The British Brands Behind The Gentlemen Season 2

Guy Ritchie’s Netflix hit The Gentlemen is back in all its tweed-clad glory. But between the loafers, Argyle vests and pressed shirts, something looks a little different: this season, the show has traded a selection of its countryside attire for a sun-drenched wardrobe in Italy. But rest assured, our British favourites still sit at the forefront of The Gentlemen‘s sartorial success, says costume designer Loulou Bontemps.

‘It’s just wonderful to be able to celebrate that Britishness, especially on a show like this,‘ she tells C&TH. The designer, who reveals she’s now working on season 3, especially loved reviving the Britishisms that made the show’s clothing stand out the first time around. But she admits there are plenty of twists and turns in store – and not just from the wardrobe department.

Ahead of season 2’s debut on the streaming platform, we caught up with Bontemps to talk British brands, new characters and Hugh Bonneville’s surprise bondage gear. (Yes, really.)

Loulou Bontemps On Designing Costumes For The Gentlemen Season 2

Kaya Scodelario and Theo James in The Gentlemen season 2 (c) Netflix

Hi Loulou, what was it like to return for season 2 of The Gentlemen?

I think season 1 was such a wonderful surprise to everyone – how loved it was. So coming back for season 2, it was a matter of asking ourselves how we were going to do better, and how best we can keep that consistency and continuity and charm that we established in season 1. But it was really good fun.

The way I look at it is season 1 was very much like the toddlers, the young beginning of everybody’s characters, and then season 2 is where everyone’s matured a little bit. They’re more experienced and a little more assertive. And now, going into season 3, we’ve got to step it up again. I’m doing my best to be authentic to what we’ve already established, but also give the audience and our actors something to look forward to – a bit of a step up in their wardrobes that makes sense to their characters and journeys.

Could you talk us through your mood board – what’s new for you this season?

There were so many special occasions this time around, which really allowed me to play dress-up with everybody. You’re not just seeing everybody in their everyday wear; they’re big looks. It’s fun for the actors too, to be able to wear something different and get all dolled up for those occasions.

Normally with TV, because you have so many episodes, they split it into blocks – one, two and three – and they share each block with the design team one at a time. So I’ll start my prep doing a huge amount of research based on the first three scripts I’ve been given. Based on each character’s journey and the arc of the show, I’ll go and do my research for each person – a lot of artwork, a lot of books, a lot of reading, going out to museums, finding authentic pictures (a lot of which are already on the internet) of people just around the world.

And nowadays I put it all together in a video format, so I can capture the interest of my director and keep him entertained. Doing these videos and adding music really helps people immerse themselves in that world of the character, and it makes everyone have a bit of fun with it, rather than just scrolling through a PDF.

Theo James returns as Eddie in The Gentlemen season 2 (c) Netflix

TV is a huge amount of work, but I have such an incredible team – a design team, a work room, a whole team that keep us all standing and organised. There’s a lot of people in my department who help me make all that magic happen for camera. All the different stages of the process are enjoyable in completely different ways, but it’s always really exciting at the beginning, going into your first fitting or first call with the actor, where you share your boards and start talking about the character – especially if it’s a new one coming to the show, and there were a lot of new people who came in for season 2. To get to talk to those new actors and say, ‘Okay, let’s come up with some ideas here,’ is really good fun – and also a big challenge, because we’ve already got so many different characters in the season, so we’re always asking ourselves what we need to do to create a new one.

Working with Guy Ritchie, he always brings out the best costume designer in me. I’m always learning on every job I do with him, and I can’t show him things I’ve done before, because he’ll be like, ‘Seen that, you’ve done that – do better’, but in a really productive, brilliant way.

Could you talk us through how Eddie and Susie have both grown this season, and how that’s reflected in their costumes?

For Eddie [Theo James], season 1 is all about this evolution he goes through. He starts as a humble soldier, and by the end of the season he’s this upper class gangster, and he starts wearing suits and looking just a little more gentlemanly. That’s how we consistently have him throughout season 2. He’s owning the Duke title; he’s definitely very comfortable in his brogues, and being a true aristocrat. And he knows how to dress for different occasions. It was really important that we establish that, for this new chapter for Eddie in particular, there’s no progression there. He’s still dressed as a gentleman.

