Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega Went Full Gothic Serpent at the Season 2 London Premiere—and Fashion Fans Are Losing Their Minds
I still can’t shake the memory of Jenna Ortega stepping onto the purple carpet in London last week. The air felt charged, every camera lens pointed at her—because she didn’t just arrive. She transformed. Gone were the familiar brows, the usual gothic teenage attire fans had come to expect. Instead, she emerged in a sculptural snakeskin gown, bleached brows, waist‑length ponytail—and it stunned the crowd into silence.
From the moment she appeared, it was clear this was more than a red carpet look. Jenna Ortega was shedding her skin—literally and metaphorically—in a gown designed by Ashi Studio that mimicked a snake mid‑shedding. Described in fashion circles as “a melting wax gown” with tattered hems and peplum contours, it clung and rippled in all the right places to evoke reptilian texture. The dress caught the artificial glint of spotlights like scales catching sunlight. Her eyebrows, bleached nearly white, disappeared almost entirely. Together with a rich burgundy lip and smoky violet lashes, she looked like a goth angel—beauty and mystery fused into one.
Though most of her co‑stars attended in the Addams Family’s signature black—Catherine Zeta‑Jones in a dramatic Morticia gown and Billie Piper in a sleek homage to classic Morticia—it was Jenna who broke the mold. Emma Myers and Joy Sunday, vibrant in red ensembles echoing Enid and Bianca’s personalities, framed her but didn’t overshadow her. Jenna was the gothic centerpiece perched in gold, not black, radiating eerie elegance.
There’s something fiercely deliberate about the choice to wear snakeskin at a premiere for Wednesday Season 2. In the show, Wednesday is returning to Nevermore Academy for a darker, more supernatural mystery, and this couture gown felt like a visual echo of that internal metamorphosis. Jenna has openly said she’s never shied from pushing her look to match the character’s evolution—and this felt like the ultimate extension of that. She even told The Cut and Harper’s Bazaar about how her off-screen style morphed during filming, becoming darker, more goth, more expressive of an artist unafraid to lean into unsettling beauty.
Watching fan reaction online was a show in itself. Threads popped up with titles like “Is that even Jenna?” and “Snakeskin goddess shreds the carpet.” On Reddit and Twitter, people compared the look to everything from black‑mirror futuristic android to high-fashion corpse bride. Some saw black‑and‑white brows and said, “No era for me, shining bright yet cold.” Others marveled at how she ups the gothic game season after season. As Vogue and Allure put it, she looked equal parts alien and goth.
Her transformation didn’t stop at the dress. Jenna wore her hair longer than she has in years, styled into a loose, low ponytail knotted like an oversized bobble. It flowed down her back to mid‑waist, giving her a flowing silhouette reminiscent of otherworldly creatures—not teenage Wednesday, but something evolved, refined, and cinematic. The styling team paired that with spider‑lash mascara and metallic rings for a finishing touch that whispered fantasy without losing edge.
In many ways, this isn’t surprising from Ortega. She’s been hailed as Gen Z’s gothic icon ever since Wednesday premiered. Critics called her performance relentless, strange, and deeply endearing, with outlets like CNN praising her for transforming the role into something uniquely her own. She was Emmy‑nominated, SAG‑nominated, and listed on both Forbes 30 Under 30 and Hollywood Reporter Power 100 by age 21. Her fashion journey—from Disney Channel pattern prints to goth glam—has mirrored her rise. No wardrobe shift seems too bold these days.
This premiere moment also feels symbolic. Year two of Wednesday premieres in two parts—August 6 and September 3—and this snakelike look feels like the hinge between seasons, a transitional moment both visually and narratively. While other cast members held to the gothic tradition in black, Jenna’s snakeskin skin tone signaled new depth: maturity, risk, transformation. The show is evolving, and so is Wednesday—and Jenna.
Fashion critics and fans praised her bravery. Elle called the gown a “serpentine twist” on the red carpet, while Allure called the entire look goth angel. The haywire transformation helped solidify Jenna Ortega’s as a high fashion boundary pusher—not a teen star who plays goth, but a style force who lives it, reshapes it, and challenges viewers to look closer. The bleached brows alone were cause for mass-stunning: one outlet described them as “nearly invisible,” giving the illusion she’d erased them entirely.
Let’s not overlook the emotional undercurrent here. Jenna once admitted the overnight fame from Wednesday felt overwhelming, even confusing, and that the character was the most complex job she’d ever done. But she leaned into that challenge. That transformation in hair, makeup, fashion—it’s not a gimmick. It’s a reflection of internal growth. And on this purple carpet night, it didn’t feel staged. It felt earned.
Behind those closed gates in Central Hall Westminster on July 30, 2025, the debut of Season 2 felt less like a promotion and more like a reclamation. Jenna didn’t merely walk; she claimed the space, bending expectation and beauty, letting creative metamorphosis unfold in public. Because that’s what makes her compelling—not just that she acts as Wednesday Addams, but that she can use fashion, posture, makeup, and presence to channel her.
I left that night feeling that Jenna’s gothcore moment was more than a red carpet stunt. It told the story of a young woman growing up in public, embracing darkness as expression, turning vulnerability into audacious art. As fans watch Season 2 revisit mystery, monsters, friendship, and family, her fashion debut felt like a poetic prelude—a shedding of old skin, a haunting new beginning.
Whether or not those bleached brows signal a temporary red carpet choice or a deeper beauty shift, one thing is clear: Jenna Ortega is no longer just the girl in black. She’s a gothic fashion ambassador for her generation. She’s shedding her skin in style, and convincing us all to stare.
