Why method dressing is taking over all the big Hollywood red carpets: 'It's like the movie is living outside the theatre'
There's a new trend in town, and it's taking over all the major Hollywood press tours.
Method dressing has become the new 'it' trend of celebrity red carpet fashion.
If you're not familiar, it's like method acting but through clothes. It's when stars of a film build their press tour looks around dressing to the movie's theme or like their character.
Speaking to 9honey Style, a marketing expert has revealed why the trend is suddenly everywhere in the last couple of years.
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Method dressing has been dominating Hollywood press tours - but it isn't a new thing. Getty/ 9Honey
"Social media has supercharged the trend, for sure," entrepreneur managing partner at BlazeKin Media, Roland Jakob, says.
"It's all about creating those moments that are instantly shareable and keep fans engaged long after the movie or show has premiered."
Jakob says the trend has become part of a strategy to maintain a film's buzz longer.
"It's smart because it turns fashion into part of the film's narrative. People engage with that – it's like the movie is living outside the theatre," he said, adding the pull of the trend is fans are "connecting emotionally".
Ariana Grande embraced method dressing at the premiere of Wicked in Sydney on November 3. Supplied/Caroline McCredie
Grande's dress was a nod to the one worn by Glinda in 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/ YouTube
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Last weekend, the cast of Wicked descended on Sydney for the Australian premiere.
One of the main stars Ariana Grande gave a masterclass in the trend as she walked the makeshift Yellow Brick Road at the State Theatre in an ode to her character, Glinda.
The pop star wore a Vivienne Westwood dress that paid homage to Billie Burke's original 1939 version of Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, looking like she'd stepped out of the movie in layers of blush pink taffeta.
It's the celebrity element of method dressing that Jakob says is a "big part" of why everyone seems to be so engaged with the trend.
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Method dressing really traces back to the '90s when Geena Davis wore a baseball dress for the premiere of her sport film. Ron Galella Collection via Getty
"People follow these actors closely, and when they dress in ways that align with their roles, it blurs the line between the character and the real person," he explains.
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He adds: "It makes the narrative feel ongoing, which is emotionally engaging."
Method dressing started out much more subtly in the '90s when Geena Davis famously dressed as a baseball for the 1992 premiere of A League of Their Own.
Margot Robbie's Barbie press tour marked the beginning of the modern hype around method dressing. WireImage
Three decades on, the trend has completely blown up.
The buzz really started last year when Margot Robbie enticed onlookers by dressing like a new pink-clad doll for every stop on the Barbie press tour.
Zendaya then picked up where Robbie left off with a series of chic sport-inspired red carpet outfits to promote her tennis rom-com Challengers.
She again collaborated with her stylist Law Roach to do the same on the Dune press tour, but this time with a slew of futuristic fashion moments – a standout being when she dressed as a robot in a piece from Thierry Mugler's AW95 Couture collection.
Zendaya wore a tennis-inspired look at the Sydney premiere for Challengers. James Gourley/Getty Images
For the Dune press tour, she wore this incredible robot suit. Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pi
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We've since seen stars like Jenna Ortega pay homage to the original 1988 Beetlejuice film through her outfits on the sequel press tour, and Lady Gaga dress in dramatic gowns and makeup to resemble her Joker: Folie à Deux character, Lee Quinzel.
Blake Lively also wore pretty much exclusively florals while promoting It Ends With Us, to reference her character Lily Bloom, who is a florist.
Now, the latest to take on the method dressing giant is, of course, the cast of Wicked, with leads Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo dazzling in a slew of green and pink looks ahead of the movie release this month.
It's everywhere now, but will the trend stand the test of time or just be another fad?
Gaga was another star to go all out with the method dressing this year. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
Going forward, Jakob thinks the trend will stick around "as long as it remains creative."
"If it starts feeling too forced or overly corporate, people will lose interest. But when done right, it adds a new layer to storytelling and promotion."
But beyond the red carpet, Jakob says we could see the trend next takeover big fashion collaborations, with potential for designers to work more on movie-inspired wardrobes.
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