At long last, we finally have our first look at Margot Robbie as Cathy in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation. And—quelle surprise—people already have thoughts!
Earlier this week, photos of Robbie on the Wuthering Heights set surfaced online, sparking instant discourse. One of the major points of contention was Robbie’s costume: a white off-the-shoulder wedding dress, outfitted with embellished poufy sleeves, a basque corseted bodice, and a shimmering voluminous ball skirt. The bridal look—which seemed as though it was more befitting of the 1980s than the early 1800s—was complete with a cathedral veil anchored by a tiara and a rose and hydrangea bouquet.
But it wasn’t just the dress’s more modern interpretation that peeved English majors of yore: it was the dress period. As many were quick to point out, wedding dresses as we know them didn’t exist until Queen Victoria popularized the now-traditional white with her 1840 marriage to Prince Albert. Since Emily Brontë’s story takes place around 40 years before, a white wedding dress would be far from the norm. The voluminous silhouette would also be abnormal for the time. The neoclassical style was still in fashion; flowing dresses with empire waists were de rigueur.
While the dress is definitely not a faithful period recreation, it’s not worth fussing about—yet. (Nor is it worth using as a bellwether to predict the film’s success.) As we know from Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, Fennell is a stylish filmmaker with a strong aesthetic vision. We wouldn’t expect anything less from her Wuthering Heights adaptation. So, why don’t we just let Margot Robbie and Emerald Fennell do their thing, and we can reserve judgments for opening weekend?
