How Jenna Ortega became the queen of method dressing to promote Beetlejuice 2

Jenna Ortega’s best looks for the promotion of Beetlejuice

In the midst of promoting the feature film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which will come out in French cinemas on September 11th, 2024, and in which she plays the role of Astrid Deetz, Jenna Ortega is the center of attention.

She was first spotted wearing a black-and-white pinstripe skirt suit by Dolce & Gabbana on the streets of New York on August 17th. A few days earlier, at a film premiere in Mexico, the actress caused a sensation in a tulle and latex vintage dress designed by Andreas Kronthaler for the Vivienne Westwood Spring/Summer 2009 collection.

Another cutting-edge look? The Thom Browne gothic schoolgirl ensemble inspired by the aesthetics of the character Lydia Deetz – played by Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice (1988) – that Jenna Ortega has recently worn in New York,. The ultimate detail? A handbag from the fashion label Ozias, whose design is based on the book cover of the Handbook For The Recently Deceased featured in the 1988 cult film.

On August 14th, Jenna Ortega sported a skin-tight green dress designed by the label Lurline, founded by the two Saudi sisters Sarah and Siham Albinali in 2018. The piece evokes the overall dark, strange and surreal aesthetic of Tim Burton’s feature film.

Last week, for the opening of the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival on August 28th, 2024, the star stood out for her elegance in a Dior haute couture open back red gown by Maria Grazia Chiuri, paired with custom red satin heels by Jimmy Choo. The dress was conjuring up memories of a certain wedding dress worn by Winona Ryder in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988).

Then, the talk of the town was her appearance in a Paul Smith purple suit as a direct reference to the wedding ensemble worn by the protagonist of the 1988 movie. Finally, the actress offered a final nod to Beetlejuice fans in Venice with the famous ‘checked shirt’ look worn by Alec Baldwin some 35 years ago…

Through all of those silhouettes, Jenna Ortega has reached the status of queen of method dressing, or the art of playing a character outside a film set to promote it.

Jenna Ortega: the new queen of method dressing?

Method dressing was first coined by journalist Andre Wheeler in the columns of Vogue Magazine in May 2023. The term refers to the way an actor or actress keeps embodying their role in real life, especially through the looks they wear for film premieres.

It is quite impossible to forget the Barbiecore dresses sported by actress Margot Robbie as she was promoting Greta Gerwig’s very pink blockbuster Barbie (2023). In the same spirit, actress Halle Bailey has made the headlines with a series of mermaid-inspired looks for the release of The Little Mermaid (2023) directed by Rob Marshall, while Zendaya have scored points this year by riding the tenniscore trend to strike the audience’s attention around the film Challengers.

Now, Jenna Ortega can be considered one of the specialists of method dressing. Yet, she has already been using it before drawing her inspiration from the universe of Tim Burton for the looks of Beetlejuice, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival (August 28th to September 7th, 2024). Indeed, the actress has often appeared in spectacular gothic looks, as a direct reference to the series Wednesday (2022).

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) by Tim Burton, starring Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder and Monica Bellucci, coming out on September 11th, 2024.

Translation by Emma Naroumbo Armaing.