Debuting on March 7, The Gentlemen offers TV viewers a fresh glimpse into the universe first depicted in Ritchie's 2020 film of the identical title. Despite featuring entirely new characters, the upcoming television series promises to retain the same level of intensity as the movie, while also unveiling a plethora of innovative surprises, as unveiled in the latest trailer.
We are honoured to say that a lot of the clothing pieces featured in ‘The Gentlemen‘ were purchased here at Stuarts London ahead of filming - in particular some Sergio Tacchini, Fred Perry, Astorflex, Gabicci & Baracuta favourites. Ahead of the series' launch, we sat down with The Gentlemen's costume designer, Loulou Bontemps, to get a rundown of her inspirations for the show’s costumes, her time on the show and how she managed to source some of the outfits.
How do you begin work on a project of this size? What does the research/preparation process look like?
LouLou: I start with my characters boards. Discussing with GR the key characters, their personalities and for cast like Theo / EDDIE their style evolution throughout the show. Once each character board was created we focused on the more stylised looks, like the ball or the ‘chicken suit’ for example. My research comes from fashion, art, textiles and film. Dan / FREDDIE’s ‘chicken suit’ for example; I thought the idea of a chicken costume was quite boring and safe so I found a beautiful painting of a colourful cockerel and just imagined Freddy wearing something like that in slow motion riding a quad bike and the ‘cock couture’ was born. We made the whole costume bespoke.
What was the initial brief for planning out looks & outfits for The Gentlemen?
LouLou: There was no one brief, it was a brief per character. From that their wardrobe was created. Guy wanted it quintessentially Guy Ritchie, which essentially means heightened and stylised, something his fans get excited about.
How long before the filming begins do you have to start preparing the looks?
LouLou: I had about 12 weeks prep, but having been previously working with GR we’d been discussing the show for quite some time.
Where do you draw inspiration from? Did any other characters or previous shows/films inspire you when creating the vision for The Gentlemen?
LouLou: There are so many inspirations from people to paintings! EDDIEs look evolves from the humble gentlemen to the gangster gentlemen we end Season One with, you can see that through the style evolution of his wardrobe. SUSIE is an aspiring cockney, who dresses very London in style, mixing luxury brands with gorgeous vintage. FREDDY has some iconic moments, his fight night costume was inspired by an interesting portrait painting Martyn John our Production Designer sent me of a blond gentleman posing in a suit with a fur coat on. When I saw it, I immediately thought of Dan / FREDDY. I had to push GR a bit to get away with that look, it’s Brad Pitt in Fight Club, it’s him playing dress up as a wannabe gangster.
We also had a huge amount of fun creating Giancarlo / UNCLE STANs look; the billionaire who always has to be dressed a little different to those around him. His burgundy velvet tux and trews for the ball was fun look to create. His watch game is unreal! And I think my preferred look was inspired by a photo of Clark Gable shopping for watches, UNCLE STAN wears it while he prepares his ball invitations. A houndstooth blazer with ribbed knit sweater over his shoulders. I mean the references go on and on.
There is a little nod to the movie at the fish market. We follow Susie's red bottom shoes in to the market wearing a tweed co-ord and red birkin haha so much fun. This being a reference to a scene with Rosalind Pearson in the film where we follow her red bottoms shoes into the garage.
Which piece(s) used in the show was the hardest to find?
LouLou: The watches and designer handbags. GR wanted luxury to be on display where it needed to be so we had to loan out quite a few extra special luxury watches and bags from private collectors and traders.
You sourced a few of the Sergio Tacchini pieces from us here at Stuarts, what was the reasoning behind featuring Sergio Tacchini in the Gentlemen?
LouLou: I had such a lovely fitting with Peter Serafinowicz, he walked in and saw Tacchini tracksuits and was taken back to his childhood up north. We had such a fascinating converaston about how much this brand meant to him back home. I needed to recreate the Toddlers from the film somehow with Tommy and Gospel Johns gang. Brands like Sergio Tacchini were perfect. It was a style statement and it works so wonderfully for his character and the whole gang. A brilliant juxtapose against the posh Halsteads in their country estate.
Was there any particular brand or piece that Guy Ritchie himself requested to be used?
LouLou: No, he requests are more about style than anything else.
Which character/actor was the hardest to dress or buy for and why?
LouLou: None, it was all a delight.
Do any of the actors ever request to keep certain pieces after filming is complete?
LouLou: Yes they all do generally, if they wardrobe is dreamy they want it all. If it’s fun, they want a souvenir of course haha
If you could steal one piece or outfit from the wardrobe department from the Gentlemen, which piece would it be and why?
LouLou: Haha I don’t need to, most of the vintage stock was my own, I have a bottomless stock of stunning vintage pieces. Maybe Lady M’s magpie hat she wore at the funeral, one for sorrow, gifted to her from Geoff. It’s a work of art, made by Tamsin Pearson ‘In Full Plume’ bespoke headpieces.
What project are you working on next?
We worked on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare after The Gentlemen, which is out in April I can’t wait for everyone to see! The late 30s early 40s are such a dreamy fashion period to design. I am currently working on a studio film with John Krasinski and Natalie Portman, not sure I can reveal anything but we’re having fun!
You can get in touch with LouLou through her website, her Instagram or her IMDb. Thanks again LouLou for this great insight into the wardrobe design for The Gentlemen & a big thank you to the team for allowing us to supply & be a part of this project.