Margot Robbie has gone from Chanel darling to daring fashion plate in a relatively short space of time. She has two people to thank: Barbie, for giving her the bubblegum-tinted conviction to branch out from bouclé, and Andrew Mukamal, who has been sourcing headline-making pieces from the likes of Vivienne Westwood’s spring 1998 Pirate collection for his client.
The Oscars, then, demanded a sartorial finale befitting an actor who was ultimately snubbed on the awards front, but who made this season about playful referential “lady fashions,” to quote Ken. By the Academy Awards, we’d seen all the “Solo In The Spotlight” Barbies, “Totally Hair” Barbies and “Day To Night” Barbies Mukamal could muster, and so the stylist looked to Mugler for an after-party look that celebrated the fashion theatre Robbie has made her calling card.
After Zendaya’s gynoid suit put Mugler’s haute couture fall 1995 collection, with its Latex bodysuits and Botticelli-esque Venus gowns, back on the map during the Dune: Part Two promo tour, Mukamal picked a piece from the spring 1996 edit for a fresh follow-up to the archival coup. But of course, Thierry Mugler’s looks could scarcely ever be classed as ready-to-wear. In this particular show alone, models twirled round pillars in exaggerated coy Audrey Hepburn style wearing giraffe-printed coords and face-masking hats, sculptural suiting that provided a lesson in fashion architecture, and ruched red-carpet gowns with diaphanous hooded trains befitting Disney princesses.
Robbie’s look—a gold corsetted confection dripping with iridescent beads–paid homage to Monsieur Mugler in pure showman mode. With a brown satin cover-up shrugged over Margot’s arms to conceal just a touch of skin and gladiator-style heels snaking up her ankles, it was a lot to unpack. But with the super-snatched waist and vintage nod, Robbie was right on track leaning into awards season’s biggest trends. Make what you will of her commitment to method dressing, but Robbie has proved she will never be Stereotypical Barbie.