McKenna Grace has found a way to make a press tour actually fun. The 20-year-old, who plays Maysilee Donner in“The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,”has been working with stylist Molly Dickson to sneak franchise references into every single look. We’re talking an Almée Couture gown with 3D flowers at the London premiere, an archival Gucci dress that echoes Rachel Zegler’s Lucy Gray Baird, and a Betsey Johnson minidress recreating Amandla Stenberg’s Rue costume, butterfly hair clips included, on the“Today”show.
The references go deeper than the big three. She honored Jennifer Lawrence’s 2011 Oscars Calvin Klein dress at the Academy Museum Gala, and the whole tour kicked off October 6 at a Panem costume exhibition at the Musée Rodin in Paris. In her own words,“Everything is a reference lately. It’s just homage to all the people that were a part of this franchise before I was.”She even joked that she’s“just missing a cornucopia in here somewhere.”
Fans have turned every red carpet into a decoding session, which is exactly the kind of pre-release energy the movie wants before it opens November 20. It’s fashion as fan service, and it’s working. Which look is your favorite so far: the Rue recreation, the flower gown, or the Oscars throwback?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.