Emily Blunt on Wild Mountain Thyme and Her Romantic Virtual Press Tour Wardrobe
If there ever were a time for an escapist fable, it’s 2020. The year has called for entertainment that inspires, uplifts, and (momentarily) distracts. It would be easy to dive into Netflix and find an old favorite, but Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan’s latest film provides a welcome new fantasy. Wild Mountain Thyme is the kind of quirky romance that takes viewers into a whole new world, namely the Irish countryside’s endless greenery. As Rosemary Muldoon, the story’s unflappable heroine, Blunt sets out to make magic happen with her bashful suitor and childhood friend, Dornan’s Anthony Reilly. A reversal from the usual boy-chases-girl rom-com, director John Patrick Shanley’s script felt wholly original, which is exactly what drew Blunt to the project. “So often I read scripts that are usually a bit derivative of one another, especially with romantic stories. The characters often are a curated version of a romantic lead, so I was bewitched by the fact that there was a romance with two strange, odd, and uncertain people,” she shared on the phone from Manhattan. “It was just the most unique little fairytale I’d ever read.”
The characters’ idiosyncrasies are reflected in their wardrobe. Rosemary’s clothes are appropriate for her life on the farm, but they’re also colorful and ethereal. Think blue and red tartan jackets worn over gauzy tiered skirts, plenty of floral prints, and of course, a wealth of good boots. Created by costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone, the pieces reflect Rosemary’s free spirit.. “Shanley and I talked about her as someone who is very expressive with her clothes, and it’s all really like those birds of paradise who dance to attract a mate,” says Blunt. “She has this wild style, and it’s a bit mismatched.” During a pre-production fitting with Walicka-Maimone, Blunt tried on a pair of vintage, wide-leg pants that set the tone for the look they were trying to create. “We almost just built the quirkiness of her around that first pair of pants that I tried on,” explains Blunt. “Then everything else I would imagine she would have found in a thrift store, a secondhand store, or something her mother might’ve made. I think just to create that mismatched, bohemian quality in her was the key.”
For the movie’s virtual press tour, though, Blunt chose a romantic wardrobe full of color and texture, with help from some of Blunt’s closest friends. Stylist Jessica Paster, who has been working with the actress for more than a decade, makeup artist Jenn Streicher, and hairstylist Renato Campora came together for a week’s worth of interviews and outfits, setting up shop in the TriBeCa office of Blunt’s husband, actor-director John Krasinski. The process was surprisingly laid back. “I was around people that I’m incredibly comfortable with. It was just us in a spacious office, so everyone felt safe [and] we’d all been tested beforehand, so you didn’t have any of that uncertainty health-wise,” Blunt explains. “We had a blast just playing records and laughing.” Cycling through video conference meetings and FaceTime calls is very 2020, but Blunt admits to missing a few old media promotion staples. “The only thing I’m sad not to do in person are the talk shows,” she says of the conversations with television’s most engaging interviewers. “Anything like Good Morning America or one of the late-night shows—they’re always fun, and I enjoy that part of it.”
The unspoken dress codes associated with daytime and nightly television also provide structure to any wardrobe choices. After all, what works at 7 a.m. isn’t always the same as what seems stylish after hours. Blunt and Paster kept that idea in mind as they sought out looks to suit each situation. “What [Jessica] does is she brings in all of the racks—they’re countless. You should see the amount of clothes she comes in with just for one event,” says Blunt. “[Afterward] I’ll do a small first pull. We go through each look and as soon as I see it, I either go, yup, or no, as it passes by.” Though she selects outfits based on ‘gut instinct,’ Blunt occasionally needs convincing when it comes to outré runway pieces. “Over the years, Jessica has encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and see style as a way of expressing your artistic sensibilities,” she says. “She’ll back me up with the more ambitious looks [or] push me when I need a nudge in the right direction. Jessica is just the most generous, kind-hearted person I’ve ever met. She loves her job, we love each other, and we make a great team.”