Wuthering Heights Costumes Defy Period Accuracy for Heightened Emotion

Costume designer Jacqueline Durran trades realism for a high-fashion fever dream in the new adaptation.

Published on Feb. 16, 2026

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In the new movie adaptation of Wuthering Heights, costume designer Jacqueline Durran opted for emotional truth over historical accuracy, creating a scarlet fever dream of a wardrobe that's as bold as the film's loose interpretation of the source material. The costumes include nods to era-accurate late-18th-century silhouettes and styles, but Durran roots the clothing in director Emerald Fennell's heightened universe rather than a specific historical time frame, drawing inspiration from sources like Franz Xaver Winterhalter portraits, Old Hollywood stars, and the archives of McQueen, Mugler, and Chanel.

Why it matters

Period films set in the Georgian era are rarely remembered for their risk-taking fashion, but Durran's costumes for Wuthering Heights deconstruct the destructive characters and provide a visual roadmap that's recognizable to anyone who's experienced a relationship that drove them mad. The exaggerated clothes match the augmented magnitude of Cathy's discontent, always on the verge of reaching a boiling point and overflowing into impropriety.

The details

Margot Robbie's Cathy Earnshaw wears a palette grounded in ruby and burgundy, with modern-cut corsets, girlish checked skirts, and peplum waistcoats that burn too bright to be period-precise. As Cathy ascends into a moneyed lifestyle, her sartorial metamorphosis includes puffed ballgowns, oversized sleeves, fur accessories, and cartoonish red-tinted sunglasses that read as Mad Hatter-esque. Heathcliff's new suiting, gold earring, and pinky ring signal upward mobility, but his liberally unbuttoned white shirts echo the stable-boy uniform of his youth.

  • The new Wuthering Heights adaptation was released on Valentine's Day 2026.

The players

Jacqueline Durran

The costume designer for the new Wuthering Heights adaptation, known for her work on period films like Greta Gerwig's Little Women and Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice.

Emerald Fennell

The director of the new Wuthering Heights adaptation, known for her signature style of heightened emotion and transgressive storytelling.

Margot Robbie

The actress who plays the role of Cathy Earnshaw in the new Wuthering Heights adaptation.

Jacob Elordi

The actor who plays the role of Heathcliff in the new Wuthering Heights adaptation.

Alison Oliver

The actress who plays the role of Isabella in the new Wuthering Heights adaptation.

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What they’re saying

“Period films set in the Georgian era are rarely remembered for their risk-taking fashion.”

— Irina Grechko, Freelance writer and editor (elle.com)

“The brilliance of Durran's work is that it doesn't soften the story's fashion into romantic fare, instead doubling down on the narrative's uglier side, which — in traditional interpretations— tends to be swept under the rug: the characters' cruelty, status hunger, humiliating downfalls, and the kind of primal longing and violent desire that turns everyone feral.”

— Irina Grechko, Freelance writer and editor (elle.com)

What’s next

The new Wuthering Heights adaptation is expected to generate significant discussion and debate around its unconventional costume choices and how they reflect the film's interpretation of the classic novel.

The takeaway

Jacqueline Durran's costume design for the new Wuthering Heights adaptation prioritizes emotional resonance over historical accuracy, creating a visually striking and transgressive wardrobe that matches the heightened drama of the film's loose adaptation of the source material.