The Empress of Fashion

Painting by Gainsborough

Georgiana Cavendish was the 18^th 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.

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 18^th Century fashion icon, Georgiana Cavendish, be played by one of our very own 21^st century fashion icons, Keira Knightley.

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'.

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.