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| Painting by Gainsborough |
Georgiana
Cavendish was the 18th Century equivalent to our A list celebrities
of today. As one of the most famous
personalities of her time, The Duchess of Devonshire was renowned for her
beauty and incredible wardrobe.
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| Painting by Reynolds |
Every woman in Britain, no doubt, envied Georgiana’s
wardrobe. Just the Duchess' trousseau included sixty-five pairs of shoes, forty-eight pairs of
stockings, and twenty-six pairs of gloves. Morning dresses, walking dresses,
riding habits, ball gowns, and a presentation dress were also bought along with
hats, cloaks, shawls, and wraps.
Newspapers were fascinated with the beauty and
were always keeping their readers up to date on what the duchess wore:
“In less than a year Georgiana had
become a celebrity. Newspaper editors noticed that any report on the Duchess of
Devonshire increased their sales. She brought glamour and style to a paper. A
three-ring circus soon developed between newspapers who saw commercial value in
her fame, ordinary readers who were fascinated by her, and Georgiana herself,
who enjoyed the attention.” Amanda Foreman, historian
Georgiana made the
exaggerated three-foot pompadours fashionable in London. She would stick pads
of horse hair beneath her own. At one stage Georgiana's hair was so tall the
only way to ride in a carriage was to sit on the floor!
So, how
apt that the 18th Century fashion icon, Georgiana Cavendish, be
played by one of our very own 21st century fashion icons, Keira Knightley.
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| Keira Knightley as Georgiana Cavendish |
The icon is stunningly illustrated in The
Duchess with credit going to the magnificent costumes Michael O'Connor
created for the film. O’Connor used many sources for inspiration including works
of art, sketches, political pamphlets and Amanda Foreman's
book, 'Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire'.
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| Costumes from The Duchess |
O'Connor has stated, that the dresses
from that period were so intricately astounding with their great use of prints
and materials, that he had to limit himself when creating costumes for the film
so that they didn't steal attention away from the characters and the dialogue.
