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Bridgerton Designer Reveals Penelope Featherington's Transformation in Season 3 is a Tribute to Old Hollywood
Bridgerton costume designers reveal that Season 3's looks were inspired by real-life figures, including Jessica Rabbit and Audrey Hepburn, among others.
Bridgerton is giving Regency-era attire a modern twist this season. Famous for its beautiful costumes, Netflix's series continues with its traditional splendor in the third season. Last time, the show was heavy on period-accurate silhouettes and corsets, but this time, it's channeling more ineffable modernity.
In creating every look, Bridgerton costume designers John Glaser, George Sayer, and Dougie Hawkes utilized both historical and modern references. PEOPLE delved into some of these inspirations to see how they were brought to life in each character. For Penelope, whose look this season undergoes a major transformation, the key references are Old Hollywood stars. Her soft curls and "sexier" dresses are, among other details, a tribute to such glamour girls. In essence, her color palette has also been upgraded to more layers of green and blue, a nod to her family's colors and Colin's Bridgerton blue, Glaser said.
"A little bit of that coloring also comes from [what] Dougie did for Colin when he comes back from Paris — he has a little bit of mint green in his cravat,” Glaser said. “And she's picked up on that. That's why some of her coloring is influenced by him, because he's come back from Paris, we know that she's in love with him, so she's absorbed that a little bit."
This period is inspired by the reality that some collections involve blending elements from a variety of real-life characters. Season two did it with a bathing dress. Now, the latest materials in the mix have a firm footing in the eighties, moving from Jessica Rabbit to Audrey Hepburn. Bridgerton stays on this course, offering a Regency-era take seasoned with modernity.
Penelope transformation: From wallflower to old Hollywood glam
In Bridgerton, costume designers wanted Penelope, played by Nicola Coughlan, to look older and more mature for her big season. They found some Old Hollywood inspirations by way of the 1950s, like starlet Lauren Bacall. They wanted Penelope to be a person whose natural beauty was absolutely radiated by the hairstyles and makeup from this era.
"To look at a photograph from Old Hollywood, the people just look great. Their hair looks great, they look great, but you don't remember what they're wearing because it's all about their face and who they are," explains costume designer John Glaser. They wanted to frame Penelope in shapes that flattered her silhouette but added a bit of a sexy touch to her character, so they styled her hair like Bacall.
The designers also looked to the cartoon bombshell Jessica Rabbit for influence. This influence is arguably most apparent in Penelope's glow-up moment when she dons an eye-catching emerald green dress for the character-dressed ball, the first ball of the season.
Still, after the glory of this one night, things pretty much go south for Penelope, and she retreats into softer colors. Costume designer George Sayer notes, "She's the center of attention [at the ball], and it all goes wrong, [so] she retreats and softens her palette right back so she can once again be back to being the wallflower to an extent," Sayer says. "The clothes aren't telling the story; she is."
Colin gets a makeover: From boyish charm to rugged rockstar
In season three of Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) sees a significant change in style. Gone are the baby blues from his earlier years, replaced by a sexy, rugged new look inspired by cowboys and rockers. Costume designer Dougie Hawkes said that in the previous seasons, Colin was deliberately styled to look youthful because he is the youngest of the three main brothers, aside from Gregory.
Looking at his wardrobe now in Season 3, when Colin returns from traveling, he has a kind of worldliness about him. He's got a leather belt on, which isn't a part of Regency London fashion, and his shirts are open, showing off how sexy he can be.
John Glaser points out that one key reference used to inform Colin's new look was the Marlboro Man from '70s TV commercials, but Hawkes widened the scope to include '80s rockers. This reflected his own background as a teenager in the '80s pop culture scene and his experience working with many bands from that era.
Hawkes added that this new look has a touch of heavy metal and elements of new romanticism as well. He also pulled in the influence of the early '90s Armani strong silhouette, with that long overcoat look he had in mind.
