Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy is the fourth and last installment of the romantic comedy movie franchise, Bridget Jones's Diary. The film premiered exclusively on the streamer Peacock this past February and theatrically in the UK. If you're unfamiliar with Bridget Jones, the storylines center around Bridget, portrayed by the lovely Renée Zellweger, and her quest for love. She documents the highs and lows with written diary entries, leading the audience to view her perspective and situation.
Mad About Boy's premise explores Bridget's journey as a widowed, single mother. The story takes place nearly ten years following Bridget Jones: Baby in 2016. The heroin also embraces the dating game again, trying to reclaim a happiness that was once evaporated.
The franchise has been adapted from the British writer Helen Fielding's book series of the same name and has become popular among women readers. Naturally, the books have found their way into Hollywood and the London cinema industry, emerging into blockbusters. With their fashion, comedic timing, and the hope of experiencing the love the main character does, it's no wonder that both the books and movies are beloved.
Regarding fashion, Bridget has pulled off some amazing looks—both relaxed and refined, depending on her mood. For Mad About The Boy, Costume Designer Molly Emma Rowe was the one behind the wardrobe magic. She combined classic pieces with fresh takes but still encapsulated the free-spirited Bridget and her witticisms.
For her creative work, Molly has been considered for an Emmy in this year's ceremony. It's a remarkable honor, and one that's truly deserved.
Culturess had the privilege of speaking with Molly on her achievement, her design process, and her favorite fashion piece.
Exclusive interview with Bridget Jones Diary: Mad About The Boy Costume Designer Molly Emma Rowe
Culturess: Your work designing Bridget Jones's fashion for Mad About The Boy has been considered for an Emmy! Congratulations! Can you please highlight what it was like when you received the news?
Molly Emma Rowe: It's amazing be put forward [and] It feels great when a production company or a studio think that your work has a chance.
Culturess: That's wonderful and congratulations! What inspiration did you go with to create Bridget's transformative wardrobe?
Rowe: I think when we think of Bridget, in particular, you know, I think this is a character who has existed for 20 years. So it felt very important to kind of honor all of the other costume designers. So, a different designer has done every film. It felt very important to kind of honor each designer's work with Renée [Zellweger] and to create each Bridget, and then kind of put that together and see where we would want to take her now that we meet her again, 10 years later from the last time that we saw her.
Culturess: I saw so many of the clothes as she went through so many transitions and transformations, returning to daily life, and finding romance after her husband dies, and that's truly like an art of self-expression.
Rowe: When we meet Bridget at the beginning, she's very, kind of, deep within her grief. She's been grieving for Mark for four years at the point that we meet her at the beginning of the movie, and, you know, it gave us a really nice opportunity to kind of visually, bring her back to life, I think, through her clothes and what she was choosing.
Culturess: Having worked with the legendary actress, Renée Zellweger, did she provide input on how her character's style would be?
Rowe: I know some people who have worked with Renée over the years. Some friends of mine worked on the last Bridget Jones film, and some friends of mine worked with her on [the] Judy [film]. And, if you read any interviews, you know that Renée is very in-depth, hardworking, and involved in her character. So, you know, it was really important to speak to her first, and actually, at that point, for me to gauge how she was, I suppose, and how she works. And it became very obvious, very, very quickly, that she's very involved. And you know, whilst there's no, unfortunately, there's no kind of list of the things that are Bridget Jones, as she's very intuitive. We would have lots of things in fittings. Renée came over before we started filming, and we saw her for three or four hours every day, and for a week. And we would go through different stages and build a wardrobe that Renée was happy with, and she believed that those clothes were Bridget's. Then that would mean that while we were filming, I could kind of put outfits together from those clothes that Renee would, you know, be convinced that they were right for her. It's very much a feeling in the fitting room, and a feeling when we were getting ready in the morning, as to whether something was right for that day and that scene, and for Bridget. But it very much comes from, you know, from within.
Renée is, honestly, one of the most, well, I would say, actually, I'm gonna say it, she's the most incredible actor I've ever [met]. I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to have worked with somebody like her. She's a very, very special person. And she, kind of, yeah, she made me think about my work, you know, in a slightly different and very positive way. And, you know, has given me things that I've taken forward. So I think she's an incredible human.
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Culturess: Bridget went from frumpy pieces in drab colors when still coping with grief to more feminine looks when she was dating Roxster, back to frumpy, and finally, finding her happiness again with a voice in her clothes when she got together with Mr. Walliker. What was the process like in curating the outfits regarding fabric and color?
