Hair and makeup designer Erika Ökvist also explains why she doesn’t allow her artistry on season 3 to be restricted by the Regency period in which the show is set.
When it comes to the ladies of “The Religion” on Bridgerton, hair and makeup designer Erika Ökvist equates each new season with Paris Fashion Week. “No one would be caught dead wearing something from last season,” she says. “They live for that kind of superficial armor that they’re projecting to the world around them.” Yet there’s an even more distinct character motivation that drives the direction of Ökvist and her team, she says: “There is a super efficiency with how they’re trying to get married off.”
In season three, it was Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan), i.e., Lady Whistledown herself, who made it her mission to transform herself into a desirable spouse. “She’s coming into her own,” Ökvist says of the season-long metamorphosis, inspired by such Hollywood sirens as Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe and, yes, Jessica Rabbit.
Behind the scenes, keeping track of the character’s arc was a full-time job. “We designed 47 different looks for Penelope’s hair and makeup,” says Ökvist. With seven dedicated wigs that each took about two days to style, Ökvist ensured continuity even when filming out of sequence. “If we shoot the interior of something week one and then we’re going to shoot the exterior of that week six, I can’t afford, time-wise, to restyle the wig. And because they’re so intricate, I would’ve maybe forgotten one step, and that would be awful on something that is as visually driven as Bridgerton.”
As in previous seasons, the boldest creations are worn by Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel). The extraordinary wigs are created on top of hollow aluminum cages; while not heavy, they still create mobility challenges for Rosheuvel. “She has developed a wonderful way of moving,” says Ökvist.
“Once Emma [Rigby, hair and makeup artist] puts the wig on, she can’t turn her head, so she turns her whole body. It is so regal, almost like she’s a goddess.” While the Queen’s wigs are creative masterpieces, their origins are rooted in Rosheuvel. “The Queen needed to start with Golda, so all of the wigs have natural, textured hair around the hairline,” explains Ökvist.
The picture of résistance in season three was a mobile creation with swans turning inside the queen’s hollowed-out wig, on which Ökvist collaborated with costume designer John Glaser. “I told John about my idea and he was like, ‘You’re my kind of crazy.’ He designed a whole dress around the wig with secret panels that hold all the wiring and the battery pack — because that could become quite hot and needed to stay away from her body.”
After perfecting the idea for two years, it was finally ready for a screen test. “Everybody loved it. Golda loved it, the DOP loved it, the director loved it. Then the sound man came up to me and he’s like, ‘It’s a bit loud, isn’t it?’ So we had to dismantle it and soundproof the dance floor of the swans.”
Technical considerations aside, Ökvist very rarely feels tied to the time period, in terms of accuracy. “It is a version of Regency that has been inspired by history, but it is not its sister, it’s its cousin, I would say. I think in season one, some people were questioning it and wanted answers, and now I think that the audience just buys this as a world, like Game of Thrones.” This allows her to occasionally be outlandish, as with spoiled noblewoman Cressida Cowper (Jessica Madsen), whose season culminated in a bird cage wig, complete with a chain and a key.
One of Ökvist’s harder tasks is making sure there’s no overlap, or that one character doesn’t accidentally steal another’s thunder. “Sometimes, even though something looks really good, I have to go, ‘No, that is the look that Penelope will have. You can’t have that,’ ” she said. “To direct that is really difficult — and also not to kill the enthusiasm of the person who invented it, because you get really excited when you come up with an idea.”
Indeed, with a team of hairstylists that are constantly innovating, there are as many creations left offscreen as make it to the set. “At the end of the day, being a makeup and hair artist is like building sandcastles,” says Ökvist. “Maybe it disappears into the ocean and nobody ever sees it. What’s important is that when you create it, you are happy.”
