Image: Getty
The relationship between Mary, Queen of Scots and Queen Elizabeth I has inspired a number of cinematic dramatizations. Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, and Samantha Morton have all graced the screen as Mary, and Glenda Jackson, Helen Mirren, and Cate Blanchett have channelled their inner Elizabeths. Next up, Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie take the respective roles in a Josie Rourke-directed film slated for release in January.
However this week, New Yorkers were treated to a screening of Mary Queen of Scots a little earlier. Ronan and Robbie graced the red carpet in ornate attire that fans could read as a nod to the period piece, or just downright fabulous fashion.
Robbie opted for a silver sequin and bead-embellished Chanel couture Spring 2019 gown with high neck and cut-out panels from the same collection that is the subject of an upcoming Netflix documentary. Ronan, meanwhile, plumped for a Gucci Spring 2019 dress with dramatic ruffled sleeves and a beaded heart motif stitched onto the waistband. The choice of Alessandro Michele, the man who has created a sumptuous gilded world at Gucci, as the designer of her look also seemed like an knowing choice for the showcase of a historic drama.
Image: Getty
The actors’ beauty looks – fresh-faced, with their hair pinned back from their faces – were a far cry from those of the characters we will see them take on. It took three-and-a-half hours every day to complete Robbie’s makeup, complete with prosthetics and striking white face paint, for her role as the Queen.
Until then, there’s another thematically similar retelling of Queen Anne’s reign starring Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone as two women vying for the monarch (Olivia Coleman)’s affections in The Favorite to look forward to. As awards season and the anniversary of the #TimesUp movement creeps closer, it seems apt that these powerful females are dominating the screens, and that the actors playing them will stand together on the red carpet, at the same time.
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This article first appeared on Vogue.co.uk
