Bridgerton Season 3 is right around the corner and a new couple gears up to charm us as we head back to the Regency era. In a season dedicated to all the wallflowers, the romantic journey of Penelope Featherington and Colin Bridgerton is expected to make hearts flutter. Besides the steamy ‘Polin’ (Penelope + Colin) chemistry, the eye-catching costumes from Season 3 also deserve your attention. Hence, as we gear up to binge the new season, let’s examine some interesting facts on the fashion and costumes in Bridgerton.
As the leads of the third season, Nicola Coughlan and Luke Newton’s characters get a major glow-up courtesy of some amazing people in the hair, make-up, and costumes departments. Costume designer John Glaser and hair and makeup designer Erika Ökvist give us a more confident Penelope, and also bid farewell to Colin Bridgerton’s boyish charms, trading them in for a more mature look.
Even more excitingly, these fabulous transformations aren’t just limited to Penelope and Colin. If you are wondering what goes on behind the scenes when it comes to designing and styling all the characters in the series, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a look at some fascinating facts about the fashion and costumes spotted on Netflix’s Bridgerton.
Interesting facts about Bridgerton costumes
Penelope Featherington’s Season 3 makeover and its Hollywood inspirations
Bidding adieu to the eye-popping florals and recurring shades of citrus yellow from Seasons 1 and 2, Penelope’s costumes in Season 3 draw us in with soft pastels in shades of blue and green. There is also a risqué element to them, incorporated through subtleties like transparent gloves and sleeves.
In season 3, Penelope dips into her Lady Whistledown money in a bid to remake herself, opting for the latest fashion trends straight from Paris. According to costume designer John Glaser, the inspiration for these dresses come from the 1820s. Additionally, to give Penelope an old Hollywood vibe, hair and makeup designer Erika Ökvist told Glamour that the department took its cues from 1950s movie icons like Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe.
The designers also shared that Hollywood icon Audrey Hepburn was the inspiration for Claudia Jesse’s Eloise Bridgerton in the new season. Capturing Hepburn’s style from My Fair Lady, Eloise’s costumes get a touch of modernity with the addition of bows and ruffles.
Colin Bridgerton’s ‘Marlboro Man’ and pirate vibe in Season 3
Luke Newton’s transformation into a buff young man in Season 3 is so impressive and visible that even his onscreen brothers get to take a crack at it with the dialogue, “Brother… under what foreign sun did you apparently get so (much-needed pause) sturdy?” While netizens deemed Colin’s new look as that of a sexy pirate, the costume department’s actual inspiration may take you by surprise. Returning from a six-month voyage, Colin is more rugged than ever before, and the vibe that the costume designers wanted to capture for his look was that of the popularised cowboy figure — the Marlboro Man. This Western influence can be observed in Colin’s open-collared shirts and modernised outfits.
Queen Charlotte’s most spectacular wig yet
If there is one fashion element that has constantly marvelled fans from the first season to now, it’s the many wigs worn by Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel). Over the first season, she wore twelve wigs which reportedly took one to three weeks to construct. Of the many wigs worn by Rosheuvel throughout the show, the heaviest one appeared in Season 1, during scenes from Simon and Daphne’s wedding party. An incredible masterpiece, the wig was composed of five wigs all sewn together; however, due to its heavy weight, it caused ample discomfort and had to be removed in between filming breaks.
One should never underestimate the hand of Her Majesty The Queen… pic.twitter.com/8GsffMG1VE
— Bridgerton (@bridgerton) April 19, 2024
While Queen Charlotte’s wigs are certainly a marvel to behold, it seems the past renditions will not be as jaw-dropping as what fans are about to witness in Bridgerton Season 3. The monarch will don one of the most spectacularly designed wigs on the show, featuring motorised crystal swans. A glimpse of this stunning wig by Ökvist is seen in a teaser featuring the capricious queen. Revealing details about the mind-blowing mechanism of the motorised wig, Ökvist told TV Line that it was inspired by the iconic Fabergé egg.
The crystals swans are set to dance in the middle of an oil-painted backdrop, powered by a 3D-printed clockwork and a motor to set them in motion. It was also accompanied by an on/off switch, which was hidden under Rosheuvel’s armpit. The eye-catching wig is seemingly a nod to ancient Greek mythology, which is said to have influenced the Regency era.