Rowe: I think for her, for her kind of period with Rockster, it felt very important that Bridget and Roxster looked very natural together. You know, we didn't want to make a visual comedy out of them being together. I think that that Bridget we chose youthful things for her, but I think that there was a kind of a comfortableness and a confidence and a kind of loveliness to especially that first date outfit, which is like a blue floral dress and a little denim jacket, and, you know, with Roxster again, because they didn't want to make him a kind of comedy young character, you know, we thought a lot about how, how he should be in that kind of timeless, sort of almost Hollywood Classic Hollywood actor, kind of, you know, kind of James Dean, Marlon Brando, kind of very, very classic t shirt and jeans, like, very simple. I think the denim jacket really got me thinking, like I was looking at old Bridget Jones films. And one out that I love so much is when she goes on her mini break with Daniel Cleaver, and she's wearing a little denim jacket. And I was thinking, it really made me think, like it's such a piece that you can wear when you're two years old, and you can wear it when you're 100, and you know, you can reach for it at any time. So it had this kind of lovely youthfulness to it, but also a kind of grown-up timelessness, a classic-ness, and a little like a reflection of Roxster's kind of style as well. That was really sort of easing her back in, I suppose, to the kind of dating scene.
And then, there's a really beautiful scene. I think it's very beautiful when Roxster turns up again after he's ghosted Bridget and she's kind of dancing on stage at Better Women, and she's wearing these bright orange trousers with a pink cardigan that kind of clashes and, like, the fits a little bit off, and there's a pattern shirt that's a bit bunched up, and it feels like a really kind of a natural outfit that anyone would wear. It's like, not super stylized. It doesn't quite go together. There's something, you know, she looks super nice, but there's something you know, and those bright orange trousers are really kind of fab. And then there's this incredibly emotional scene, where she's so strong and she's so emotional, and everybody was in tears, which we were, watching [Renée] film that scene,
It's so real and it's so raw, but she's being so strong and being so herself at the time. So those kind of really bright pants felt like this really kind of anchoring point for this scene. And then, you know, she's kind of makes this decision, and off she goes back to the Bridget that we know really well.
Culturess: What was your favorite created piece and why? What was the underlying mood for it?
Rowe: Oh, that's a really good question! Um, what was my favorite of Bridget's? Do you think, yeah? My favorite thing of Bridget's. I mean, we bought some things back and that was really nice. I mean, they didn't exist. We had to make them. So the penguin pajamas, we made those.
We did get some things out of the archive. Unfortunately, there's not that much from 20 years ago, but I did get some things out of the archive. Unfortunately, there's not that much from 20 years ago, but the very first time that we meet Bridget in the first film, she's wearing like a gray hooded jacket. And they have this jacket still. So I asked for it to be sent over because I think that when you're feeling kind of vulnerable, people kind of reach for things that make them feel nostalgic or comfortable. And I think that that piece really kind of felt like that to us, because it's the first time we ever meet Bridget. She wears it with Mark in the first [Bridget Jones] film.
We liked the idea of having something that, if you're an old Bridget fan, maybe you would realize what it is, and if you're watching this film as the first ever Bridget Jones film. It doesn't, it doesn't matter, you know, it doesn't take you out of what you're watching. So that felt very special, because it was very emotional when I brought it out, because Renée's not seen it for over 20 years. So that was special, and it was technically nothing of mine. But it also felt like a super nice way to honor the beginning of Bridget Jones and the amazing designer Rachel Fleming, who kicked her off all those years ago.
Culturess: Wonderful! Is there anything else you would like to share on Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy?
Rowe: What we really wanted to do was [as a team] make people be able to feel comfortable and inspired and say to people that there's no age limits for everything. So you should wear what you like, what makes you feel happy, what makes you feel comfortable, and what makes you feel safe. And I think we didn't want it to be a huge kind of screaming message at all, but I think that the authenticity of the clothes in the world and how the guys are wearing them. And, you know, we let the drama speak for itself. But, it can be very daunting dating later in life, and, you know, going through something so awful, and I think we really wanted to say, 'you know, it's okay, and you can be you as well.' You know, for me, it was like, 'What's the thing that is Bridget? And it's short skirts. You know, it's always been [a comfort], so why should she retire them? Why should she stop wearing them just because she's 50? You know, there's absolutely no reason. And I think we wanted to kind of subtly,
empower people to say there are no rules, and just be you, and we're all doing okay.
Before Rowe and I ended our discussion, she shared what it was like working on such a notable franchise that only expanded in love over the years.
Rowe: I think it's a very special film. I feel very, very proud of it. I think that the care and the love that everybody involved in making that film is it comes off the screen like you're you're in the{ir] world.
Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy brings back Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant in their roles as Bridget, Mark Darcy, and Daniel Cleaver respectfully, and introduces newcomers Leo Woodall as Roxster McDuff and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scott Walliker to the franchise.
The movie can be exclusively streamed on Peacock in the US.
This interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.