By India Gustin
With Covid obscuring our thoughts and taking over our lives, people are looking for a way out – something to keep their minds off these unpredictable times. What better way than Netflixing our way through the days, right?
Only a couple of months after the very first lockdown in March, Netflix got 16 million new sign-ups. We had Tiger King, a show to demonstrate just how anything can be turned into a documentary. Then came Emily in Paris, which created a +340% increase in searches for Kangol bucket hats.
We binged watched our way through these TV shows in search of a way to escape reality. Yet what’s really happened is we’ve brought these fictional shows into our reality…into our wardrobes.
Shows and movies like Bridgerton (2020) and Emma (2020) are amongst the most recent which have gone viral. Their costumes and Regency-era fashion choices have taken social media by storm.
Looking for escapism
Vivien Lee is a forensic scientist and has been into costuming for almost 20 years now. She believes that people are just looking for a way to try out new things: “A lot of people are at home and looking for a hobby and escapism,” she says.
“Regency has definitely had a big boom because of the popularity of shows like Bridgerton and that’s brought a lot of people into the community that may not have been interested in it before.”
“The costumes and set designs do help bring people in because they are not what we are used to today,” said Molly Elizabeth Agnew, a fashion history enthusiast and founder of eternalgoddess.uk.
The most sought-out of these trends are puffy sleeves on shirts and dresses, empire waistlines and corsets. Although people are trying out costuming for fun, Regency-inspired fashion is being modernised for people to wear as everyday clothes.
Corset trend
Ivy Elizabeth Edgar, who owns a small fashion brand which specializes in corsets, said that the reason why it is such a huge trend right now is because of the process of fashion
“Fashion is a constant circle, and everything is always coming back around […] it goes out of fashion and it loops back in again.
“People are modernising it, making it more up to date […] That’s how fashion moves forward.”
Molly, who is fascinated with royal history in particular, agrees that older trends coming back into fashion is just a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’.
“Bridgerton and period drama TV shows have really helped push that.”
Regency-era inspired outfits have not only been seen on social media, but details of it appeared throughout Fashion weeks.
Puffy sleeves were seen in abundance, with brands such as Loewe and MiuMiu showing off their interpretations of it.
Long and romantic maxi dresses with empire waistlines were also seen, having taken the floor from brands such as Alberto Ferretti and Dior.
“I think some people were under the impression that Regency was full of just white dresses and muted pastels,” said Vivien.
“The fun fantasy costumes in Bridgerton have opened their eyes to a whole lot of different colours that can work for historical costumes and Regency.
“The fun hair, the flowers, the jewellery. Maybe people will start bringing these colours and those accessories into their personal lives as well.”
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