In The Scenario, reporter Kirbie Johnson takes readers behind the scenes of the buzziest movies and TV shows to reveal how the best wigs, special effects makeup, and more are created. For this edition, Johnson spoke with Siân Miller, the hair and makeup designer for “Wuthering Heights”, who gave Allure an exclusive first look at the film’s biggest beauty moments.
Siân Miller knew this would not be a traditional take on Wuthering Heights, the classic dark romance novel by Emily Brontë, when she signed on to design its hair and makeup looks. Directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Margot Robbie as Cathy alongside Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, the film adaptation includes the same themes of love, revenge, and social class but renders them through an entirely different lens.
“What [Emerald] was really clear about from the beginning is that this was to be seen through the imagination of a 14-year-old girl—this was Emerald’s imagination,” says Miller, who previously worked on Saltburn with Fennell, Elordi, and Robbie (who produced the film). “It was clear that it would be a kind of fever dream.”
A BBC costume drama this was not—nor was it a literal, by-the-book adaptation. “I can’t say I’m making ‘Wuthering Heights.’ It’s not possible,” Fennel said in a recent interview with Fandango; that’s why she decided to put those quotation marks in the movie’s title. “What I can say is I’m making a version of it. There’s a version that I remembered reading that isn’t quite real. And there’s a version where I wanted stuff to happen that never happened. And so it is ‘Wuthering Heights,’ and it isn’t.”
While the film features some period-accurate wardrobe, hair, and makeup, it also incorporates imaginative elements, not unlike Sofia Coppola’s blend of modern and classical references in the 2006 Marie Antoinette film. Having seen “Wuthering Heights” myself, the best way I can describe it is a smorgasbord of visual decadence: surrealist art paired with dreary gothic fare. Prepared to be dazzled by the spectacle and overcome with jealousy over a myriad of things: the hair and the sex, for starters. Beauty connoisseurs will be in heaven.
Miller shared details on the hair and makeup exclusively with Allure: The film features between 35 and 40 different hairstyles on Robbie, including archival Chanel jewelry used as hair adornments and early-2000s Sienna Miller references. Miller researched and recreated historically faithful nail art originally made with eggshells and beetle blood (though no bugs were harmed in the making of these manicures). There’s an entire montage of makeup looks that you’ll miss if you blink, showcasing silver leaf on the eyes and black lips, and inspiration pulled from Pinterest alongside makeup artist Pat McGrath’s work with designers like John Galliano, Vivienne Westwood, and Alexander McQueen.
Miller describes the hair and makeup as a combination of ’50s mid-century melodrama and Victorian excess with fantastical elements. She worked closely with production designer Suzie Davies (Saltburn, Conclave) and costume designer Jacqueline Durran (Anna Karenina, Little Women, Barbie) to ensure every visual element felt cohesive to the audience.
Here’s a preview of some of the standout looks you should expect when the film hits theaters on February 13—and maybe some inspiration for your theatergoing outfit.
Cathy’s Hair Evolution
Photo: Warner Bro. Pictures
