On Monday, IndieWire revealed that over the holidays, Netflix recorded its biggest Christmas week in company history, in large part thanks to Bridgerton, a show that reached over 63 million households. But the streaming site’s new Regency-era romance-drama, produced by Grey’s Anatomy’s Shonda Rhimes and based on Julia Quinn’s romance novels of the same name, didn’t just bring in a record number of views. It also caused a spike in popularity for fashion from the era it takes place in — which fashion search platform Lyst has dubbed “Regencycore.”
According to Lyst's new report, in the weeks following Bridgerton’s release, searches for period pieces like corsets, headpieces, elbow-length gloves, and more have skyrocketed. Corsets surged on the platform by 123%, with users specifically looking for items by Russian luxury brand Rasario and Australian designer Dion Lee, who’s known for his sexy, leather harnesses and lingerie-like dresses.
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Empire-line dresses, which were featured throughout the show in colours ranging from ivory and sky blue (on the Bridgertons) to neon orange and lime green (on the Featheringtons), were another hit on Lyst. Ethereal dresses by Brock Collection and Erdem, in specific, spiked on the site, as did the overall search for the silhouette, which saw an increase of 93%.
In the accessories department, search for pearl and feather headbands saw an increase of 49%, with pieces from Simone Rocha and Magnetic Midnight showing the most interest. Long, elbow-length gloves, which spiked by 23%, were also popular among shoppers.
Whilst decadence in fashion isn’t a new trend — most recently, AW20 New York Fashion Week saw many extravagant and regal gowns at Rodarte, Brock Collection, Christopher John Rogers, Adam Lippes, and Carolina Herrera — given lockdown’s insistence on sweatsuits and Nap dresses, we hardly expected a surge in excitement for fancy dresses and tight corsets. Apparently, though, steamy, escapist TV is just what fashion needed to get people out of their sweats and into something a little more glam.