks. Method dressing is described as ‘actors impersonating their characters outside the film set’. It is a new marketing technique combining both fashion and performance to catch our attention and simultaneously promote the film. This technique has taken the fashion industry to a new level, and as viewers we have begun to expect designs to be more extravagant than the last.
A look into the past….
Prior to our current decade, film premiers were seen as another event in which celebrities dressed in formal attire designed by the top houses globally. Although the designs were immaculate, there was no aspect that made the clothes unique to film. Saying that, we have captured many admirable designs over the years. For example, Gaga wore a strapless, fluffy pink feathered Valentino couture gown to the A Star Is Born Venice Film Festival premiere on August 31, 2018. She completed the look with a classic up-do hairstyle.
Lady Gaga at the ‘A Star is Born’ film premiere in a Valentino gown.
The behind the scenes:
As exciting as it looks method-dressing isn’t all fun and games, there are intricate marketing intentions behind each piece. The business behind both fashion and film hugely benefit from the stir and chatter a show-stopping look, such as Zendaya’s tennis ball heels, create. Method-dressing is seen as an advertising campaign in itself, and the promotional life of a movie can be hugely extended through articles and social media content being created discussing the latest red carpet looks.
Zendaya at the ‘Challengers’ Press tour wearing tennis ball heels.
My favorite look:
In the past few years, we have seen many show-stopping outfits impersonating on screen characters. One of my personal favorites has to be the looks from the ‘Barbie’ press tour. Margot Robbie embodied Barbie herself in every premiere we saw her in. My favorite outfit has to be the black sparkly dress which paid homage to a 1960s Barbie.
Margot Robbie wearing the black sparkly dress at the ‘Barbie’ premiere.
There are opinions that method-dressing is becoming overdone and a thing of the past, as read in the Vogue article ‘Enough with the Method Dressing!’ by Hannah Jackson, but I personally see a bright future for the trend. I look forward to seeing how adventurous and extravagant these looks will become or maybe witnessing a shift in film premiere fashion only time will tell.