Seeing himself in the fitting room, with spiky tops and leather belts on his trousers, Luke couldn't help but smile at the changed dressing that finally made him seem older and more worldly. Not only does this tweaked look for Colin indicate his growth, but it also deepens his character, blending historical and modern influences to create the strongest possible visual storytelling.
Eloise's elegant transformation in Bridgerton Season 3
This season of Bridgerton allows the character Eloise (Claudia Jessie) to transform before our eyes, shifting from a practical wardrobe to, more often than not, a more ladylike one. Costume designers drew cues from the 1960s, as well as older films from this period, to create her new wardrobe.
Diehard fans have already noticed striking similarities between Eloise's new style and Audrey Hepburn's look in the iconic film My Fair Lady. John Glaser describes it as mostly coincidence that turned into homage, with Eloise sharing a body type and face shape with Hepburn.
“We say Audrey Hepburn and we think of Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady in the Ascot scene, just because she looks like Eloise, and just elegant and simple,” he notes. “Some of that, I hate to say it, is just a natural thing. She has a certain body type, a certain face, a certain look, and certain things work well on certain people. She's like Audrey Hepburn.”
The transformation makes Eloise more sophisticated, more charming, and more elegant, but of course, everything has to fit seamlessly with her character. The updated wardrobe reflects the passage of time while also connecting Eloise to an era of timeless fashion icons, further cementing her identity as one of the series' iconic characters this season.
Francesca Bridgerton's Glamorous Return: A Blend of Grace Kelly and Katharine Hepburn
Francesca (Hannah Dodd) is stepping into society this season, and the costume designers drew inspiration from prominent personalities of the past. They explored the styles of iconic figures like Grace Kelly and Katharine Hepburn, spanning from the 1930s to the 1950s.
One of the costume designers, John Glaser, observed that Katharine Hepburn once wore sheer shirts in the movie Bringing Up Baby, which starred Cary Grant. As Colin’s appearance screamed worldliness, the designers wanted the same for Francesca, but to suggest she was ready to go home and not belong to the Bridgerton fold anymore.
Glaser goes on to elaborate, “She's been away just like Colin [and] she's come back. We didn't want her to follow the pattern of the rest of the family. So a sheer blouse is a little off and a little mysterious.”
This consideration for how Francesca is dressed, not only as an extension of her arc but also as an element in her characterization, further elevates the sophistication and mystery of her character’s return, heightening the anticipation for her comeback.
One of the biggest surprises for book fans this season is the addition of Francesca's love interest, John Stirling (Victor Alli). While there aren't any major Easter eggs about their romance hidden in Francesca's costumes, the designers kept John's look closely aligned with Francesca's.
“We keep them quite classic and quite simple,” Hawkes says of the couple’s looks this season. “I think the word classic is really good to describe both of them. We know he's a member of Parliament or he's in that world.”
Cressida's dramatic looks: Armor and escape in regal fashion
Aside from perhaps Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), Cressida (Jessica Madsen) boasts some of the most dramatic looks this season, which costume designer John Glaser hints carry a deeper significance.
In previous seasons, we've enjoyed a certain playfulness with the styling, with Glaser and fellow series costume designer George Sayer introducing cheeky sunglasses and raver makeup as a nod to the show's alternative energy. With Bridgerton's fashion firmly ensconcing itself in the consciousness of viewers, Sayer wanted Cressida to be the anti-Littlefinger in terms of style.
"It's part of her armor," George Sayer explains. "She is on the marriage market for the third year, she's under loads of pressure. She's like a butterfly in a mausoleum. She's desperate to escape. She's a lot of fun as a character to work with, and we can push things with her because of that."
The costume designers for this show did not have muse-type figures for Cressida's looks but did look at the 1950s and 1970s, on top of outfits from recent runways.
“Some of her fabrics were right from the runway of last season or probably two seasons ago," Glaser says.
“John's got a good source for fabric, so we're finding dead stock or fabrics that we can't name the fashion houses, but a couple of her spencers are made with couture fabrics,” Sayer adds.
This meticulous approach to Cressida's wardrobe not only underscores her character's complexity but also integrates modern fashion influences, making her one of the most visually captivating characters this season.
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