Cost of costumes on Bridgerton Season 1
The first season of the show had the lofty task of setting a precedent, and its success would determine how big the Bridgerton franchise would become for Netflix. With that in mind, no expense was seemingly spared while crafting the elegant costumes for the show. A producer of the series revealed the astonishing financial aspects of creating Regency-era fashion for the screen in the book Inside Bridgerton. As per the book, the show’s costume designer created 1,800 dresses and spent USD 80,000 on costumes for the first season alone. Ellen Mirojnick, who designed the outfits, also confirmed in the book that the team made as many as 7,500 pieces of costumes including “period-specific underwear.”
Timeline for making costumes
The show has taken elaborate strides with each passing season. For Season 2, costume designer Sophie Canale revealed a shocking production timeline that had the team producing around 160 costumes every six weeks, which averaged out to a total of 700 costumes. Thanks to these glamourous outfits, each episode of the show is a treat to watch; however, as per Shondaland, a single episode of Bridgerton requires about 90 costumes to be made. And that’s not including first episode of Season 2, which featured a whopping 146 looks.
Where are the fabrics of Bridgerton sourced from?
Creating an entire series based on the Regency era entails the heavy-duty task of getting the costumes right for the lead characters and those representing the townspeople. While the costume designs may take cinematic liberties and are based on inspirations beyond the era, the fabrics for the outfits play a bigger role in ensuring optimal aspirational accuracy.
Sourcing brought the show’s costume designers on a global hunt, with designer Ellen Mirojnick revealing how the team went through Italian, French, and English mills, as well as shops in London and stores in New York. Another interesting fact about the costumes on Bridgerton is that the team also created their own fabrics by layering materials together through laser cutting and other techniques.
Symbolism of colour in Bridgerton costumes
In keeping with the norms of the Regency era, the dialogue of social status and societal positions were cleverly explored cleverly via costumes. The colour palettes for each family represent their social standing, and hence there is a reason the Bridgerton family members are often seen in shades of blue. Explaining the reasoning behind it, production designer Will Hughes-Jones told Southern Living the family’s blue hues are inspired by ceramics and fine china to emphasise their social status.
Similarly, the vibrancy and contrast of colours in the costumes worn by the Featheringtons represent their family dynamics, in which the sisters are often seen at odds with one another. And, in the case of Season 2, Simone Ashley’s Kate Sharma dresses up in shades of purple that indicate the onset of first love, a subtle nod to her character’s journey. There is also a fascinating fact about how Kate Sharma’s costumes for Bridgerton Season 3 represent her married life as the tones of her dresses now represent the Bridgerton family, as opposed to her Indian roots.
Corset connection with Kim Kardashian
What do Bridgerton and Kim Kardashian have in common? Both have iconic collaborations with legendary corset maker, Mr Pearl. Hitting the red carpet of the 2019 Met Gala, Kardashian caught attention for her super cinched-in waist, which was made possible thanks to a corset constructed by the legendary French couturier Mr Pearl (Mark Erskine-Pullin). Interestingly, Erskine-Pullin also helped to design the corsets for the Netflix series. This connection seems particularly special given that Kardashian is known to be a massive fan of the Netflix series and has shared DMs with Nicola Coughlan has deemed her “Lady Kardashian of Calabasas.”.
Boosting vintage fashion trends
Bridgerton aired its first season in December 2020 and amid the challenging time of the pandemic, it set records with its global viewership. The impressive impact of the show was reflected in its role of boosting fashion trends, with its elaborate costumes resulting in a massive uptick in sales for corset makers. As of 2024, the obsession with corset dresses is still relevant, and a recent example would be former journalist and Jeff Bezos’ fiancee Lauren Sanchez’s waist-cinching dress from the White House state dinner.
Additionally, following the success of Bridgerton, retailers like Etsy reportedly revealed an increase in demand for Regency-inspired props such as tea sets and gloves. This is not the first time that a show has dictated market trends, as a similar phenomenon was observed with Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, which drove a market increase for chess sets and merchandise.
Bridgerton Season 3 (Part 1) releases on May 16 on Netflix.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– What is the Bridgerton dress style called?
The costumes on Bridgerton represent Regency-inspired or Regency-era fashion.
– How to dress up like Bridgerton?
Bridgerton fashion includes corsets and high waisted dresses which also incorporate intricate lace work and embroidery.
– Who does the costumes for Bridgerton?
Bridgerton’s Season 1 costumes were designed by Ellen Mirojnick. Later, Sophie Canale was roped in for Season 2 and the Bridgerton Season 3 costumes were designed by John Glaser.
– What is Bridgerton dress code?
Regency-era attire differs across events, and can include corseted dresses and gowns with formal gloves to waistcoats and tailcoats for men’s fashion.
