The third instalment of Netflix’s decadent regency-era show, Bridgerton, is back, and this period drama sees Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) blooming more than ever. Since its inception, the show has given its audience an era worthy of extravagant costumes and contemporary references. Once again, the show’s costume designers, John Glaser, Geroge Sayer, and Dougie Hawkes, have created timely references with each character’s look, particularly Penelope’s, by reinventing her entire wardrobe.
As mentioned in Julia Quinn’s books, the Featheringtons are depicted with a colour palette of sickly-sweet oranges, greens, and yellows, contrasting with the sumptuous blues of the Bridgertons and the opulent cream and gold hues of the ladies of the Ton. But the stark contrast has made Penelope Featherington stand out this season.
Penelope is renowned throughout the show for her garish yellow flocks, feathered headpieces, and extravagant jewellery. But following Glaser’s remarkable style evolution, she transforms from an overlooked younger sister to a desirable woman. Recently, the costume designers of Bridgerton shared an insight into the inspiration behind Penelope’s amazing transformation in the new batch of episodes.
For Penelope, they wanted to pay tribute to Old Hollywood icons, incorporating elements such as soft curls and “sexier” gowns. In addition, they softened her colour palette by transitioning bright Featherington yellows to layers of green and blue. This transformation cleverly nodded to her family’s colour scheme and Colin Bridgerton‘s blue.
Glaser revealed to People, “A little bit of that colouring also comes from [what] Dougie did for Colin when he returned from Paris — he has a little bit of mint green in his cravat. 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.”
The designers for Penelope’s looks were inspired by the goal of making her look more mature. For this, they gathered inspiration from the 1950s. The designers said they referred to Old Hollywood icon Lauren Bacall for her hair and makeup. Glaser added, “When you look at photographs 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.”
He continued, “That’s what we tried to do. We gave her a silhouette that looked great on her body, that helped mature her, make her look a little sexier than she has, and her hair is based on Lauren Bacall.”
In addition, they also drew inspiration from the cartoon bombshell Jessica Rabbit. This can be seen in Penelope’s “glow-up” moment when she wears a bold emerald green dress at the season’s first ball. However, after her big debut fails, they note that she retreats to a softer colour palette. To explain it, Sayer added, “She’s the centre of attention [at the ball], and it all goes wrong, [so] she retreats and suffers her palette right back so she can once again be back to being the wallflower to an extent. The clothes aren’t telling the story; she is.”
The second part of Bridgerton Season 3 is near, and we can expect more period-accurate silhouettes and corset looks of Penelope.
