The Crown Season Six: All Hail the Costume Designers!
Words by Lucy Hopton, Writer
The release of Season Six of The Crown marked the end of the beloved series, covering Princess Diana’s last few months in the South of France and Prince William’s love life at university. Many students here at St Andrews cherish once-in-a-lifetime memories of their experience on set, having worked alongside actors Meg Bellamy (Kate Middleton) and Ed McVey (Prince William) around town. Handling both extras and the main cast, the costume department plays a vital role convincing the audience of the character’s performance.
Figure 1 The Crown Season Six Group Photo | Netflix
The genius behind the costuming is Emmy-award-winning duo Amy and Sidonie Roberts, who have worked on The Crown since Season Three. As Head Costume Designer and Head Buyer respectively, the pair immerse us in the world of late 1990s and Y2K clothes – a far cry from the regal ballgowns of Season One, but just as fabulous.
Their process begins with the script, which gives clues about what the characters wear: at a photographed event, such as Camilla and Charles’ wedding, they have clear guidance from pictures. Next the team considers which materials to use and how they fit into the set, drawing inspiration from mood boards covering the walls of the costume department workshop. Though most pieces were created in the studio (especially for the senior royals), textiles, accessories, and some garments were sourced from vintage shops, costume companies, and even car-boot sales. With almost 300 speaking roles, hundreds of extras, and characters notorious for never wearing the same outfit twice, Season Six was no small task.
Episodes one to four focus on Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed in the South of France and then Paris, where the couple tragically die in a car accident. Actress Elizabeth Debicki looks near identical to Diana in various swimsuits as she lounges on Mohammed Al-Fayed’s yacht. No longer is she adorned in gaudy 1970s jumpers or swamped by a mountain of 1980s frills (see Season Four) – to quote Sidonie Roberts “the swimsuit is the ball gown of Season Six” (Seth 2023).
Figure 2 Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana in a leopard swimsuit | Netflix
To imitate paparazzi shots, the designers collaborated with Gottex, a brand worn by the Princess in real life. The company recreated their leopard-print, neon green and purple, and black and white swimsuits, however the costume designers decided to alter the garment so that they were not as high-cut as the original, maximising comfort for the actress. Sidonie Roberts describes how the leopard print speaks to the transformation of the character; she is now stripped back, vulnerable, but also on guard, like a lioness protecting her young (Seth 2023). This design is so iconic that Gottex has revived the style, meaning you can now buy the leopard swimsuit again for (only) $160.
The costume team redesigned two swimsuits due to legal issues with the original pieces: Diana’s blue bathing suit from the infamous diving board photo, and the pink suit from paparazzi pictures of Dodi and Diana kissing. When designers cannot directly copy, they prioritise the feel of the garment through colour and silhouette. The actor starring as Charles, Dominic West, describes that “what The Crown has always done so cleverly, I think, is not try to imitate but to sort of evoke them [the characters]” (YouTube 2023).
Figure 3 Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana | Keith Burnstein, Netflix
Amy and Sidonie Roberts explained how they discovered the “Diana Algorithm”. After working on Diana’s character for years, they intuitively recognised her style (Plumber 2023). Baseball caps, Levi jeans, baggy Ralph Lauren shirts, and sleek suits show a more masculine and casual side to Diana’s style, with several garments (including Givenchy pieces) sourced from vintage sellers.
We also get to know Dodi Fayed during his relationship with Diana. Again, several of his looks were vintage designer, representative of his wealthy background, but like Diana he preferred simpler colours and patterns. As actor Khalid Abdalla described, “[i]f there were things that were too shiny, too sharp, or repellent, that's not him” (Salfiti 2023). The couple’s outfits seem a world away from Balmoral, as the show reminds us with scenes jumping between the two locations. Balmoral is heavy with dark tweeds, wool, hunting caps, and wellies, a much colder environment (in several ways) than the Mediterranean. This design choice emphasises how separate Diana feels detached from the royals after leaving Charles at the end of Season Five.
