Margot Robbie Pairs Rare $8.8 Million Necklace With Schiaparelli Haute Couture for 'Wuthering Heights' Premiere
It once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor.
The Barbie press tour walked so the Wuthering Heights press tour could run. Three years after Margot Robbie brought the doll's costumes to life, she returned to the red carpet with her gothic-glam side front and center.
On January 28, Robbie and stylist Andrew Mukamal kicked off what will likely be the first of many red carpets for Wuthering Heights before its February 13 release. For the L.A. premiere, the Oscar nominee wore a Schiaparelli Haute Couture trumpet gown crafted just for her—or in this case, her on-screen character, Cathy.
"We were like, 'if we were to make Wuthering Heights into a dress, what would it look like?'" Robbie told Variety. That translated to a strapless sweetheart neckline on a nude jersey bustier with a black chantilly lace overlay that then transitioned into a black velvet then red satin train.
Margot Robbie brought Wuthering Heights to life in a custom Schiaparelli gown.
In a video posted to Instagram, Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Roseberry said of the dress: "When you think of Wuthering Heights, you think of romance, passion, [and] drama. The silhouette was the drama, the lace was the romance, the red was the passion."
The Wuthering Heights of it all continued in the accessory department. Cathy would've adored the famous heart-shaped Taj Mahal necklace that once belonged to Elizabeth Taylor. The pendant—encrusted in jade, alongside a custom gold, ruby, and diamond chain—was a 40th birthday gift from her two-time husband, Richard Burton in 1972. Cartier loaned the piece, which is valued at $8.8 million, for the evening.
Appreciate the Taj Mahal necklace in all its archival glory up close.
The original 16th-century owner of the necklace, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahangir, engraved "Love Is Everlasting" in Parsee into the center, before giving it to his wife, Nur Jahan. The jewel earned its name after their son, Shah Jahan, commissioned the construction of the Taj Mahal in 1632 as a tribute to his late wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Fast forward to 1971, Cartier acquired the pendant, trading its silk cord for the studded gold and ruby-tasseled chain later worn by Taylor (and, now, Robbie). In Dec. 2011, Taylor's estate auctioned off the Taj Mahal necklace for $8.8 million.
Here's Elizabeth Taylor's necklace during the 2011 auction.
In an e-mail to Marie Claire, Nilesh Rakholia, jewelry expert and founder of Abelini, called Robbie's necklace choice "romance with teeth," suggesting its "intimate" throat placement was "deliberately confrontational." Like Taylor, he said, "Robbie isn’t simply wearing the jewel. She’s authoring the moment around it... Wearing Elizabeth Taylor’s necklace isn’t just glamorous, it’s declarative," he continued. "This extraordinarily loaded choice tells us this press tour is part of the performance."
Taylor leaned into the Taj Mahal necklace's romance in 1972.
Robbie accessorized further with bespoke 38-carat diamond earrings, courtesy of Lorraine Schwartz (who was also a friend of Taylor's). A 19th-century Fred Leighton ring with ruby and diamond stones mirrored the Taj Mahal necklace's color story.
A moment for the necklace's elongated tassel train.
According to Rakholia, Robbie "understands visual continuity better than almost any actor working today." Her decision to wear the Taj Mahal necklaces "trains" audiences to "read meaning into every styling choice." The jeweler speculates that the London leg of the tour will "carry particular symbolic weight," with Wuthering Heights being "deeply rooted in the English landscape."
It seems Robbie has big plans for the film's future premieres. On the carpet, she told Variety her outfits "are going to evolve throughout the press tour to cover some of the other sets and ideas in the film." All this to say? We're in for a treat.
