Is the Fantasy of Costume Design Becoming a Fashion Reality?
By now, fashion has come to understand that the consumer wants what she wants. And right now, the consumer wants what Hollywood is having.
By now, fashion has come to understand that the consumer wants what she wants. And right now, the consumer wants what Hollywood is having.
Even more specifically, they’re burning for “Bridgerton.”
Thanks to the much-buzzed-about
Netflix period drama, they want Regencyera dresses. Thanks to “The Queen’s Gambit,” they also want Beth Harmon’s Pierre Cardin-inspired frock. Thanks to what “Bridgerton” head costume designer Ellen Mirojnick is calling “a new and direct” connection between the costume designer and the consumer, they want looks inspired by these on-set couturiers — and they’re searching vintage and custommade to find them. Ultimately, designers, brands and retailers may look to deliver on some of that demand.
Films’ influence on fashion isn’t new, nor is the costume designer’s influence on ready-to-wear, but fashion and costume are moving more in tandem than they have in recent years because, now more than ever, the escapism each affords is proving an antidote to a quarantine-induced malaise. For now, consumers don’t want fashion to reflect reality.
“The creation of the world of ‘Bridgerton’ enabled the consumer to kind of be immersed in this world that they hadn’t been immersed in forever…. There was something about the romance of it that just took you to another time and place and I think that’s what the consumer responded to and wanted –— anything that could take them to another time and place and actually allow them to feel romantic and pretty and desirable, or sexy, or many different things that kind of go into your emotions,” Mirojnick told WWD. “So whether it was a dress, a gown, a little jacket, a hair accessory, a piece of lingerie…beautiful little sheer gloves…I think the consumer grabbed onto it.”
Of the 82 million people who have tuned into “Bridgerton” since its Christmas Day launch, many are searching for something close to the looks they loved watching.
“Period dramas set in Regency England are nothing new, but it was ‘Bridgerton’ — with its record 82 million viewers — that sparked a fashion renaissance for corsets and Empire line dresses,” said Morgane LeCaer, data editor and content lead for fashion shopping platform Lyst. “Following the recent rise of other aesthetics such as cottagecore and normcore, and after having seen a strong rise in searches for Regency-inspired pieces, it made sense for the Lyst editorial team to name this trend Regencycore, a term that has since caught on in the industry at large.”
Though searches have slowed somewhat, and corsets may not catch on while loungewear has its hold, Lyst said, “Almost two months after the launch of ‘Bridgerton,’ searches for Regency-inspired pieces are still relatively high…searches for Empire waist dresses are currently up 16 percent month-over-month. Most popular terms alongside the category are ‘bridal’ and ‘wedding,’ with searches for ‘Empire waist wedding dress’ increasing 27 percent month-over-month.”
Mirojnick herself has fielded a recent request to make a “Bridgerton”-inspired wedding dress, to which her response was, “No I’m afraid not…I’m not set up to do that. But if I was, I might have done it.”
She did note, however, that she’d be open to collaborating on a capsule collection.
Though Mirojnick may not be set up to do it, vintage sellers have some looks