Classic plaids and tweeds, stylish tailoring and expensive watches; shoppers are increasingly trying to emulate the old British upper-class style depicted in Guy Ritchie’s hit Netflix series The Gentlemen.
How to translate the extravagant outfits worn by the characters in this movie about nobles-turned-gangsters into real life has sparked a lot of debate online, from the red velvet suit worn by Susie Glass, played by Kaya Scodelario, to Theo James, who played Eddie Horniman in three films. in tattered tweed and his brother Freddy, played by Daniel Ings, in a hand-feathered chicken costume.
Pinterest reported an increase in search terms such as “Theo James aesthetic”, “flat hat”, “tweed jacket outfit” and “vintage watches” in the week since the series aired. Asos has published a guide on how to recreate the show’s style using clothes, while Savile Row tailor Henry Poole & Co has partnered with Netflix on cufflinks and a silk scarf.
Brands featured in the series say they have seen significant increases in sales. Piccadilly’s Cordings said it had a “really positive impact”, with the Wincanton trouser suit worn by Joely Richardson as Lady Sabrina and the Follifoot coat worn by Ings’ Freddy, who is currently on the waiting list. Clare Haggas, which supplies the printed scarves, has seen “an increase in website visits, sales and new customers”.
Gentlemen are trying to capture the signifiers of class possessed by the kind of people who inherit country estates. Although enhanced by Ritchie’s signature style, foreign audiences were surprised to learn that the traditional yet eccentric looks worn by British aristocrats in The Gentlemen were not that far from reality and far from quiet luxury.
Ings said: “The lovely man, who is the real duke of the house, would come down and look around while we were filming, wearing bright red cords and checkered shirt – of course I don’t think he’s there. “There’s anything about it in terms of the Horniman clan and that style, which is incredible. ”
Loulou Bontemps, the show’s costume designer, said she was inspired by “walking around London or observing people in the countryside”, adding that she chose “quintessentially British brands”.
“Anyone who lives in the countryside or knows someone who owns property or goes to one of their bars has met someone like that, but Americans think it’s ridiculous. This is something Guy is very passionate about: Every story must be believable, even if it is exaggerated and stylized. “It was exciting for people to see a cool version of the hypothetical way people living in that world dressed,” he said.
Ings said his character’s flamboyant and eccentric style reflects his “ultimate exclusivity”. “We were trying to convey the idea of the traditional country gentleman as someone who wears checkered shirts, woolen jumpers and colorful cords, but wears them wrong. So, wear it like a flat hat worn backwards, or walk around in pajamas with the vest outside. So there’s a laissez-faire mentality, ‘I know these are the rules but I don’t really care’.”
He added that he had a disagreement with Ritchie over his character’s flamboyance, particularly the huge fur coat he wore during an underground boxing match in the first episode.
“My feeling was: [Freddy] on these occasions he would dress how he thought people should look and he would get it wrong – big sunglasses, big fur coats, he would say, ‘I can come and hang out with the hoi polloi’ and Guy would think that was a bit too much. nose.
“Freddy would see Snatch and he was dressed like Brick Top in Snatch and he said ‘Brick Top wouldn’t dress like that’ and I said ‘yeah but Freddy doesn’t know that’. As a result, we went and tried on an even larger fur coat. I finally found my way.”
Bontemps and Ings acknowledge that Ritchie, as a director, is strikingly interested in how his characters dress, how colors, fabrics and style appear on screen. “He cares a lot and he knows a lot about it too, so you can’t get away with anything when it comes to things like watches and sunglasses,” Ings said.
Bontemps thought the interest in clothes, many of them vintage, reflected the growing desire for eco-friendly, circular fashion. “I think a lot of people are putting more effort into wearing more suits rather than just streetwear – I think the new movement is to buy vintage and second-hand, find things and make them.”
Gentlemen reflects the rarefied world of ancestral wealth and status depicted in Saltburn, one of the most controversial recent films for its sense of style, also set on a country estate.
Helen Warner, associate professor at the University of East Anglia who researches fashion in film and television, thinks the coded style in The Gentlemen tells the story of “the idiosyncrasies of the British class system” through its “anti-fashion” approach. The characters prefer timelessness over trends, reflecting the privilege of being able to wear old clothes without the risk of looking unkempt.
Paradoxically, he thinks the British aristocracy may be having a moment due to the general decline in living standards. “I wonder if this is a response to increasing wealth inequalities in our society,” he said. “There is a fascination with how those with power and money live their lives because their material realities are so different from the rest of us.”