But the wonderful thing about going to Italy was having this romantic Italian wardrobe for him. It was all a little more relaxed in fit, but still styled as a true gentleman would in the Mediterranean. The Italian episode and building those scenes was just all so fantastic.

Kaya Scodelario’s Susie has more attitude, teases Bontemps (c) Netflix

Susie [Kaya Scodelario] has a little more growth this season. She’s exploring a different industry, and she’s being a little bit naughty in season 2 – mainly upsetting Bobby. There’s a slightly different type of attitude to Susie this season, and she’s definitely a bit more dripped out than she was in season 1. The first time around, Guy really wanted Susie Glass to look like the aspiring Cockney, and now she’s very much comfortable and incredibly assertive, challenging Eddie and challenging Bobby a little bit. But she has some vulnerable moments too. So it’s still very true to Susie Glass’s incredible style, but definitely a little more mature, and maybe with a bit more attitude.

A standout look from season 2 has to be Susie in the sauna.

Ah yes, chunky earrings and a towel. I loved putting that board together. I found all these beautiful classic movie references of just amazing moments – a lot from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Every look is so stylised, even when she’s just wearing her towel robe. I’m like, this is very Susie Glass – she’s not going to take out all of her earrings and her jewellery just because she’s in the sauna. She’s definitely still going to be wearing Chanel when she’s sitting in there, you know.

Hugh Bonneville joins the cast for season 2 (c) Netflix

What role did British brands play in your wardrobe choices?

It’s really wonderful to see how many British brands and British fabric manufacturers there still are, especially in the context of men’s fashion, because the tailoring industry has slowly been decreasing. So it was lovely to explore that and get to know it a bit better.

I found some new independent brands during my research, and to be able to go there and buy their pieces and support them was an absolute joy. I’m a huge fan of supporting small businesses, and I love shopping in markets – I used to trade down at Portobello Green Market myself, so I know them all really well. So any chance I can get to support those independent traders, independent brands, UK-based manufacturers and tailors, I’m like, ‘Yep, let’s go, let’s start there.’

And anything we can’t find, I’ll probably go into vintage shops, high street stores and the luxury end of the market. But we’re so spoilt here in London, particularly – there are so many incredible places to shop and so many incredible markets. As a costume designer, you can really go out and buy characters just in charity shops and vintage markets. Any chance I can support the local community and UK brands.

Any specific brands your reached for?

I’m a huge fan of Thomas Farthing and its whole history. Really, no one’s designing anything new – all of fashion was really designed many, many decades ago, and when you walk into a shop like Thomas Farthing, you feel like you’ve gone back in time, and you can still buy beautiful pieces there that I can put on Eddie Horniman, or anybody in that kind of British, stylish world. The quality of their fabrics is so beautiful.

Cordings is another. Again, when you walk in there you feel like you’re in a gentlemen’s club. I’ve sourced a lot of pieces there, especially for Eddie in season 1 and for Lord Hawthorne [Hugh Bonneville] in season 2. But then you have Purdey and Holland & Holland, the classic, quintessential brands where you go and get your hunting gear. It’s a bottomless list of absolutely brilliant brands.

I’ve become particularly fond of a brand called Elizabeth Gage – Elizabeth herself is just incredible, her history is so wonderful, and I’m definitely a little bit obsessed with her pieces. It’s those little pieces of jewellery that I use for Lady Sabrina, or for Susie Glass, that just complete a look and step it up that little bit more. That’s a wonderful, absolutely wonderful British brand – I’m their number one fan, and they’ve made such a beautiful difference to the show. Keep your eye out for the goat hanging around Lady Sabrina’s neck from Elizabeth Gage – it’s an amazing piece.

Benedetta Porcaroli is another new face in the series (c) Netflix

Speaking of new characters, did you have a lot of fun creating them?

