As expected, the much-anticipated fourth season of "Bridgerton" and the social season itself—outdoes the previous three with an over-the-top society ball: a masquerade fête that reliably delivers simmering romantic drama and endearing family hijinks. “The point of the evening is to try to hide one’s identity by costume or mask,” says Mrs. Wilson (Geraldine Alexander), as she admonishes footman John (Oli Higginson). “Not that many succeed.” And she’s correct, as the ton’s dazzling disguises actually expose deeper truths about their identities, personas, and motivations—hiding them in plain sight. 

“It’s one place where the ton can actually be whatever they want,” longtime series costume designer John Glaser tells The Set Set. “It's their fantasy, too.” Just like cosplaying Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner in matching orange or a favorite “KPop Demon Hunter,” the ton also nods to the pop culture of their day. “There's a Charles I amongst that corral somewhere,” says associate costume designer Dougie Hawkes, who oversees the men’s costumes, referencing the beheaded 17th-century English monarch. 

Although an obsession with the Roman empire (or adjacent themes) proves timeless, considering the Mondriches (Martins Imhangbe and Emma Naomi) as Mark Antony and Cleopatra, and Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) and her brother, Lord Marcus Anderson (Daniel Frances), as resplendent dueling Zeuses. “There are historical references,” says Glaser. “But with everything that we do, we take it out of reality and Bridgert-ize it basically.”

Benedict’s Elizabethan-Meets-Regency Leather Jacket

Middle Bridgerton brother Benedict (Luke Thompson) half-heartedly manages the family’s finances, while avoiding his most pressing obligation: finding a “suitable” society lady to marry. He spends his time indulging in, erm, debauchery at his elite hedonism club and scandalizing his mother, Lady Violet (Ruth Gemmell), and sister Eloise (Claudia Jessie), who playfully call him “a rake.”

But Lady Violet insists he attend the masquerade, especially since she’s hosting. So a reluctant Benedict quickly cobbles together a costume at his bachelor pad—channeling fellow creative William Shakespeare with a gleaming Elizabethan doublet that feels like an effortlessly thrown-on black leather moto jacket.

“He doesn't want to go to the ball,” says Hawkes, who designed Benedict’s masquerade costume. “He arrives—devil-may-care—on horseback, footman John hands him a mask at the door, he throws the coat off, and then enters into society. He is very cool. He's very bohemian, and I wanted to carry that on from season one.”

Like Benedict, Hawkes also honors an esteemed colleague with the disguise. 

“It was a little bit of a homage to Joseph Fiennes’ costume in ‘Shakespeare in Love,’” says Hawkes, who regularly collaborates with the 1998 movie’s Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell.

The Fairytale Meet-Cute

Benedict is easily the most sought-after bachelor at his mother’s party, but, to his surprise, a mysterious newcomer catches his eye immediately. Sophie (Yerin Ha), a sharp, resourceful, and long-suffering maid, lives out her fantasy for one night by temporarily procuring a radiant silver dress stored away in her aristocratic employers’ attic. 

Glaser imagined that a younger relative of the household previously owned the dress to keep the silhouette just en vogue enough, with an empire waistline and romantic puffed shoulders. “If we had put her in an ‘old’ dress, she wouldn't have been that alluring to Benedict,” he says. 

Of course, the captivating lamé gown—glimmering with iridescent net layers of intricate embroidery and delicate sequins—also sets the scene for a fairytale love story to unfold. “There's a reference to Cinderella,” says Glaser. “It just had to be light, true silver, because no one else at the masquerade ball wears a silver color with as much sparkle.”

Penelope’s Renegade Finery

Unmasked last season as London’s preeminent gossip columnist, Lady Whistledown, Penelope (fan favorite Nicola Coughlan) now operates out in the open to gather intel. Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel)—the only one not mandated to wear a costume—knows exactly who to pressure for the early scoops, too. So it makes sense Penelope appears as a rogue pirate, out looking for bounty to plunder, aka, gossip. She’s also a pioneer of her time: a woman entrepreneur.

Penelope’s black costume, glittering with gold-embroidered trim and embellishments, invokes 18th-century English pirate Calico Jack. Breaking unwritten pirate code, he brazenly enlisted two women, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, as lieutenants in his male-dominated crew.

At close look, the gleaming trinkets dotting Penelope’s costume evoke pirate motifs and “little treasures” from the sea. “Little nuggets of gold, a little starfish,” says Glaser. “As if you went and opened up a fantasy treasure chest.”

Along with her jaunty pirate-requisite tricorne hat, Glaser originally designed an eye patch for Penelope. “But it was too much. She actually couldn't see,” he says, opting instead for an embroidered mask with scallop trim for the keen observer.

Eloise’s ‘Bridgerton' Armor

Like Benedict, headstrong, erudite Eloise rejects the societal—and her mother’s—pressures of marriage and staunchly proclaims herself a “spinster,” who’s “on the shelf.” She literally armors up as the 15th-century teenage icon of female rebellion, Joan of Arc. “It is truly our version of what a Bridgerton would do if they had to make armor,” says Glaser, who researched imagery of the saint. “Bridgerton armor.”

He translated Eloise’s signature robin’s egg blue into inspired shoulder pauldrons, with gold trim evoking alluring straps, and an ornate, corset-like chestplate. A myriad of dainty glass beads comprise couture chainmail. “To make it look like armor,” says Glaser. “Wow, let's call it ‘fashion armor.’”

The Ton’s New Style Arbiters 

At the ball, a masked, frantic Sophie runs into the ladies of her household, with more than one meaning: the formidable widow Lady Penwood (Katie Leung) and her daughters, supercilious Rosamund (Michelle Mao) and timid Posy (Isabella Wei).

Lady Penwood scans the room for potential suitors for her daughters in a commanding, shoulder-padded black gown—signaling mourning—with a mélange of textures, elaborate braided trim on the bodice, and lustrous beading throughout. 

“We thought she should look like Anna Wintour and be very fashionable,” says Glaser. “When you see Anna Wintour, you know a strong, powerful woman is coming. You know who she is. There's no question. We know she's not meek, she's not mild. That presence is felt.” 

Sweet Posy wears a seafoam-green brocade gown with airy, white organza ruffles and a structured, fin-like sequined peplum. She embodies a mermaid while nodding to the unrestrained masques of the early Stuart court. Architect of the time, Inigo Jones designed extravagant, often oceanic-themed sets and costumes for the decadent royal spectacles (some of which—most notably “The Masque of Blackness”—remain deeply problematic).

Rosamund wears her heart—or persona—on her sleeve as Marie Antoinette in a majestic gown, with opulent embroidery, sumptuous pink lace, and copious embellishments. “She's wearing the necklace that caused all the trouble with Marie Antoinette,” says Glaser, referring to the legendary “Affair of the Diamond Necklace” in 1785. Already unpopular with the public, the queen fell victim to a scandal involving an outrageously expensive diamond necklace—reportedly made of 650 diamonds.

As the season progresses, Lady Penwood and her daughters bring challenges for Sophie and Benedict—and a new decade of style to the ton. “Their silhouettes are a little more fashion-forward towards 1820,” says Glaser, who also designed Posy and Rosalind in coordinating fabrics to portray them as a duo. You know, like another famous set of fairytale sisters. “It’s true to say that they're following the Cinderella story,” says Hawkes.