Method Dressing: From Film to Fashion

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.