How costume drama is dominating our screens, and influencing our wardrobes

The ‘stealth wealth’ aesthetic has been dominating online chatter and style headlines the world over and, while the autumn/winter 2023 collections mirrored a similar proclivity for impeccable tailoring sans bells, whistles and, indeed, logos, lest we forget we’re still firmly rooted in spring/summer. And the mood here is distinctly more theatrical.

In the past month, we’ve witnessed a Met Gala and a coronation, both of which celebrated the art of getting dressed – as in, really dressed. It’s in keeping with a wider celebration of truly beautiful clothes rooted in history, something which was explored by fashion’s most famous houses for the current season and which can also be seen in the many period dramas dominating our screens (and influencing our own wardrobes).

So far in 2023, the BBC’s Marie Antoinette series has served some dazzling costumes – including two dresses designed by the house of Dior – while our appetite for the sartorial prowess of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, kindled by Netflix’s release of The Empress last September, was stoked by Corsage, a film documenting a fictional year in her life. Bridgerton, which continues to fuel demand for opera gloves and empire line gowns, will return this year for another series but, while we wait, Netflix has just dropped its spin-off show focusing on Queen Charlotte. We can also look forward to Apple TV’s The New Look, based on the rivalry between Dior and Chanel in post-war Paris; Disney+ is releasing a show about Balenciaga, set from the Spanish civil war right through to the 1970s; and, of course, the new season of The Great, led by our May cover star Elle Fanning, just came out. It seems as if every streaming service is feeding our desire for clothes as spectacle, something echoed in the spring/summer collections.

Netflix’s ’Queen Charlotte’

At Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri looked to Catherine de Medici for inspiration, "a figure emblematic of the relationship between women and power," as read the show notes. Here was a woman who used fashion to exert and exemplify her power, becoming the most politically (and sartorially) influential woman of the 16th century. For Dior, this translated to hoop skirts, as well as corsets and platform shoes – both of which were introduced to court by de Medici – albeit metamorphosed for the modern woman. Indeed, Fanning, who plays Catherine the Great, was resplendent in a gilded dress from the collection on the cover of our May issue, drawing a connection between these two powerful Catherines of history.

There was more, too. At Christopher Kane, Richard Quinn, Loewe, Alexander McQueen and Rochas (to name a few), there were yet more underskirts that paid homage to farthingales, panniers and crinolines. So, why now? Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, fashion historian and author of Skirts, thinks it’s a reaction to our post-pandemic times."After years of sweatpants and cancelled events, we can enjoy dressing up and going out again. Combined with the popularity of Bridgerton and other costume dramas, that translates to big skirts, lots of fabric, and conspicuously historical details like corsets, trains, and lace, especially in couture. We saw a similar interest in 18th-century-inspired styles in the 1980s, another maximalist fashion era."

Dior SS23

Richard Quinn SS23

On the red carpet, we’ve seen the rise of opera gloves – most recently seen on a multitude of Met Gala guests including Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Jennifer Lopez and Precious Lee, not to mention Katy Perry in Vivienne Westwood at the coronation. Interestingly, ‘Crown to Couture’ is a major new exhibition that has just opened at Kensington Palace, examining the power of dress in the Georgian era and how it has inspired today’s red-carpet looks. As Polly Putnam, curator at Historic Royal Palaces said: "From your choice of designer and materials to the subtle messages your dress communicates, this exhibition demonstrates the parallels between the world of the Georgian court and the modern-day red carpet."

Jennifer Lopez at the Met Gala

One designer dominating said carpet is the late, great Vivienne Westwood. As well as providing Perry with her coronation outfits, the label has recently been worn by everyone from FKA Twigs to Fanning (at the Met Gala). A new exhibition, ‘Vivienne Westwood Corsets, 1987 to Present Day’, is running in the flagship London boutique to coincide with London Craft Week. It will "illustrate the intrinsic links of the corset to historical dress, culture and fine art – which continue to serve as a constant source of inspiration for the Vivienne Westwood collections". Westwood famously subverted the art of corsetry, placing it at the centre of her collections.

Netflix’s ’The Empress’

Likewise, a slew of young designers are banking on it in a similar way. Ellie Misner is a London-based designer specialising in bespoke corsetry using upcycling techniques to be as sustainable as possible. "I just love the structure and playfulness of creating something with such an intense silhouette," she says. "Fashion has always been circular though I think people are nostalgic for times before because the future currently seems so bleak." Similarly, Dreaming Eli – a label founded by Italian designer Elisa Trombatore – is preoccupied with the way corsetry interacts with femininity. "For me, nothing is more empowering than taking control of those very elements that have been used by society to control the bodies and minds of women of all times and using them as a tool to subvert those concepts," Trombatore says. "In this sense wearing a corset by choice can actually feel extremely freeing."

A Dreaming Eli corset

And, this impact is already being seen in consumer behaviour. According to online fashion search engine Lyst, shoppers are on board this trend in a big way. Searches for 'corsets', 'long gloves', 'costume jewellery' and 'evening gown' have all been significantly up, year on year, while the site also noted that the team has seen an increase in the adjectives 'dramatic' and 'costume' in searches for clothing.

So, why is this trend catching on? Something that keeps emerging from conversations about costume dramas and the clothes they inspire is the idea of escapism. As Trombatore says, "I believe people are now trying to find comfort from the ugliness of reality by escaping in these romanticised representations of the past. Wearing a period-inspired corset can easily be a way to dream of a more glamorous life."

Katy Perry at the coronation

Furthermore, could this gravitational pull towards expressive, theatrical clothes tell us something about our economic times? Amber Butchart, fashion historian, author and curator says: "Stealth wealth is hard to fake without the access to the funds required to spend on such subtly eye-watering expensive clothing. Whereas theatrical trends can be more fun, frivolous, and easy to interpret at home. If you think about the club kid aesthetics of the New Romantics or Leigh Bowery, these were homemade looks that required a wealth of imagination rather than cash." Sharon Long, costume designer for The Great, agrees: "I can see that there is an eternal appeal of panniers and crinoline shapes on the catwalk, they are so impressive… perhaps an appetite for the theatrical is more prominent in economically hard times, to cheer us all up."

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