The Great season two sketches and mood boards

The mood board for Catherine’s war dress is bold but traditional – with a cinched waist and generous bustle, the silhouette aligns with 18th-century Russian fashion. But designer Sharon Long wanted something different for Catherine’s coronation dress. This mood board is eclectic, featuring a 17th-century Russian folk dress in the centre of the board, known as a sarafan, alongside contemporary runway looks. The final coronation silhouette takes its trapezoid shape to a decadent extreme that the courtiers found outdated, but 200 years after her reign, the Romanovs would adopt this 17th-century style for their final costume ball in 1903. You can see a colourised portrait from this Romanov ball in the upper left-hand corner. Does that headpiece look familiar?