Wuthering heights costume designer hits back at fans blasting Margot Robbie’s ‘hideous’ outfits in the new adaptation

Wuthering Heights costume designer Jacqueline Durran has hit back at fans who criticised Margot Robbie’s ‘hideous’ outfits in the upcoming film.

Margot, 35, stars as Cathy in the new adaptation opposite Jacob Elordi, 28, who takes on the role of Heathcliff.

The full-length trailer dropped in November ahead of the film’s February 13 release and ever since, the movie has faced criticism over its modernised take on Emily Brontë’s classic – with many complaints aimed at the costumes.

Social media users have been sharing their opinions on the upcoming movie, which is set to a soundtrack by Queen of BRAT, Charli XCX.

Taking to x they said: ‘Wuthering heights costume design looking worse than bridgertons costume design and that’s saying a lot’,

‘Cheap fantasy costume in Wuthering Heights’,

‘So basically, it’s a costume party with a twist. Sounds fun but confusing’,

‘At some point you have to admit this feels more like a vanity project for one particular producer/actor’,

‘Images or styles that look good, and they chose a fugly plastic arts and crafts looking ahh dress with a bow’,

‘A lot of costumes in period movies are not historically accurate but at least they make sense… This just looks random’,

‘They are AWFUL and i’m not even mentioning if they are historically accurate or not. Hideous .’

Now, in a new interview, the two-time Oscar winner Jacqueline has defended the choices she made for the movie. 

She told Vogue: ‘That idea of shiny surfaces is key to Cathy’s character and costumes. 

‘It’s something that takes you out of the period, but it was exciting to mix the shape of a Victorian dress with a fabric that was completely modern

The costume designer added that ‘the dates are all confused,’ admitting the team wasn’t aiming for historical accuracy.

She explained they simply chose ‘clothes we like for each character.’

It comes after Margot admitted she was fearful about shooting Wuthering Heights when she was just three months postpartum and shed light on her steamy scenes. 

Following Emerald’s saucy epic Saltburn, Margot noted that many viewers are incorrectly expecting extremely sizzling scenes, however she admitted that some of the more tender moments with Jacob made her ‘weak at the knees’. 

Speaking to British Vogue, Margot discussed how she felt throwing herself back into work just three months after welcoming her son in October 2024 with husband Tom Ackerley – and how Emerald acted to ‘relieve her anxiety’.  

Margot and Jacob are seen as star-crossed lovers Catherine and Heathcliff in the movie – a take on Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, published in 1850, which is considered a masterpiece of English literature.

Prior to its release, the film has courted controversy due to the appearance of Cathy – who is a teenager in the book – and the fact that Heathcliff should be ‘dark-skinned’.

While she has shirked the scandal, with insiders pointing to the fact it is not a direct lift of the book and Vogue detailing how Emerald is seen to ‘lean into the stylised depravity’ she has become known for after directing the 2023 hit Saltburn.

Speaking about the expectations for the movie and its saucy content, Margot said: ‘Everyone’s expecting this to be very, very raunchy. I think people will be surprised.

‘Not to say there aren’t sexual elements and that it’s not provocative – it definitely is provocative – but it’s more romantic than provocative. This is a big epic romance.’

She admitted that the film is set to fill a void for lovers of romantic movies, saying: ‘It’s just been so long since we’ve had one – maybe The Notebook, also The English Patient. You have to go back decades.

‘It’s that feeling when your chest swells or it’s like someone’s punched you in the guts and the air leaves your body. That’s a signature of Emerald’s. Whether it’s titillating or repulsion, her superpower is eliciting a physical response.’

When approached by Vogue, Jacob said of his co-star: ‘Margot is a force. And she makes it look easy. Sometimes I think she has Hermione’s time-turner – she can raise a baby, shoot a movie, produce four others and still meet for a beer at 5pm.’ 

According to World of Reel, Emerald’s Wuthering Heights received a mixed reaction at its first test screening in Dallas, Texas this month.

The film is said to feature ‘intimate, clinical and purposefully discomforting’ masturbation scenes and a BDSM-inspired sex scene involving horse reins. 

The camera is also said to linger on ‘suggestive’ imagery including ‘egg yolks running through fingers’ and ‘dough being kneaded with quiet aggression’. 

The publication does note that Margot and Jacob both deliver ‘committed performances’ and have ‘great chemistry’. 

Born in 1818 in West Yorkshire, author Brontë was the fifth of six children, and spent most of her short life in the moorland village of Haworth, where her Irish father Patrick was curate.

But life dealt Brontë a series of terrible blows as she lost her mother when she was three, then two older sisters when she was seven.

Following her trauma, the novelist retreated into a fantasy world, writing stories and poetry with her siblings.

The writer poured her suffering and passion into Wuthering Heights, a wrenching love story as raw as the Yorkshire Moors on which it’s set.