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In early fall of 2018, I was working on the movie The Laundromat with Steven Soderbergh when Sara Fischer, head of production at Shondaland, sent me an email saying that they had a project she wanted me to look at—it was the pilot of Bridgerton.
I had worked with Shondaland before Bridgerton and at the time I had just finished the movie Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in London and so I knew what was in Europe in terms of costumes. At the end of October 2018 I had a meeting with Sara and Bridgerton creator and executive producer Chris Van Dusen to discuss the show. I recall saying to them: "You know, this will be very expensive, because I know your aesthetic and it does not exist." There really wasn't anything in the world that we could rent.
I describe the costumes as an adaptation of the period. Just as Chris Van Dusen adapted the Julia Quinn novels for the screen, I adapted the style of the Regency period. I knew that I had to build a world that would encompass the love story and that it needed to be aspirational, luscious, sexy and all that you imagine when reading a romance novel. That it would be period correct with a modern twist was a given, but Chris always wanted a bonnet-less universe, he did not want those items that hallmark a period piece.
We realized we would have to employ as many houses, or costume makers, as we could throughout Europe to create our stock. We employed people in Spain, Hungary, Italy and the U.K. and through them we had shoes, underwear, dresses, menswear and all of the basics made. Everything was made, and that includes the principal actor's costumes.
Altogether it was around 7,500 pieces for 6,000 costumes. That's full costumes; head-to-toe and inside-out, because we supply everything that is underneath the costume. Even if actors are wearing regular underwear, we make sure it's flesh-colored so it's never seen and the costume petticoats go on over that—there is always a costume underneath the outer costume.
One of the key elements in terms of the design of Bridgerton is that it's playful and colorful—we shifted the color palette from what would have been used at the time. But I always take the lead from the text, no matter what. Chris had written the descriptions of the families very clearly; who they were and what their differences were. There was a tone to the Featherington family that we interpreted as newer money; they have not had generation after generation who have grown up in this social circle as members of the ton. So, the Featheringtons had to be overdone, over embellished and over-colored. They always had to be in your face, loud, audacious and bold. It was Versace-esque. The subtleties came in the embellishments, because they're not clown clothes. I never thought they were ugly, I always thought they were really fun. It was a contrast to the rest of the featured families.
In the books, Penelope Featherington is described as wearing ugly colors or ugly dresses, and Chris didn't interpret it that way. His interpretation was that she wore a bright yellow. So we tried different colors on Nicola Coughlan who plays Penelope; she came in and the fabrics were all draped on her to see what color her costumes should be. Nicola tells a funny story about how her agent told her that we would like to see her for a fitting, and she said she had an hour on a certain day. They told her that we wanted her for four hours and I think her reaction was, "what?", because nobody would usually go to a fitting for four hours. But there were eight balls and so many costumes for the principals.
The Bridgerton family, on the other hand, were always refined and elegant. They are well-educated, very traditional, mannered and upper crust, if you will. Their costumes had to be beautiful; paler, powdery and pretty. But I wouldn't pick one influence for the Bridgertons, I would say they were French macarons and an amalgamation of lots of different images and pieces we saw.
Phoebe Dynevor who plays Daphne Bridgerton could wear a gown as if she was a famous '60s model. She was fitted continuously as she had 104 costumes; that included a riding habit, her nightwear, her wedding gown and different ball gowns. For example, the Trowbridge Ball in episode four was a very contrasting ball and there was a black influence. I was fascinated by some of the embellishments that Chanel used in a show a couple of years ago, so for that particular gown of Daphne's the influence came from a Chanel outfit Margot Robbie wore at Cannes in 2019.
Do we design clothes for a sex scene? Yes and no. You don't necessarily know what the choreography of the sex scene is going to be when you are designing the clothes unless something very specific has to happen.
In the case of this show, even though there are many sex scenes, it's all thought about beforehand and nothing was really difficult. You prepare for what is necessary underneath the dress or where the fastenings are on the men's trousers or shirts. And if one partner were to move the dress up the other partner's leg, you want it to look soft and sensual.
The scene where the Duke of Hastings played by Regé-Jean Page and Daphne go out into the rain in episode six, she's wearing a beautiful, deep lavender gown that was designed knowing that they would make love outside in the rain. When there are sex scenes that will occur, one thing you do is see how the fabric moves. You don't want it to look thick and crunchy, which would be kind of gross. But nothing was specifically designed for Regé-Jean for that scene; it was just how quickly he could unfasten his pants!
As a character, the Duke of Hastings is independent and not like any of the other male characters we meet in Bridgerton. We don't know what his story is until it begins to unfold, but he has become an independent rake. He's sexier in that his shirt is open, his collar is deeper and his colors are richer, very graphic and pronounced; whether they be black, red, purple or gold tones. And he actually wears—until he becomes involved in the world—a black shirt. That's not saying he's the bad guy at all, but it really works to set him apart from the others. He also wears his mother's brooch on his waistcoat throughout the course of the show. It's all very subtle but very Byron-esque and Regé-Jean wears it really well.
Bridgerton
We also learned during our research that once Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was married and was on the throne of England, she never changed her silhouette, which was from the late 18th Century. Golda Rosheuvel, who plays Queen Charlotte is the best romp in the world. She's a really great actress and this was such a decadent character for her to play, you could put anything on her. It was not the most comfortable of costumes but she was exquisite. Hairstylist Adam James Phillips made Queen Charlotte's wigs and each one was better than the last. I just thought Queen Charlotte was hysterical and at the same time intimidating and glorious. I loved her.
I designed a world for this to take place in, and we created a look-book at the very beginning of the show. In it, you could see how old and new mixed to create something new. It was our bible for the entire design of the world, which we shared with each department and particularly the hair and make up department—who are spectacular. Hair and makeup designer Marc Elliot Pilcher is such a talented man and his team are, too. It was a really beautiful marriage, and that doesn't always happen. The reason why it all looks as luscious and inventive and seductive as it does is because of his team as well as mine.
Bridgerton was the largest undertaking of my career because of the sheer amount of costumes, and though season two is currently under wraps, what I really did learn from season one is that there is no such word as "no". You can always find a way to make it happen, particularly on a show of this nature. That really is the case with most projects, but this was, "there's no such word as no" on steroids! What I also always learn and really did learn with Bridgerton was to never underestimate your intuition and the impulses you first get. Paying attention to your intuition is the most important element of creating a world.
Success like Bridgerton has had really is one in a million. But what's so fabulous and what sits in my heart is that it has affected people across the world, and given so much joy and lightness. It has put a smile on everyone's face in a time of such darkness. I can't just say it's Europe or America, it's across the world. I get notes from India, the Philippines and China. It's really quite astounding.
Ellen Mirojnick is an Emmy award-winning costume designer who has worked in film and television for more than four decades. As well as creating the costume design for Bridgerton, her career spans movies including Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, Speed, Face/Off, Behind The Candelabra, The Greatest Showman and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.
All views expressed in this article are the author's own.
As told to Jenny Haward.
