No expense was spared in making
Catherine the Great – and that
includes the lavish costumes
worn by Dame Helen Mirren
and the rest of the cast.
Mirren’s gowns – around 60 in
total – were made from fabrics
woven in Italy and India and then
hand-embroidered in Lithuania.
Costume designer Maja Meschede
visited Saint Petersburg’s
Hermitage Museum to take
inspiration from its many paintings
of Catherine and her court.
‘I used a palette of Russian
golds and blues. I wanted Dame
Helen Mirren to resemble an iconic
Russian painting,’ says Meschede.
‘Catherine enjoyed looking
womanly, so we embroidered
flowers and very delicate lace
on to some of her dresses.’
Mirren’s favourite was a gold
gown with a bodice stitched with
pearls. ‘As a homage to Dame
Helen, we embroidered her initials
in pearls in the back of the dress’
neckline,’ says Meschede. ‘If people
look closely, they can see it.’
DRESSED TO
IMPRESS
Dame Helen Mirren blazes a trail as
Russia’s strong-minded, sexually
liberated monarch Catherine the Great
BOX SET
All eps of Catherine the
Great will be released
as a box set on Sky Box Sets and
NOW TV on Thursday 3 October.