From Shraddha Kapoor for Stree 2 to Blake Lively for It Ends With Us: Method dressing is back with a vengeance

Solely depending on a film’s posters, songs and a brief trailer to create potential box office records is increasingly becoming risky business. And let’s be honest, star power often, if not always, tends to take over the actual film itself during the promotional press tours. This is where method dressing steps in, making for a fun and frilly, yet focused way to ensure that even chatter around your favourite stars, is still strictly in line with their film up for release. Shraddha Kapoor and Blake Lively, of course among many others, have been taking the lead in what appears to be THE celebrity trend on the rise. Method dressing is here to stay: Shraddha Kapoor, Blake Lively, Janhvi Kapoor and others are proof(Photos; Instagram/shraddhakapoor, X, Instagram/janhvikapoor) Shraddha Kapoor for Stree 2Shraddha Kapoor has been going all-red, repeatedly. The reason? Her upcoming Independence Day release Stree 2. To refresh your minds, most of Shraddha’s ensembles from Stree (2018) belonged to the red and maroon palette, coupled with her plot-specific braid and kohl-rimmed eyes. This appears to be the exact brief for her round of promotions for the sequel. Red and gold, gold and red, this is all Shraddha has been oscillating between for her daily looks only switching things up when it comes to silhouettes. For a more recent outing, she ditched the suits and sarees for a ribbed co-ord set — no points for guessing what colour it was. Blake Lively for It Ends With UsIt Ends With Us is up for a release later this month on August 9. Blake Lively leads the book adaptation as Lily Bloom, a flor. It doesn’t take much to put two and two together when it comes to decoding her maximal press tour wardrobe. Motif flowers, printed flowers, embroidered flowers, grunge flowers, flowers in her hair, flowers in her shoes — Blake has delightfully committed herself to thoroughly embodying Lily Bloom as she inches closer to the release date. Be it a vintage John Galliano skirt suit, a yet-to-release loud Chropher John Rogers resort look, mini dresses from Dauphinette and Oscar de la Renta or a see-through pair of Valentino denims with floral cutouts, the l of statement looks has been endless. As a matter of fact, the sheer variety of her press tour looks makes for a masterclass in repeating themes, a singular one in this case, without it being overkill. Janhvi Kapoor for Mr & Mrs Mahi Janhvi Kapoor’s leg of promotions for Mr & Mrs Mahi began with a simple sari which grabbed eyeballs courtesy of her sequined racerback blouse reading ‘6 MAHI’. As the days passed, Janhvi’s commitment to method dressing became increasingly evident. Some specimens include the embroidered batsman motif on her silver bodycon, a stadium impression painted on her powder purple silk saree and cricket balls lining the border for another saree look. Each of these attempts struck a balance between making the point without looking outright camp. Margot Robbie for BarbieAbsolutely nobody has committed to method dressing as hard as Margot Robbie did for 2023 blockbuster Barbie’s global press tour. Actual vintage Barbie dolls and their ensembles inspired majority of Margot’s looks as she trotted the globe promoting her film. Even when the ensemble wasn’t directly inspired from a version of the doll, it still somehow managed to scream Barbie. Bottega Venetta, Versace, Moschino, Carolina Herrera, Vivienne Westwood, Schiaparelli, Chanel — the l of archival looks Margot and styl Andrew Mukamal managed to pull off, are logged in for eternity in their book Barbie: The World Tour. Special mention: Zendaya for the OlympicsMethod dressing isn’t just for the movies anymore. Thanks to Zendaya and Law Roach for clearing that up. Late last month, Zendaya marked her presence in Paris, in lieu of the then-soon-to-commence Olympic Games 2024. The duo threw it back to 2008, opting to pull out a Jean-Charles de Castelbajac romper from that year’s ‘Sportacus’ Spring/Summer collection. The white halter-necked romper carried the 5 Olympic rings around Zendaya’s legs, neck and pockets. It may not be the prettiest thing on the market, but it does the job — keeps the chatter around Zendaya Olympic-coded. Do you think method dressing is here to stay?