Well can you? With the tonged layers, the baked-on makeup and the boho-lite top? Supermodel Carmen Kass? Mischa Barton? Enough suspense … it’s Tilda Swinton. Tilda! She of ethereal beauty, androgynous bone structure and sunless skin, looking like an extra in the Real Housewives of Orange County.
The actor is well aware that this look – for her role in the Amy Schumer comedy Trainwreck – is quite a departure for her brand in terms of style. She described the transformation as “pretty extreme” but noted that she passed tons of women on the street who “go for that particular tandoori tan and the eye make-up and hair”.
In the film Swinton plays a men’s magazine editor named Dianna and apparently the actor looked to Carine Roitfeld and Victoria Beckham to hone her look for the role. She told the Hollywood Reporter: “I had this idea that she was styling herself on Carine Roitfeld … and that somebody once probably said she looked a bit like Carine, but she doesn’t look anything like Carine.” Swinton stressed that it isn’t meant to be an insult to the ex French Vogue editor. (Thank goodness – Tilda dissing Carine is not a situation we could cope with.) Swinton went on to say that there was “kind of important moment when I realised that she had to dress like Victoria Beckham ... she’s that kind of high-performing Teflon character”. We especially like the deliberate ring placement on her right hand: you would not mess with a fist like that.
So not only has Swinton completed the ultimate metamorphosis from otherworldly beauty to basic bitch, she has proved herself deft with modern day sartorial semantics. Tilda with a tan – fashion remains in thrall.
