Margot Robbie arrived at the London premiere of Wuthering Heights, her glossy blonde braids draping her torso, spiraling around her calves, and woven through her choker like a Victorian spell. Dilara Findikoglu created the custom naked dress, featuring hair embellishments so intricate they demand scrutiny from mere inches away. Robbie took method dressing to its logical extreme, wearing a replica bracelet made from the actual hair of Emily and Anne Brontë.
Fashion houses from Schiaparelli to Chanel have produced ballgowns and corsets for Robbie’s Wuthering Heights press tour, each channeling themes of forbidden desire and suffocating passion. Findikoglu’s February 5 creation stripped away excess, allowing braided details to speak volumes about restraint, obsession, and the tight grip love can hold.
Hair as Architecture, Restraint as Romance
Stylist Andrew Mukamal commissioned Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu to construct a lingerie-inspired gown for Robbie’s London appearance. Known for her expertise in sheer, body-conscious designs, Findikoglu started with an elongated bone-in corset as the Victorian-coded foundation. Nude tulle stretched the structure into a floor-length silhouette. Where previous press appearances showcased velvet, brocade, and lace corsets from Chanel, Roberto Cavalli, and Thom Browne, Findikoglu’s version emerged as the most streamlined bustier of the promotional circuit.
Braids so dark blonde they read almost green outlined every contour. Starting with three knots positioned along the halter neck, the plaits traveled south until they reached the empire waist, where lace trim met hair in unexpected harmony. Strands crisscrossed atop the bodice, fanning out like feathers around each off-the-shoulder strap. Once the hair reached Robbie’s hips, the décolletage’s original knots returned. Braids intersected again, this time appearing as if ropes bound her calves together.
The hair had a subtle, freshly washed sheen that caught the light with each movement. Findikoglu’s team cascaded strands down the corset’s hip-hugging boning, creating texture that photographs struggle to capture fully. Step aside, Schiaparelli hair neckties. Robbie announced we’re wearing hair all over now, from the neckline to the ankles, refusing to limit the material to mere accessories.
Jewelry That Tells Stories (Some 126 Years Old)
Robbie selected bespoke garnet, diamond, and pearl earrings from Jessica McCormack, the same jeweler responsible for Zendaya’s engagement ring. Yet the real treasures hung closer to her collarbones. Boucheron’s archives loaned a circa-1920 brooch, pinned to her ruffled choker, matched by a 126-year-old pin at her neckline. Both antique pieces date back to 1900, connecting Robbie’s 2026 premiere to a century of fashion history.
The ruffled choker marked Robbie’s fifth for the Wuthering Heights tour. Crafted in Findikoglu’s studios, it featured the same greenish hair woven like a picnic basket between tulle trim. Zoom in on red carpet photographs, and you’ll spot the intricate weaving, nearly invisible from standard viewing distance. Jewelry becomes unnecessary when glossy braids adorn your body from top to bottom, yet Robbie refused to choose between hair embellishments and precious metals.
Her blink-and-you ‘ll-miss-it bracelet carried the most haunting provenance. The piece replicated a bracelet crafted from the hair of Emily and Anne Brontë, a standard practice in Victorian mourning jewelry. Charlotte Brontë originally owned the heirloom. Robbie wore a reproduction on her wrist, linking her portrayal of Catherine Earnshaw to the author who had imagined her nearly 180 years earlier. Victorian women preserved their loved ones’ hair in brooches, rings, and bracelets after death. Robbie honored that tradition while promoting a film about characters who couldn’t escape each other, even when separated by mortality itself.
Method Dressing Meets Method Acting
Early screenings of Emerald Fennel’s adaptation reveal that Robbie’s Cathy puts ribbons in her pleated hair throughout standout scenes. The trailer teased this recurring motif around the two-minute mark. Marie Claire’s senior fashion news editor, Halie LeSavage, who attended an early screening, noted the braids and corsetry “reference both Cathy and Heathcliff having to show restraint” throughout Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel. The film reportedly delivers as a “bodice-ripping crowd-pleaser”.
Findikoglu’s design choices mirror the narrative tension. Cathy and Heathcliff spend the story bound by social expectations, class divisions, and their own destructive patterns. Braids that wind around Robbie’s body suggest entanglement, while the bone-in corset channels the physical constriction Victorian women endured daily. Hair that appears to restrain her legs evokes characters who cannot run from their fates, no matter how desperately they try.
Robbie’s press tour has traced a clear trajectory. Alexander McQueen delivered a lacy, naked little black dress for the initial appearances. Archival John Galliano coats followed. Schiaparelli, Chanel, and Thom Browne contributed custom ballgowns dripping with period-appropriate opulence. Each designer interpreted the moody English moors differently, yet Findikoglu’s approach stands apart. Rather than adding layers of fabric, she reduced the gown to its essence: structure, transparency, and hair worked into elaborate patterns.
The London premiere demanded something special. Emily Brontë’s novel unfolds on the windswept moors of Yorkshire. Mukamal recognized the significance of returning to English soil for the film’s debut. Findikoglu responded with a dress that reads as both delicate and severe, romantic yet unsettling. Audiences expecting traditional red carpet glamour got something stranger and more memorable.
Robbie’s side profile reveals how precisely Findikoglu engineered each element. The braids don’t simply decorate; they serve structural purposes, guiding the eye along specific paths. Hair wrapping around her torso creates visual interest that shifts with every angle. Photographers needed multiple shots to capture all the details Findikoglu embedded in the design.
A similar style will likely appear at future press stops leading up to the February 13 release date. Expect more braids, more corsets, and possibly more references to Victorian mourning jewelry. Robbie has committed fully to this promotional strategy, understanding that method dressing enhances audience anticipation when executed with precision and historical awareness.
Downtown London became the moors for one night, thanks to a naked dress covered in hair and anchored by jewelry spanning three centuries. Robbie wore restraint as decoration, obsession as ornamentation, and Victorian death rituals as wrist candy. You’ll need a magnifying glass to appreciate every detail Findikoglu embedded in those braids. Some red carpet moments demand closer inspection. Robbie’s Wuthering Heights premiere appearance insists on it.