Figure 4 Khalid Abdalla as Dodi Fayed and Elizabeth Debicki as Princes Diana | Netflix
The second part of Season Six explores the younger royals, William and Harry, entering adulthood. Having grown up in the early 2000s, Sidonie Roberts drew on her own life to produce costumes as accurately as possible. Alongside the few photographs of Kate from her time at St Andrews, the designers researched the general student style at the time. With the current Y2K resurgence bootcut jeans, leather accessories, and heeled boots appear to be just as popular around town today as back then. Again, the costume department worked with one of Kate Middleton’s favourite footwear brand Penelope Chilvers, who provided boots potentially worn by her in the mid-2000s.
Figure 5 Meg Bellamy as Kate Middleton at charity fashion show | Netflix
The most memorable look of Kate’s is the sheer dress runway look from the DONT WALK fashion show. The original dress by student designer Charlotte Tod sold for over £78,000 at auction in 2011, but due to copyright issues the designers took creative liberty. They layered brown and golden net fabric and hemmed the dress with a blue ribbon in attempts to recreate the captivating sense of allure present in the original design.
Figure 6 Meg Bellamy as Kate Middleton and Ed McVey as Prince William | Netflix
St Andrews is perhaps the first time we can see William’s personal style. Amy Roberts describes how they curated a “scruffier wardrobe” for the student prince, swapping out his Eton uniform for rugby shirts and jeans (Ryan 2023). If you look carefully, they even style actor Ed McVey in crinkled shirts because, let’s be honest, how many students actually use an iron?
Two final characters we see the costume designers having fun with are Prince Harry and Princess Margaret. Both second to the monarch, we’ve seen their characters constantly experiment with more ostentatious fashion. In this season, Harry’s daily look included baggy trousers and T-shirts accessorised with beads and bracelets, clearly distinguishing him from the rest of the family as the ‘rebellious’ one.
Figure 7 Lesley Manfield as Princess Margaret | Netflix
Similarly, Margaret’s personality has shone through in dazzling ball gowns and bold prints, with this season being no exception; kaftans were her favourite outfit during her final years in Mustique. However, as her health declines in the show those colours begin to fade, the fabrics become softer, and the once vivacious princess ends her story looking rather frail.
The costume department on The Crown has done a phenomenal job on the final season, truly showing the journey of these characters through their clothes, be it the start or the end of their lives. Now the series is over, 450 items - both clothes and props - are going up for auction to fund a scholarship at the National Film and Television School. The leopard swimsuit, sheer dress, as well as the coronation carriage and many other items are up for sale, showing just how impactful these clothes can be decades after we saw the original.
Sources:
'From Kate’s Runway Moment to Diana’s Swimsuits, The Crown’s Costume Designers Answer All Our Season 6 Questions’, Radhika Seth, Vogue. https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/the-crown-season-6-costumes
‘The Crown | Costumes and Makeup’ Netflix - The Crown | Costumes and Makeup | Netflix - YouTube
‘Why The Crown’s Season Six Costumes Are Some of the Series’ Best’, Todd Plumber, Harper's Bazaar. Harpers Bazaar Interview.
‘Khalid Abdalla breaks down The Crown’s depiction of Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana’s final day’, Zinya Salfiti, GQ. Khalid Abdalla Interview | British GQ (gq-magazine.co.uk).
The Crown’s costume designers on dressing the new guard’, Anya Ryan, Tatler. The Crown Season Six | Tatler
Other Sources:
Prop and Costume Auction | Bonhams: https://www.bonhams.com/auction/29243/the-crown-auction/.
BH interview with Amy Roberts: https://britishheritage.com/royals/an-interview-with-the-costume-designer-of-the-crown.
Interview with the Costume Designers on Showtimes: https://www.showtimes.com/videos/costume-designers-amy-roberts-and-sidonie-roberts-on-season-6-of-the-crown-26104/.