‘Bridgerton’ Season 2: Why the Sharma Sisters Wore So Many Jewel Tones
In the second season of the hit Netflix series Bridgerton, Lady Mary returned from England with two daughters, the Sharma sisters. Their father was a working-class man that Lady Mary had run away with, because she was the daughter of a duke, so their marriage would never be accepted. He died, leaving Mary to raise the girls, and now she was back to introduce them to society.
But although the Sharma sisters were there to take their place in England, the show’s costume designer was careful to create costumes that remind people of their heritage.
“The devil is in the details”
The series’ producers have invested a lot of money to create the lush atmosphere of the show. According to Harper’s Bazaar, costume designer Sophie Canale oversees the creation of a huge number of costumes for the popular series. Roughly 700 outfits were crafted for the steamy second season alone.
But that doesn’t mean that she allows any of the finer points of the costumes to get past her. She explained how much attention she pays to every part of the outfits.
“The devil is in the details,” she said. “Each character has their own certain color palette, down to the buttons—and I chose every single one.”
In Season 2, she felt that the costumes were able to reveal more about who the characters are. And for the Sharma sisters, that attention to detail included an extra layer of cultural complexity.
A color palette and fabrics from home
For the Sharma family, Canale carefully chose the fabrics for their costumes. Although the design of their dresses was patterned after the Regency style that’s typical of the series, she selected fabric with saturated colors and embroidery as a nod to their Indian heritage.
“The jewel-tone color palettes of Kate Sharma’s costumes are important,” she said, “and all the family’s jewelry is Indian-inspired. Even though they’re in empire-line dresses, there are still elements of their heritage throughout.”
The Sharma sisters are also decked out in rose gold jewelry instead of the silver and gold worn by the Bridgertons and Featheringtons.
Although Canale is exacting about the details she chooses, her first goal isn’t to create historically accurate costumes. According to Art and Object, the rules about what was worn at any given time are only a jumping-off point for creative expression.
“The thing with Bridgerton is that it isn’t period correct, and it’s never trying to be.” Instead, she explained, “you start with your historical knowledge, and then, if you know the basics, you’re allowed to kind of break the boundaries.”
Inspired by Indian fashion history
The Indian Institute of Art and Design explains that rich, saturated colors and embroidery are elements that have deep roots in Indian fashion history. As far back as the 11th century B.C., there were records of dyed and embroidered fabric being used in Indian clothing. In the ancient world, Indian artists were known for their skills in creating fabric.
British colonizers came to India in the 17th century, and they brought with them the production of British industrial cloth. This led to the creation by the Indian people of the hand-woven fabric Khadi to reduce their dependency on British goods.
The British presence in India naturally impacted the style of clothing. In the second season of Bridgerton, the Sharma sisters reverse this trend, bringing the influence of their culture back to shake up the British.
