Anyone who has seen “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” knows that Emma Watson is a master of levitation. But it’s possible that not even Hermione Granger could solve the mystery of Watson’s floating dress.
Since Monday, the internet has been losing its collective mind over a new photo of the 33-year-old actor modeling a light-blue frock that appears to be magically suspended in the air. Watson shared the image on Instagram to promote Renais, the French-inspired gin brand she recently launched with her brother.
In the picture, the “Harry Potter” and “Little Women” star smiles alongside her brother, Alex Watson, while wearing the dress, which seems to defy gravity at three jagged points along the neckline.
Confused? So were a lot of other people who expressed their bewilderment — and made several “Harry Potter” jokes — in the comments section of Watson’s post.
“What in the wingardium leviosa is that dress,” one person wrote, referencing the levitation spell Watson’s Hermione uses to make a feather fly in the first “Harry Potter” film.
“someone make the dress make sense pls,” another person commented.
“This dress is defying physics,” someone else replied.
Plenty offered theories as to what kind of fashionable sorcery was creating the optical illusion. Some wondered if perhaps the fabric was somehow hanging from Watson’s ears, while others speculated that a special kind of wiring was holding the garment in place.
“After reading through comments I feel less bad about how long I had to stare at her dress to figure out what was happening,” one person commented.
“I went right to comments to see if I was hallucinating,” another person wrote.
The hovering gown hails from the Spanish fashion house Loewe’s spring/summer women’s collection. The current creative director there is Jonathan Anderson.
According to an analysis by Kelsey Stewart for the Zoe Report fashion blog, the Loewe dress features “draped fabric” and “structured wiring underneath the bodice, which creates the style’s floating effect.”
Loewe did not immediately respond Thursday to The Times’ request for comment.
Watson has been unusually active on social media in recent weeks while plugging her latest business venture. In an interview last month with the Financial Times, the “Beauty and the Beast” actor discussed the making of Renais and explained why she had stepped away from acting in recent years.
“I wasn’t very happy, if I’m being honest,” she said. “I felt a bit caged. The thing I found really hard was that I had to go out and sell something that I really didn’t have very much control over.”
Watson added, however, that she “absolutely” intended to act again and is set to begin shooting a movie next year.
“I love what I do,” she said. “It’s finding a way to do it where I don’t have to fracture myself into different faces and people. And I just don’t want to switch into robot mode anymore. Does that make sense?”
