If you were as obsessed with the outfits of Bridgerton Season 3, you aren’t alone. Jessica Madsen, known to play Cressida Cowper in the popular Netflix show, got to wear some crazy outfits in the first half of the series’ third installment. And, of course, she got to try all of those fabulous dresses on herself before filming – and even cried during one fitting.
The Bridgerton cast is exceptionally talented, and somehow, every season crafts an expertly told story that captures viewers’ hearts. Whether it’s the love story of Colin and Penelope or the steamy nature of Kate and Anthony’s tale, there’s so much to love. But in Season 3, fans get to take a deeper look into Cressida Cowper’s life along with seeing the main love story unfold. A young woman who has been on the market for three seasons now, Cressida Cowper goes to drastic lengths to get noticed by an eligible bachelor this season. Jessica Madsen, the actress behind her, was with the character every step of the way.
I got the chance to ask Madsen about her character’s bigger role in Season 3 and her opinion on the intense outfits Cressida gets to wear throughout the show. She revealed that her favorite dress so far has yet to be seen and that she even “cried” during her fitting:
John [Glaser] is a genius and I feel like every costume fitting I had, everything I put on, it was like, ‘This is my favorite one now.’ And then the next one was my favorite one. So it’s hard to choose. I think my favorite is still yet to be seen. It’s in the second half and I would quite honestly be happy enough to die in that dress. I think I even cried in my fitting.
John Glaser, for those who don’t know, is the main costume designer for Bridgerton Season 3, and truly, he knocked it out of the park with every one of Cressida’s outfits.
In the first half of the critically-praised Season 3 of Bridgerton, the audience really gets to see the life of Cressida Cowper and her life behind all the frilly and magnificent dresses. We see her confide in her newfound friend Eloise as she struggles with her family life at home.
Madsen said that the dresses they wear in the show are “made to fit” the actors, so it almost feels as if they are becoming the character once the dress is entirely on them – as if it was given to her personally:
They’re made to fit you so it’s emotional to put those outfits on that fit you so perfectly, and look in a way that you’ve never imagined you’d ever look. They give you the character, so much of it, I feel. And yeah, this year was extra. It was amazing.
It’s a shame that we are going to have to wait until Part 2 to see Madsen’s favorite dress. I suppose I’ll be able to hold myself over while fawning over these dresses, the intensity of all the Bridgerton characters this season and the drama that has ensued in Part 1.
Or I can just watch the best romantic comedies to hold me over because I need more Colin and Penelope dancing at a ball with all these magnificent dresses ASAP.
Bridgerton Season 3, Part 2 premieres on June 13 on the 2024 TV schedule. You can watch the first part and revisit all of Cressida’s incredible dresses right now with a Netflix subscription.