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historium2025-03-08 10:22 pm
impala_chick) wrote in historium2025-03-08 10:22 pm
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Meta: Costuming Catherine the Great
The Hulu TV series The Great has fantastic costumes. The show is set in 18th century Russia, and the best outfits of the show are worn by Catherine The Great. I love how the designers pushed the envelope and really showed Catherine's growth over the three-season series through her costumes. For the marchmetamatterschallenge, I wanted to share my meta about her costumes over the three seasons of the show. This was also posted at my journal.
I believe The Great needs a fandom tag?
Season one was all about Catherine trying to fit into the already well-established royalty clique in Peter's court in Russia. Her costuming mostly focused on jewel tones/winter fruit colors. Emma Fryer was the designer for season one, and her designs capture Catherine's naivety and whimsy. She looks like a fairytale princess to me. This blog post does a great job explaining how the modern costuming contained nods to that time period in the 18th century.
In season two we see Catherine pregnant but still successfully managing a coup, and then the whole country. I love the way the costuming showed Catherine as both relaxed and bold by turns, and her pregnant outfits were still so stunning. Apparently the maternity gowns were inspired by famous modern designers. It was so hard to find any decent clothes while I was pregnant, so I thought this representation onscreen was fantastic.
Season two's designer was Sharon Long, and she focused on showing exactly how Catherine tried to embrace Russian fashion trends that had been side-lined for popular European fashion trends. We also see her in a lot of gold, symbolizing her power as Empress.
Season three is my favorite season in terms of costuming. Sharon Long really went all out. Catherine is juggling being Empress, a wife in love, and a mother to Paul, and she's crushing it. Her bold dresses in the first half of the season capture that attitude.
The white gown with embroidered florals that she wears to meet the ambassadors from the UK and the American colonies is such a stand-out. Long says of it:
Then everything comes tumbling down, and she's in her depression era. She wears a lot of Peter's fur coats and doesn't care about her appearance. The costume shift is so dramatic (just like the events of the show) and it works so well to showcase the gravity of what has changed. I like that she's able to wear serious-looking and powerful dresses by the end of the series (like the grey one in the bottom right) - clearly showing she's settling into being Empress on her own.
marchmetamatterschallenge, I wanted to share my meta about her costumes over the three seasons of the show. This was also posted at my journal.I believe The Great needs a fandom tag?
Season one was all about Catherine trying to fit into the already well-established royalty clique in Peter's court in Russia. Her costuming mostly focused on jewel tones/winter fruit colors. Emma Fryer was the designer for season one, and her designs capture Catherine's naivety and whimsy. She looks like a fairytale princess to me. This blog post does a great job explaining how the modern costuming contained nods to that time period in the 18th century.
Most striking throughout the show is the way the costume designer reflects the character’s journey in the color palette of the clothes she wears. “The light colors in the beginning is how she’s portrayed, an idealistic, romantic, whimsical young woman arriving in Russia [from Poland] for this arranged marriage. [source]
In season two we see Catherine pregnant but still successfully managing a coup, and then the whole country. I love the way the costuming showed Catherine as both relaxed and bold by turns, and her pregnant outfits were still so stunning. Apparently the maternity gowns were inspired by famous modern designers. It was so hard to find any decent clothes while I was pregnant, so I thought this representation onscreen was fantastic.
Season two's designer was Sharon Long, and she focused on showing exactly how Catherine tried to embrace Russian fashion trends that had been side-lined for popular European fashion trends. We also see her in a lot of gold, symbolizing her power as Empress.
Born in Prussia as German royalty, the real Catherine the Great established the Russian imperial style of dress to distinguish from the French and Western European fashions previously favored by the court. Wielding fashion as a soft power, the Empress illustrated her national pride and connected with the Russian people by bringing traditional Russian clothing, like the rural folk pinafore — sarafan — back in style. [Source]
Season three is my favorite season in terms of costuming. Sharon Long really went all out. Catherine is juggling being Empress, a wife in love, and a mother to Paul, and she's crushing it. Her bold dresses in the first half of the season capture that attitude.
The white gown with embroidered florals that she wears to meet the ambassadors from the UK and the American colonies is such a stand-out. Long says of it:
“I wanted her to look both powerful and whimsical because she's flirting with the ambassadors. I went as pale as I could so it would almost look like flesh, and then we covered it with strong motifs of flowers and animals.” [Source]
Then everything comes tumbling down, and she's in her depression era. She wears a lot of Peter's fur coats and doesn't care about her appearance. The costume shift is so dramatic (just like the events of the show) and it works so well to showcase the gravity of what has changed. I like that she's able to wear serious-looking and powerful dresses by the end of the series (like the grey one in the bottom right) - clearly showing she's settling into being Empress on her own.