When the Collins Dictionary was deliberating over which term to make the word of 2021, they couldn’t decide between ‘NFT’ and ‘Regencycore’. In the end, non-fungible token won the battle, but runner-up isn’t bad for a word that means wanting to style yourself like someone from the 19th century. 

Particularly since nobody actually dressed this way at any point in 2021. The term was coined last winter, thanks to the huge success of Netflix’s Bridgerton series. An over-the-top take on the classic period drama, this was a show with more sparkle, more dresses, more hats, more brooches – and far more sex – than any BBC series to date. 

Purists complained that the costumes were all wrong but viewers adored it. Period dramas are never entirely true to the era (if they were, no actress would be allowed dyed blonde hair or sparkling white teeth) but Bridgerton made it quite clear that realism was not the aim. Writer-creator Chris van Dusen said he wanted watching it to feel like reading a romance novel rather than a history book – and in this respect he was certainly successful. Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick, meanwhile, explained that her starting point was real Regency dress – hence Pride & Prejudice era empire waists and puffed cap sleeves – but from that point, she went wild.  

Speaking with Harper’s Bazaar, Mirojnick said she was hoping to create an entirely new look that combined the aesthetic of the Regency era “with a bit of a modern sensibility, make it aspirational, intriguing, and with somewhat of a layer that would actually be very imaginative.”