Regencycore returns with Queen Charlotte and her meaningful looks

Needless to say, Bridgerton is a masterpiece of contemporary romance. The Netflix series created by Shonda Rhimes TV was launched, not coincidentally, on Christmas Day, 25 December 2020. We found ourselves in the middle of curfew, quite disheartened and wanting to take our minds elsewhere. But the fan fiction, based on actual historical events, immediately drew us in: funny, intriguing, captivating, rose-tinted to the right degree, it had us dreaming with the stories of the Bridgerton family, the intrigues at court and the beautiful gowns, with a soundtrack of modern classics adapted to live music of the Regency era in the background. Now with Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, the spin-off that tells the love story between King George (Corey Mylchreest) and his consort, Queen Charlotte (India Amarteifio), we are transported to the Georgian past of the late 17th century, while remaining where we left off in the story of Bridgerton season 2, with Anthony and Kate Sharma on their honeymoon and Eloise in her crisis of friendship with Penelope. In short, a return to the dance floors of English country houses bursting with the scent of flowers, and to the royal rooms where the most interesting intrigues are played out, in anticipation of the third season that could be available on the streaming platform this summer. But in anticipation of this new chapter, it is Queen Charlotte who attracts all the attention. Thank you to the costumes and the beautiful looks, which are beautiful to imitate but also loaded with hidden meanings.

It all starts with the underwear

There's a reason why the costume designers, Lyn Elizabeth Paolo and Laura Frecon, paid so much attention to the details of the underwear. "Our main aim was to make our actors feel like they were really in the Georgian era by having them move in a more modern way. So we changed some aesthetic details so that everything did not look stiff and formal, like India running down a corridor, climbing and jumping, which she could not do with faithful replicas of the underwear of the time. So we cheated a bit by using them as useful acting devices. But do not worry, they are very similar to the originals from around 1760, like the corsets, which instantly change the way you stand and make your posture regal," says Paul.

There is an observant difference between the young and the adult Carlotta

"We wanted the fabrics of her dresses to be lighter and more delicate than the very heavy brocades and more traditional English patterns worn by Queen Charlotte at Bridgerton," Frecon explains, "so more youthful and avant-garde. ". There is a lot of taffeta overlapping with pastel colours such as lavender, light blue and pink, which become more intense as the queen becomes more peculiar. Note: the stronger and more contrasting the emotions in the thousand-plus looks, the more intense the colours become. And so much glitter: Carlotta actually brought her fashion sense with her to England when she came from Germany, and has replaced the simple with a nice touch of eccentricity. This is evident right from the first episode, when Princess Augusta (Michelle Fairley) tries to convince her to wear an English-style wedding dress. The girl's willingness to change and wear her dress, which was made for her in Paris, is symbolic of her defiance and strong character. "We did a lot of research, in Spain and Italy, but also in the Victoria & Albert Museum. But our biggest inspiration was Dior's New Look, whose lines are inspired by the years around 1760," the costume designers continue.

Love is also celebrated with details

Indeed, it is no coincidence that as more time passes in George and Charlotte's marriage, they dress in complementary colours and pay attention to small details, such as the gold stars embroidered on his waistcoat in season six, which also feature in her tiara. Or her initials embroidered on each dress. Easter eggs also featured in the jewellery, some of which was made by Pikkio in Italy or sourced from Vintage Joseff of Hollywood. According to Frecon, the ornaments get even bigger as the young queen becomes more regal. But even the adult Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) does not completely abandon the jewellery of her youth, such as the coronation creations she wears for the family portrait decades later and the wedding ring with a huge emerald cut by Larkspur & Hawk, which is omnipresent when Charlotte meets the king.

The beauty look is also a tribute to the beauty of the Georgian era

"For young Charlotte, we discussed that the era precedes wigs, hairstyles and make-up," says Frecon. The hair and make-up, done by Nic Collins, focuses on naturalness, in contrast to the eccentricity of the wigs and all the powder on the adult Carlotta's face. "With my team, I wanted the hair to have a unique look that was in keeping with today's curl style. We wanted to include braids and we wanted to include all kinds of real-life hair textures, from the curliest ringlets to the smoothest curls, we wanted all textures to be equally represented." A decision to hold off on introducing elaborate wigs, which were a status in the 18th century as natural hair became thinner and less abundant, Collins thought carefully about. And which she combined with equally understated, natural make-up. "We wanted to accentuate her youthful skin, with a light base and shades of pink to crimson contrasted with delicate, iridescent highlights. For occasions like proms, we added a little more colour to the lips or blush to the cheeks." And there was no shortage of colour here either. "From the beginning, we decided to use the same palette for all the Queen's wigs. As it is a rather personal story, we have silver, dark grey and white. We did not want her to change the colour of the wig every time, as the adult Charlotte will do." In short, fashion and beauty were in dialogue, as costume designers Paolo and Frecon themselves said, "In London we had found some strange abstract necklaces, very big and modern. They were really crazy. We sent them to Nic and asked her if it was possible to incorporate them into the wigs. And she did, like a strand of pearls rolled into the hair."

The time thread is crucial

Among the curiosities revealed by the style team, it turned out that Carlotta, always recognisable in private with Giorgio, had her own fashion and beauty weapons. For example, we do not see either version of Queen Charlotte in a Regency-style dress (as is the case when she is alone in Bridgerton), but in a Georgian style, to be visually remembered by the King. And no less important are the jewels. The same ones are always worn for key moments in her private life.

And if you are looking for more Easter eggs...

... you should know that there is also an homage to the series Scandal (TV), also produced by Shonda Rhimes: the wedding dress cape is an homage to Olivia Pope's famous capes, which were also designed by costume designer Lyn Elizabeth Paolo at the time.