Laced Up: 18 Iconic Corsets from Film & Television
From Scarlett O'Hara to Xena, these are the underpinnings that stepped beyond the screen and into fashion history
By: The Lace Ledger Staff
Few garments have worked harder in film than the humble corset.
For more than a century, costume designers have used it to communicate everything from power and ambition to romance, rebellion and utter ruin. A single tightening lace can signal the expectations placed upon a young woman. A structured bodice can transform a queen into a monarch of the ages, a vampire into a legend or a showgirl into an icon. Long before a character speaks, the corset often tells us exactly who they are.
Some became inseparable from the stories themselves. Scarlett O'Hara's lacing scene in Gone with the Wind remains one of the most famous moments in Hollywood history while Satine's ruby corset came to define an entire era of fashion when donned by Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge.
From gothic heroines and doomed aristocrats to pirates, vampires and queens, these are a few of our favourites.
Wuthering Heights (2026) — Catherine's Corset
One steamy lift by the corset was all it took to send the internet into collective disarray, transforming Catherine's stays into a symbol of the film's feverish romance, and inspiring an untold number of viewers to make a new request of their partners.
Frankenstein (2025) — The Gothic Bride Corset
Mia Goth's corseted bridal silhouette look as though they stepped directly from the pages of a Victorian nightmare, turning Elizabeth into the sort of gothic heroine who makes you briefly consider wearing lace sleeves and wandering a candlelit manor in search of emotional complications.
Nosferatu (2024) — Ellen's Victorian Corset
The image of Ellen ripping at her corset during her possession scenes became one of the film's most unforgettable visuals, turning a garment associated with control into a casualty of chaos.
Wednesday (2022–Present) — The Raven Ball Dress
One delightfully unhinged dance sequence was all it took to turn Wednesday's corseted Raven Ball dress into a modern gothic icon, inspiring a flood of recreations and reminding us all that awkwardness can, in fact, be a fashion statement.
Bridgerton (2020–Present) — Tightlacing Revival
Few television wardrobes have influenced fashion quite like Bridgerton's, inspiring a renewed fascination with corsetry and Regency aesthetics styled for dramatically strolling through a garden in search of gossip.
Alice in Wonderland (2010) — The Red Queen's Dress
Every element of the Red Queen's wardrobe serves the same purpose: making her head look even larger, a fitting design choice for a ruler whose self-importance knows absolutely no bounds.
Sweeney Todd (2007) — Mrs. Lovett's Corset
Every crease, stain and slightly crooked lace tells a story, making Mrs. Lovett's corsets as charmingly chaotic as the woman wearing them.
Marie Antoinette (2006) — Rococo Corsetry
Beneath the pastel gowns and confectionary colour palette lies a subtler story, one told through corsets that become progressively more ornate as Marie's freedom slips further out of reach.
Van Helsing (2004) — Anna Valerious' Leather Corset
Anna's leather corset spent the entire film doing the impossible: surviving horseback chases, vampire attacks and enough action sequences to make most costume designers nervous.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) — Elizabeth Swann's Fainting Corset
One of the most infamous corsets in adventure cinema spends only a few minutes on screen before causing a dramatic fainting spell followed by a daring rescue, setting into motion Elizabeth's transformation from governor's daughter to pirate legend.
Moulin Rouge! (2001) — Satine's Corset
Designed to command attention from the moment she descends from the ceiling, Satine's glittering corset remains one of the most recognizable costumes ever created for the screen.
Xena: Warrior Princess (1995–2001) —The Warrior Corset
Part corset, part armour and entirely unforgettable, Xena's signature silhouette helped redefine what a female action hero could look like for an entire generation.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) — Katrina Van Tassel's Corseted Gowns
Tim Burton's vision of Katrina transformed the traditional period-drama heroine into a dark fever dream, with corseted gowns that remain instantly recognizable a quarter century later.
Titanic (1997) — Rose's Dressing Scene
The sight of Rose gripping the bedpost while her corset is pulled tighter has become one of cinema's most enduring images, capturing the suffocating expectations she spends the rest of the film trying to escape.
Dangerous Liaisons (1988) — Marquise de Merteuil's Dressing Corset
The Marquise's famous dressing scene treats corsetry like armour, lacing her into place before she embarks on another day of social warfare.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) — Frank-N-Furter's Corset
Fishnets may get most of the attention, but Frank-N-Furter's corset helped create one of the most recognizable costumes in cult cinema, inspiring generations of audiences to embrace self-expression with considerably more enthusiasm.
Cleopatra (1963) — Elizabeth Taylor's Gold Corset
Elizabeth Taylor's gold corsets arrived dripping in enough opulence to make modern red carpets feel underdressed, cementing Cleopatra's reputation as the blueprint for every glamorous queen who followed.
Gone with the Wind (1939) — Scarlett O'Hara's Lacing Scene
Long before the phrase "main character energy" entered the cultural lexicon, Scarlett O'Hara was demanding a smaller waist and making it everyone's problem.
There is a reason the corset continues to captivate us long after it disappeared from most everyday wardrobes.
In film and television, it has never been just an undergarment; it has signalled power, rebellion, transformation, seduction and survival. It has crowned queens, armed monster hunters, launched romances and helped create some of the most unforgettable silhouettes in popular culture. Whether laced for battle, tightened by expectation or worn in open defiance of convention, each of these garments tells a story before a single line of dialogue is spoken.
Rewatch an old favourite to admire the artistry behind some of cinema's most iconic costumes.
Which iconic corset would you add to the list? Tell us in the comments and subscribe to receive our free monthly digital issue delivered to your inbox, including a first look at dark feminine culture, the opportunity to vote on future stories and previews of upcoming giveaways.
