After health and safety concerns arose regarding corsets in period dramas, this historical garments may be eliminated from various streaming services.
In Western period dramas, scenes where a woman puts on a corset and shouts “tighten it more” to a maid tightening the corset strap are extremely prevalent. However, this scene will soon disappear.
According to the British media Metro on February 22nd (local time), the very recognizable corset may be banned by several networks and streaming services such as Netflix, ITV, and BBC.
Corsets, a garment worn to emphasize the waistline and make the torso appear smaller, dates back to Ancient Greece before becoming a fashion staple in the Victorian era, which started in the 1830s. Accordingly, corsets have been used in many period dramas in recent decades, with prime examples including Netflix’s “Bridgerton”, ITV’s “Downton Abbey”, and the BBC adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice”.
However, recently, some streaming service platforms such as Netflix, ITV, and BBC are joining the “corset boycott”. This is interpreted as a move to soothe the complaints of period drama actresses, who complained of discomfort and insisted on wearing comfortable underwear instead of the notorious undergarment.
In fact, during the recent filming of Netflix hit series “Bridgerton”, cast members were notified that they no longer had to wear corsets.
A drama official said, “The corset is famously restrictive, and many actresses have complained to wardrobe departments about damage, both short-term and long, being done after a long 12 to 14 hour day wearing them on set.”
It was also revealed that many stars reported bruising and difficulties in breathing, and that there were health and safety concerns about keeping women in suffocating corsets for weeks at a time.
The same source claimed the “corset boycott” to be a “big moment in the history of the period drama.”
On the other hand, Simone Ashley, the lead in season 2 of “Bridgerton”, which was released in March last year, once expressed her discomfort over wearing a corset. “‘I realized when you wear the corset, you just don’t eat. It changes your body”, she said, adding, “I had a smaller waist very momentarily. Then the minute you stop wearing it, you’re just back to how your body is. I had a lot of pain with the corset, too, I think I tore my shoulder at one point.”
Actress Keira Knightley, who wore a corset in “The Duchess” and “Pirates of the Caribbean”, also described her experience with corsets as terrible.
In addition, Emma Stone also complained about the costume piece, claiming that she couldn’t breathe and that donning a corset was “gross”.
