What Happens When You Can’t Dress Up: Why No One Likes The New Mermaid Actress

Fan clubs are a picky community: it’s hard to please them with a new dub, a character, or a dramatic twist in the script. What’s more, Disney should have been expecting a firestorm when they announced that Halle Bailey would be playing the adorable little mermaid. Fans of the legendary cartoon had no complaints about the voice of the actress – she is definitely a talent. But questions arose over the fact that the heroine would no longer be pale and red.

It would seem that the case from the point of view of marketing is very promising: now the lovely Holly will explain to everyone that the diversity of races on the screen is important, will fit perfectly into the cultural agenda and will be loved by the whole world – and will be the premiere of the year. But something went wrong and in the penultimate stage.

While Bailey diplomatically fought the hate (which, admittedly, was an indicator of strong character and wisdom), the public was in no rush to fall in love with her. Why? Our theory is this: a strategic flaw in the image. Big a.

What do you know about Holly? She seemed like a new face in the Hollywood industry, almost like a Cinderella who had a miracle, but that’s not entirely true. Pretty soon, she and her older sister Chloe came under the wing of Beyoncé: one day the diva saw a video of two young singers on YouTube, and then decided to take on their promotion.

Intimacy with the queen of the pop industry took its toll: in the new posters, the girls looked like real superstars, they wore catwoman latex costumes for performances in the best traditions of Ariana Grande, and received the first advertising contracts. And they began to work at the same level as adult celebrities. But were they ready for it?

At the Grammys, stars became regular guests: Holly was nominated five times. Spotlights, costumes, filming, advertising campaigns – when professional stylists took care of singers, they looked great. The older sister – Chloe – clearly fell into the rhythm of big celebrities. And in Holly, 2 years younger, she often looked out of her depth.

… we walk as a couple and still look out of sync. The Chloe x Halle duo have either thrown themselves into boho wardrobes or intentionally childish outfits since the beginning of their stardom.

The sisters experimented with both David Bowie style and all-out denim, but then, apparently inspired by mentor Beyoncé, switched to “heavy artillery”: fatal dresses with cutouts and cleavage that take up almost half the frame.

The age difference also had an effect: on the red carpet, Chloe always seemed more mature and confident, and in the first shots, the younger Holly even hid behind her sister’s back. And in paired outfits that screamed “Goddess and Mini Beyoncé” to Holly, Hailey looked like strangers. Moreover, there was no more room for error: the concerts and the awards came one after the other, and the youngest Bailey was still moving between “he’s grown out of it” and “he hasn’t grown into it yet.”

2019 was supposed to be a turning point for her. Director Rob Marshall had approved the singer for the role of Ariel (after crying at the audition, he said), and Disney was gearing up to promote the new star. She definitely knew how to hold her own on the red carpet, but the dressing – with all due respect – not so much yet.

What seems like a logical step? Building a new media image that will ideally fit into the promo campaigns of The Little Mermaid. The director praised his new star and said what a quivering, gentle and sincere voice nature gave her, talked about how important it was for Haley to play a teenager, to be close to the audience … And what did we see after “warming up”? Revealing tops and necklines.

Cutie Holly started to dress even more grown up and sometimes the outfits bordered on something provocative. Bold points and a halter neckline at the children’s (!) Kid’s Choice Awards did not please even the singer herself: she shrugged her shoulders awkwardly and clearly did not know how to pose for photographers.

Further more. And yes, we are talking about necklines and necklines, which stopped being details of the outfit and became their central part. The rising star was dressed in mermaid skirts and turquoise ensembles to highlight her new status and promote the upcoming premiere. But neither the brave cute Ariel nor the real Bailey Jr. they were never seen traveling.

The most insulting thing is that the singer knows how to be stylish. And how! On the shoot for Vogue, on the cover of which she already managed to appear at the age of 23, Holly looks great, and most importantly, organically. At recent parties and street styles, she also pleased with her moderately effective and elegant appearance.

We dare to suggest that the new Ariel enlisted the help of other stylists and did absolutely the right thing. But only the fans were happy that their idol found his own style, because everything went down again.

After filming the film, our heroine returned to work on the duet. And when it comes to style, she took two steps back: their costumes in a pair with Holly belong only to the older sister, and she left the younger one overboard. Deliberate sexuality, drama, obligatory intersections between the girls’ views, unfortunately, do not work in her favor and only move away from the image that reflects Bailey herself. But he was just looming on the horizon…

And then the Met Gala hit, where Holly (as a magazine favorite) was of course invited. This ball is a sophisticated place to make a fashion statement, a chance to go out on your own – and here again the sea foam shovel and here again the silver and blue details. Mermaid promotion. Perhaps the most successful of them all, but not the most… Holly.

This is actually one of the reasons why the new Ariel has yet to endear itself to fans of the canon history. It’s not just about the color of the skin: the charismatic Will Smith was received with a touch of genie. He no longer needed to prove to the world why he was loved—and Holly still had to. And this is where young stars need help – it’s not for nothing that Zendaya’s career took off when she embraced her individual style and stepped away from the Disney girl role.

Holly clearly hasn’t found her fairy godmother yet, and so far she’s having a hard time balancing between the concert images of “rokovuh,” the touching little mermaid, the influence of Beyoncé’s powerful figure as a mentor, and herself. And this is more than normal: 23 years is a difficult time for self-determination for each of us. And even more so for a rising Hollywood star.