“It Pushed Everyone to the Limit”

Bridgerton production designer Alison Gartshore’s goal for season three of the Netflix romance was to maintain the established visual world of the series while pushing new boundaries. One of the ways she and her team did that was with new, elaborate ballroom sets sprinkled throughout the season. She discusses with THR the botanical ball in episode six that required heaps of faux florals and a mechanical pop-up garden to wow the queen.

For the Love of Romance

Season three revolves around Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) and Colin Bridgerton’s (Luke Newton) love story. Here, they dance in front of the opened floral pop-up garden that the team only had three days to complete, resulting in a dance of their own between departments. “Every time the special effects people needed the box opening, we couldn’t work on the outside to get it ready,” Gartshore says of its construction. “We had to work with them and stand off when they wanted it open, and then when it was closed, we all jumped in with our paintbrushes and scalpels and glue, and it was just one of those things that we had to get done.”

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High Society

Here, we see the closed centerpiece before it opens, surrounded by walls of paintings that Gartshore commissioned from the in-house illustrator. The team chose florals specifically from the 18th and 19th centuries, painted 12 different pieces and tiled them with variation, making sure they didn’t distract from the actors’ performances. The botanical ball was built on a stage at a film studio on the outskirts of London, while other balls this season were shot on location in and around the English capital.

The Switch-Up

From start to finish, setting up the ballroom for the botanical ball took 10 to 12 weeks. Originally, it was supposed to be called the butterfly ball, but showrunner Jess Brownell realized she had to leave the butterfly theme for later in the season. Explains Gartshore: “It left us very little time, and then she dropped a bombshell that she also needed a moment of spectacle when the queen arrives.” And that’s where the idea for the pop-up floral centerpiece was born.

Finishing Touches

“We shoot a scene for roughly a week, so maintaining florals over that period of time in hot studio conditions wouldn’t work,” explains Gartshore of the choice to use faux florals, of which Bridgerton has plenty that are stocked for reuse. Tucked into the corner of every ballroom set are the show’s home economists who produce cakes that are, unfortunately, just props.

Starting From Scratch

The unfolding petal centerpiece was supposed to be straightforward, but “of course, the simplest things are never easy to do,” jokes Gartshore. The structure, which took a week to assemble, was built out of painted paper petals that would unfold and reveal a whole garden inside, and the special effects team engineered all the mechanics to ensure that the leaves opened at the same time. “There’s no CGI. It’s all practical effects,” she says. “It pushed everyone to the limit.”

This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

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