When Will This Method Dressing Red Carpet Schtick End?

A year after ‘Barbie,’ the red carpet trend is still going strong.

When Barbie premiered in July 2023, no one could have predicted its pop culture impact. Blockbuster success aside, the film’s press tour changed the studio system forever. Film x fashion collabs are now the norm (see this fall’s countless green and pink Wicked launches for proof), and the Barbenheimer faceoff produced a sea of outfit memes on TikTok, stoking the urge to dress up for midnight showings everywhere.

Suffice it to say, people were barely going to the theater, let alone getting in costume before Barbie, and that all changed thanks to Margot Robbie's bubblegum pink summer of looking like everyone's favorite doll. Whether it was the Easter eggs and references, archival couture, or just the plain old power of pink, her red carpet style was impossible to ignore, generating as much hype for the film as all the billboards on Sunset and sneak peek trailers combined.

It was so wildly successful (the film made $1.4 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of the year), so totally everywhere, that now, there's a new standard operating procedure for movie promotion: If you want to get people talking, dress like the main character.

While few projects (and IPs) have as deep a well of inspiration as Barbie's impressive resume and 65-year history (that’s not to mention the Barbie Dream House back catalog), that didn’t stop stars from putting their own spin on the character dressing formula post-Barbie. Zendaya created a meticulously curated Dune 2 red carpet persona right on the heels of Barbiemania, delivering a futuristic vision of dressing for the space apocalypse. Remember that Mugler robot suit? Her red carpet ensembles offered high fashion and high fantasy in droves, making the collaboration between Zendaya and her longtime stylist, Law Roach, an undisputed high point of the character dressing movement. Followed by a slate of tennis-themed Challengers appearances, this summer cemented the A-list duo as a theme dressing powerhouse.

Months later, costumes on the red carpet are still ubiquitous. What started as a novel and striking approach to styling has run through Hollywood, spawning so many reboots, off-shoots, and self-referential in-jokes that the entire enterprise has started to feel like a cheesy Marvel franchise.

It's impossible to pinpoint exactly why it all went a bit curdled. But I think we can all agree: Blake Lively's It Ends With Us press tour lost the plot. It wasn't just that "lots of flowers" is a less-than-inspired theme. Promoting a movie about domestic violence by wearing manically cheerful florals—while simultaneously going full superhero to promote your husband's movie and launching yet another celebrity haircare brand—confirmed that not every movie needs a corresponding red carpet hook. And for the Blake Lively fans who love to point out that the actress doesn't have a stylist, this press tour makes a compelling argument that maybe she needs one.

After all, the best main character red carpet moments embrace the magic of the movies, not just an arbitrary theme. You need a rich tapestry of fantastical reference points to pull it off, which is why moments like Lively's floral take on Lilly Bloom (get it?) and, to a lesser extent, Zendaya's Challengers tour fell a bit forced. Put simply, the Dune universe's futurism and Barbie's magenta-laden world offer more room for outfit creativity than a movie about hot people playing tennis.

Of course, Robbie is a hard act to follow in any capacity—sartorial or otherwise—so it's no surprise that character fashion has had its fair share of flops. However, the studios and suits who make marketing decisions seem to be shoe-horning the main character trend into every possible scenario, no matter how ill-fitting.

Take the Wicked press tour. Cynthia Erivo and Arianna Grande have been dressing as Elphaba and Glinda for what feels like years—and the movie's not even out yet. The musical's two stars first wore their Wicked and Good Witch finest to the 2024 Oscars, which means they've been on the pink-and-green movie campaign trail for months now. The Wicked collections, merch, and magazine covers subsequently rained in a torrential downpour of promotion, and believe it or not, this is just the beginning. With a sequel already banked for next November, it's hard not to wonder, how long will they keep this schtick going?

That's not to say there hasn't been good fashion coming out of the Wicked push. There has been! But the pink and green of it all is starting to wear thin. In fact, the best red carpet moments so far have come from moments where the movie's stars go impressionistic rather than literal with their character-inspired looks. The glittering corset, headdress, and floating talons created by Thom Browne for Erivo's appearance at the film's Mexico premiere on November 11 provided a welcome respite from all that emerald (and would make anyone want to join her coven). Similarly, the iridescent custom Versace number donned by Grande nods to Glinda, The Good Witch, and her magical pink bubble in the 1939 The Wizard of Oz adaptation, rather than the role's usual cupcake pink ballgown.

In short, the character dressing trend doesn't belong on every red carpet—I mean, what's wrong with putting on a gorgeous designer dress?—but it does maintain a firm hold on culture. The rise of musical era fashion, from Eras Sparkle to Brat neon-green and Beyoncé in chaps, seems to be the pop world equivalent of getting into character with your clothes. Much like curating an outfit for an early screening of Wicked, custom concert attire is on the rise among fans.

Clearly, people are looking for reasons to dress up in a post-pandemic world. Romance, imagination, and spectacle are trending—on celebrities and IRL—and it's fun to watch. But much like with everything, once a trend starts to feel like #sponcon, it starts to lose its appeal. So, for all our sake, let's keep costumes for concerts, parties, and special occasions and pump the breaks a bit on the themed red carpets that feel more corporate than inspired. Not everything has to be an ad.