- Well, show me.
(upbeat music) Oh, there you are.
- So many of Nic's designs are just beautiful.
You know, he's using real fabrics, real kind of block prints, some genuinely antique costumes, antique lace.
So it's just been amazing to kind of see these pieces created.
- It takes a mindset to get away from pure period and to loosen it up.
And the way we've achieved this is by relaxing the rigidity of the period and introducing elements which aren't strictly to period, but will make it fresher and more exciting.
- The way we used to dress back then was awesome.
I mean, men looked brilliant.
I don't know what's gone on, boys.
Wearing three-piece suits, you know, with large lapels and top hats and canes.
I think it was just, it was awesome.
Well, Nicky's incredible, done an incredible job with the costumes.
They really have.
The women look unreal.
And some of Frances' outfits are stunning.
- Ah.
Frances' look was always very important because she always has to be the bell of the ball.
She is the most fashionable, the most well dressed, the most glamorous in any room that she walks into.
And, you know, gives the audience an idea of how important appearance and standing is for her.
- In many ways, the clothing is the key to character.
You can't wear it and not be suddenly like, sit, you know, like much more upright.
I mean, the way they present is intended to sort of slightly intimidate and dominate.
- I don't know if I'd call it cheating as an actor, but it feels that way because you put on the outfit and you're just transformed immediately.
You feel it in your body, and all of a sudden, you're walking differently and you're talking differently.
And I find it incredibly useful.
- Irene, before her marriage with Soames, her costumes are elegant, beautiful, but very simple and subtle.
Nic has kind of incorporated that delicacy into her first few dresses.
And then after marriage, this is what I wear.
I'm just a bougie gal.
And I think Nic's just incorporated different fabrics and patterns.
Like she's not a very patterned gal before marriage, but now she's like, "Okay, where's the flowers?"
