How Theo James became 'The Gentlemen’s' best-dressed gangster, according to the costume designer
Loulou Bontemps breaks down the process of dressing Netflix's most stylish series
WHAT DO Theo James, a pair of baggy-knee shooting trousers and a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona have in common? Well, you can find them all in season two of The Gentlemen.
Costume designer Loulou Bontemps had a clear vision for how Eddie Horniman should look: ’90s references, sharp tailoring and a three-piece suit worn without a shirt. Writer-director Guy Ritchie, however, had other thoughts. “A gentleman can’t wear a suit without a shirt!” he told her, and that kind of back-and-forth, she tells me, is all part of the process.
“I’d say I get it right about 85 per cent of the time. The other 15 per cent is either Guy having fun and messing around, or me getting it completely wrong and us rebuilding it.”
That creative push and pull runs through the entire show. We spoke to Bontemps about Eddie’s watches, Susie’s wardrobe and what it’s like dressing veteran gangster actors such as Ray Winstone.
How have the costumes evolved between seasons one and two? Were there particular characters whose wardrobes you wanted to noticeably change this time around?
Season one’s success surprised us all, and the costumes got a lot of attention, partly because we have so many characters from completely different worlds, each with their own sense of style. For season two, a year has passed and their stories have developed, so the wardrobe needed to reflect that.
Eddie was the main focus. He went through a whole arc in season one, from humble soldier to gentleman gangster, and that continues here. We wanted to establish him immediately as the Duke, comfortable, assured, fully inhabiting British aristocracy and that quintessential country way of dressing. We were able to really push that.
With Susie, she’s making more money, but there are moments of vulnerability, too, so I got to play with that contrast. And season two gave us so many special occasions, a christening, a wedding, drinks parties, which allowed for a much more elaborate wardrobe across the board.
Were there any of Eddie’s costumes that you were particularly fond of or most excited to see on screen?
It’s been really wonderful to hear what the audience responds to, because it’s often not the looks you’d expect.
Guy Ritchie and I have been designing his dream corduroy suit for years. I work with this fantastic tailor, Nathaniel Mackey, who is based in my workroom. He’s brilliant, and together we created this corduroy suit. It doesn’t have a name yet, but the concept is simple: one suit, cut to work on either a man or a woman. A couple could share it.
Theo wears it as Eddie in a dark purple, paired with a Fair Isle button-down denim shirt and a tie. The response to that look has been extraordinary, so many comments, and even Theo himself was won over. He wasn’t sure about it on the hanger, but the moment he put it on, everyone on set just stopped and stared. On camera it looked even better, and the audience have clearly felt the same way.
How much influence do the actors have over what their characters wear? Is it a collaborative process between you, Guy Ritchie and the cast?
I put together these incredible mood boards, lots of movie references, very ’90s in feel, particularly for Eddie, and went through them with Guy. He was immediately on board. “Love that, love this, love that. Brilliant. Go for it.”
So I fitted Theo in a three-piece suit without a shirt, pure Armani, very ’90s, perfect for Italy. When the three of us were together, Guy completely annihilated me. “A gentleman can’t wear a suit without a shirt.” They both still tease me about it.
The shooting costume tells a similar story. I started with plus-fours; Guy said they weren’t big enough. We went up and up, plus-sixes, eights, tens, eventually plus-14s, and even then, on the day, he felt I’d gone too fashion with the overall look. He took the whole thing apart and rebuilt it. I kept the Fair Isle and the plus-14s, but it very much became a joint effort.
Let’s talk a bit about watches in The Gentlemen. How important are they to the characters?
I really care about the little details, and accessories speak volumes in terms of the whole look. With women, it’s jewellery and accessories; with men, it’s particularly watches, then shoes and sunglasses, maybe a hat or a scarf. But watches especially tell a story. There are watches that, if someone is wearing them, they’re part of a very exclusive club. You can tell a genuine collector from someone who’s just wearing it to show off.
It’s a bottomless pit of incredible stories, and I think it’s absolutely fascinating. I didn’t quite realise the power of it until season one came out and I saw all the comments.
In season one, Eddie starts as a humble soldier and eventually turns into the gentleman gangster. In season two, he is that gentleman, he is that gangster, and he’s gone crazy with his watches. He’s gone out, spent his money and really invested in all sorts. Compare that to other characters, and it’s not necessarily about the brands, but the particular watch they’re wearing just sets them apart.
With Susie, she essentially wears the same watch throughout, though we’re changing that up in season three because of the new world she finds herself in. Eddie is still playing around with who he is, trying to get bigger, more powerful, darker. Some characters will quite obviously be wearing a moody watch, and that’s intentional. I can’t put a super-expensive Rolex on everybody. It has to be true to the character and the world they come from.
Did you have to do a lot of research into the watch world for the show?
I work with this incredible woman, Jenna Barnes, a brand strategist who came on board for season two, and between us we’ve built a great relationship with so many luxury brands. Thanks to the success of season one, people were very keen to work with us. We were genuinely spoiled for choice.
Cartier are always incredibly generous, and I think they’re one of my favourites. Their history and storytelling through watches is just extraordinary. But as much as we were lucky with access, there were still moments where I couldn’t put someone in a beautiful luxury piece. You have to keep it true to the character. The actor might be a little disappointed, but it has to be right.
And what about Ray Winstone’s character, Bobby? How did you approach his costumes?
There are some gangster actors in our industry, and Ray Winstone and Vinnie Jones are two of those. I mean, you go mess with them at the end of the day. They have been doing this for so long. They know what looks good on them. They know what they like.
They’ll show up and say, “No, I’m wearing my glasses, thanks.” But with Ray, he wears his Dieter glasses, this is Jacques Marie Mage. We managed to get a beautiful Panerai watch for the show. And then, of course, he’s in a robe the whole time, apart from maybe a couple of scenes, which he thought was hilarious.
We’ve had stuff for him, but at the end of the day he’s just like, “I mean, I’ve got these.” We would replace them and we would get another pair made, but he’s very, you know, he is Bobby in his own way.
When you’re with actors like that who are just so incredibly brilliant, then you have to ride their wave. With the looks that we do put together, it’s also very Guy Ritchie, where he’s wearing his sort of Ralph Lauren suede jacket and shirt and Genuinos.
So you’re definitely getting into character there, but there’s not too much work to be done when you’re working with brilliant people like Ray Winstone.
And he has that such big moment in season two with Susie and Eddie, where everything suddenly gets a little dark. It’s important that the costume just speaks power for that character rather than distracting from anything else that’s going on in that scene.
What can we expect costume-wise for season three?
We did so well in season one, and I’d like to think we successfully elevated it for season two. It’s a slightly different world for season three, so I just need to push the bar a little bit.
We’ve only just started prep, we haven’t started shooting it, so my mission is just stepping up a little bit more. We have some new characters coming in, and I think with each season there are wonderful new female characters as well as male characters.
It’s really fun and interesting to see men’s and women’s fashion juxtapose each other in this powerful, mostly male-oriented world. I’m playing around with that quite a lot in season three and just trying to do bigger and better. We’ll see how we go.
It’ll be a continuation but a step up, essentially.
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