Dearest Readers,
It was with the greatest pleasure that marie claire was invited by Lady Whistledown to join Miss Penelope Featherington and Mr Colin Bridgerton to celebrate the commencement of the season… make that Season 3 of the Netflix global phenomenon, Bridgerton.
Guest gathered at the stunning Milton Park Country House in NSW Southern Highlands town, Bowral, for twilight drinks before stepping into a marquee decked out in regency style for an exclusive first look at episode one.
Among those promenading the red carpet were Bridgerton showrunner Jess Brownell, Heartbreak High stars Chloe Hayden and Ayesha Maddon, chic content creator Tara Whiteman (aka @taramilktea), Channel Nine’s Brooke Boney, presenter and model Francesca Hung and kinky history expert and author Esme Louise James.
Guests were dressed to impress the Queen in full length gowns, capes, lace gloves and crowns, but there was no doubt that star of the series, Nicola Coughlan, was the diamond of the season in her stunning bejewelled black gown custom made for the actor by British designer, Richard Quinn.
Coughlan revealed to marie claire that she’d been dying to wear the gown and was waiting for the right moment, “I saw it on the runway, I think it was a year and a half, maybe two years ago now. It’s a Richard Quinn dress and it was the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen, but I had nowhere to wear it to because we were in the middle of filming. But then no one had worn it, so when I knew we were launching the world tour in Australia, I was like, ‘Richard, I’ve been obsessed with this dress for a long time, can you make it?’ and he made it for me.”
This author can confirm the heavily beaded gown weighs a staggering 40 pounds, as Coughlan offered up some of the skirt for me to feel the weight of as she explained that the dress had its own suitcase to travel from London to Australia.
Also in attendance was Luke Newton, who plays Penelope’s love interest, Colin Bridgerton in the third season of the series that has affectionately been dubbed Polin season. Newton told marie claire he couldn’t believe he was in Bowral, Australia, “one of my favourite things about this job is that I get to go to places that I would probably never get to see. And it looks so beautiful, I’m loving my experience here. I flew into Sydney, had a day there and then travelled here and got to see everyone all dressed up tonight.”
After guests were taken into the marquee to watch the episode, Coughlan and Newton introduced the premiere episode. While this author can’t reveal what happens in the show, I can tell you the juicy message Coughlan had to say about Penelope and Colin’s romance this season… “People ask, ‘what did you do to build the chemistry’ and I tell them, ‘We just stopped repressing it…’”
And that, dearest reader, sets the scene for the scandal of the season.
Part One of Bridgerton Season 3 premieres on Netflix May 16.