Oh my god, there were so many new characters. Hugh is such an incredible actor. Even just seeing him in the trailers now, I’m like, ‘Wow, he did such an amazing job.’ He was really good fun, and he really wanted to push his character. We were in a fitting and discussing this new idea we had, and eventually I said ‘Okay, well, let’s give Guy a call.’ And it was the most hilarious thing, because there’s a particular scene where Hugh is in bondage kit, so it was this utterly bizarre moment – me on the phone to Guy Ritchie, with Hugh Bonneville and our production designer Martyn John there, having the most bizarre conversation about men in bondage kit. But Hugh was really good fun, and I really needed to create an authentic story with his character, and then add some playfulness as well as the realness that Guy wants in his show. Hugh was an absolute good sport about that.

And then there’s Bella, played by Benedetta Porcaroli. I was obsessed. She has this beautiful Italian spirit and attitude that’s just like, ‘Let’s just do it, I’ll try this on and I’ll try that on.’ We had the most hilarious wedding dress fitting, where I think I had about 20 different gowns in total, and it was so bizarre, because a dress looks like one thing when it’s hanging up, and then you put it on her and she’s like, ‘Oh my god, I look like a 12-year-old girl, this doesn’t look right, let’s try something else.’ She’s fun, she’s naughty, and a little mischievous, but also incredibly full of love – that’s Benedetta herself, but also the character, Bella.

Newcomer Benjamin Clementine is sure to be a favourite, says Bontemps (c) Netflix

And Nanny – Benjamin Clementine – he’s brilliant. In the beginning we wanted him to be a little nondescript, kind of blending in with the family, and then he goes off and plays tennis, so he comes back in his beautiful Sergio Tacchini tracksuits, really looking the part. The way Nanny’s character steps up in season 2 is very interesting – I think the audience is going to be like, ‘Oh, go, Nanny, let’s go!’

Do you have a standout look or moment from this season?

Everyone on our team is a little obsessed with the Italy episode – and me being Mediterranean, it really allowed me to immerse myself in that romantic world. So I’d probably say all the moments where you have the cast together in Italy are probably my favourites. Susie’s attitude is really screaming out with every item she’s wearing, every look is incredibly intentional with the prints and colours. They’re all symbolic, there’s always a purpose behind her choices.

All of those moments when you see them all together, to me, I’m like, ‘Yeah, those are all my characters.’ They all look like how the characters should be in that moment. When I get my motley crew together on camera, they’re always the best moments – and I think the best moments in the show are definitely in Italy.

A sneak peek at the Italian wedding (c) Netflix

How can we bring a little bit of The Gentlemen into our own wardrobe?

To quote Guy Ritchie, it’s that fine line between parody and reality. That’s where his world sits. He still wants it to feel tense and believable, but he wants it to be playful too, without going too far onto the playful side or too far into the serious side. In season 2, we definitely go much darker and deeper, both with wardrobes and the story. But in terms of the looks, it really is about that fine line between the two, and celebrating the world in which those characters grew up.

I always create a backstory for my characters if I’m not given one – it helps to think about what music they listened to, where they went to school, whether they’re from Putney or from Peckham, because it’s two completely different worlds. So if you’re dressing characters, it really helps to have that backstory and that inspiration behind it, because everybody dresses differently – not just in style, but for purpose, function or fashion.

Having fun with it is the most important thing – you have to feel comfortable and love what you’re doing and love what you’re wearing. It’s a wonderful experience to be in a fitting, helping actors work out who their character is. Like when Kaya gets into her wardrobe, she stands differently, she holds her head differently. It’s not Kaya anymore – she literally turns into Susie Glass.

We were having a fitting the other day for season 3, and I was like, ‘Okay, do the Susie pose,’ and she was like, ‘What’s that?’ I said, ‘You know what it is,’ and she did it. I was like, ‘That’s it, that’s your Susie pose.’ It’s a wonderful experience – it feels very special to be able to have that kind of intimacy with your actors, to help them create that world in their mind. But what I’m trying to say is it’s not just about the clothes you’re wearing, it’s about how you’re wearing them.

WATCH

The Gentlemen season 2 is now streaming on Netflix. netflix.com