Regency-era romance saga “Bridgerton” took off immediately when it debuted on Netflix on Christmas Day 2020. With its grand galas and salacious sex scenes, no one could escape the hold of “Bridgerton” fever.
For fashion lovers in particular, it was the dazzling costumes, with their romantic silhouettes and ornate accessories, that stole the show.
“We had this amazing foundation from season one,” lead costume designer Sophie Canale, who worked under costume leads Ellen Mirojnick and John Glaser for the show’s first season, tells POPSUGAR. “But I really wanted to individualise every character this season, like really push them in their different directions.”
There is, for instance, a “real distinction” between the Bridgerton brothers this season, Canale notes. “I think in the way their colour palettes are and also how Benedict is on his artistic journey,” she says, referring to the second-eldest Bridgerton son, who seeks a less traditional life than his brothers and goes off to art school in the second season. “He’s quite distinctive in his colour palette and also the choice of fabrics for his waistcoats, which were different from the [other] men’s costumes.”
The most buzzed-about addition to the “Bridgerton” universe is the Sharma family. “The Sharmas are bringing in a new colour palette, but it was also [important to] make sure that everyone else who sits in the same room as them doesn’t look jarring with the colours chosen,” Canale says.
Even the colour shades had meaning. Anthony Bridgerton’s (Jonathan Bailey) blue palette started out darker and lightened as he became closer to the woman who would ultimately become his wife. His journey up the colour wheel was a nod to that romantic ending. “With Anthony, he’s in very dark colours,” Canale says. “We see, as [he and Kate Sharma] move along together, he becomes lighter and lighter and uses the teals to transition between the two characters.”
In total, the costume department produced 700 looks for the main cast, which was in line with what they’d created for the first season. According to Canale, that works out to making about 160 costumes every six weeks.
What helps the endeavour feel less insurmountable is having a dedicated team of four assistant designers and cast members who don’t mind multiple fittings. Typically, the female cast members had four fittings per dress.
“You don’t sleep very much,” Canale says. “It’s quick decision-making. It was a military operation: everyone knew which dates everything was ready for. The jewellery team would then have a copy of the fabric, a copy of a design. It’s having very talented and skilled people that can work very quickly.”
Ahead, Canale walks POPSUGAR through the Sharma sisters’ style, the sartorial evolution of Kate and Anthony, the story behind the Bridgerton wedding-ring heirloom, and more.
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Chronicling a Courtship Through Costume
“As we meet Kate (Simone Ashley), she’s in heavier fabrics. I used taffeta silks rather than the soft shawls that we’ve seen the majority of people in. I wanted her to look like she’s got her guard up. She means business and she’s stronger. Having her in these harder fabrics kind of gave her this armour. And then, as we see her travel through her journey, we see her becoming softer. With Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) as well, he’s in very dark colours. We see, as they move along together, he becomes lighter and lighter and uses the teals to transition between the two characters.”
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Selecting Shades for the Sharmas
“I wanted to make the sisters quite distinctively different. We have Kate, who is in her jewel-tone colours, which is her emphasis of her Indian roots. [We brought] pinks into Edwina’s (Charithra Chandran) colour palette, which is the colour of love. That’s her journey. She’s softer. She’s having those softer pinks and then bringing out some stronger pinks as she gets stronger in her character. With Mary Sharma (Shelley Conn), I wanted her to balance both the sisters, so [we used] quite soft tones with her. As a character, she’s quite delicate herself. I didn’t want her to be overpowering in a way with the sisters.”
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Making a Piece of History
“Jewellery, for me, is really important. I was fortunate to have three jewelers within the ‘Bridgerton’ team. Every piece is made in house – well, the majority of pieces. With all the jewelry for the mothers, I tend to take Georgian inspiration, and [I] take modern and contemporary inspiration for the younger girls. When this was the Bridgerton wedding ring, this was Lady Britain’s ring. I researched Georgian ceremonial rings, we chose pearls and diamonds and were just like, ‘Yeah, this is the look.’ So we combined a few elements of period Georgian rings. We have to remember that this wedding ring has travelled down through generations. So it’s nice to have that period look when we’re setting that scene.”
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Dressing Two Bridgerton Brides
“I found a French lace I could make three dresses from, because Edwina would have to wear two dresses over the shooting period, because she wears that costume for one month. It’s worn for that whole episode. Laces are not woven; it’s quite narrow when it’s woven. I really wanted a long train. There was a lot of piecework to make that dress as long as it is, because the fabric was a lot shorter. Having the same fabric for both dresses was instinctive, [since] it was Anthony visualising Kate. But also, I changed it so Kate’s dress was a little bit sexier. There was more bust on show. There was a shorter sleeve. We saw more skin when we saw Kate in the wedding dress. We wanted her to look sexier, because that’s how Anthony was visualising her at that time.”
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Seeing Daphne Grow Up
“There needed to be a maturity to her. Now she’s a mother. She was very pretty in season one. I wanted to bring something more sophisticated in the sense of [fewer] laced fabrics [for season two]. As we use floral laces, they weren’t as decorative as season one. We were moving her into the mauves rather than into her blue colour palette. That was quite distinctive. [Hairstylist Erika Ökvist] really changed that look up as well. With her jewelry, we were going a bit more sophisticated, more decorative, and more period correct than she had in season one. That gives her an older look.”
