Apple TV+ continues to build its library of historical dramas, adding 18th century setting”franklin“and conspiracy thriller”Hunt”To your spring offers. With stories taking place almost 100 years apart, the two titles share an affinity for power dress. On Starz, “Mary & George” highlights how attractive clothes can help woo a Jacobean king, and Paramount+ with Showtime maintains the sartorial flourishes with more than 30 years of “A gentleman in Moscow,”which opens in Russia in the 1920s.
Corsets and gorgeous dresses have long dominated the period costume design conversation. But in 2024, turning back the clock shows how men's fashion is attracting attention. Here, costume designers Annie Symons (“Mary & George”), Olivier Bériot (“Franklin”), Katie Irish (“Hunt) and Sam Perry (“A Gentleman in Moscow”) examine head-turning men's clothing across four centuries.
George Villiers (Nicholas Galitzine) looks glamorous in Starz's “Mary & George.”
(Rory Mulvey/Starz)
Instead of pushing her daughter toward a rich suitor, Mary Villiers (Julianne Moore) wields her son, George (Nicholas Galitzine), as a dazzling weapon to get closer to King James I (Tony Curran). First, Mary sends an unrefined George, dressed in drab brown, to France in 1612 to learn how to be a gentleman. “When George comes back, it's high fashion, beyond fashion. All the other boys dress in a mix of Elizabethan or early Jacobean style,” says Symons.
A seductive dance in a sheer embroidered shirt, crimson ruff, and gold leather belt allows George to seduce the king. Director Oliver Hermanus “was very interested in us seeing the male form, particularly through these fine fabrics, and there's a great sensuality to that,” adds Symons. “It's suggestive, not explicit, and I think these fabrics are very beautiful and move well.” King James's penchant for attractive men and jewels was no secret, and George welcomed symbols of “power, money and style” such as lace and pearls. “A single pearl [earring] It is synonymous with age. I think it was a good look. “I know Nick likes it and Tony likes it and according to TikTok, everyone has gone crazy for it.”
George Villiers is not the only one getting a wardrobe upgrade in France. Let's jump to 1776, when 17-year-old Temple Franklin (Noah Jupe) travels with his grandfather, Benjamin Franklin (Michael Douglas), to Paris to rally support against the British. In an act of adolescent rebellion, Temple follows the French aristocratic tendencies favored by his new friends, as the future war hero. Lafayette (Theodoro Pellerin). “Temple embraced the elegance of these guys. “We bought this fabric, which is a silk with a design (a very rich type of silk from Lyon) to show how he tried to look different from his grandfather,” says Bériot.
Bériot presented veteran television director Tim Van Patten with mood boards featuring paintings from the eight years the Franklins spent in France, along with an image from a contemporary collection. “For the grandson, I looked at a big fashion brand like Balmain for H&M, and I make a parallel between a painting from that period and this aspect to give a feeling of today,” says Bériot. Although Temple's wardrobe is renewed, green is an anchoring tone, as it matches the only color of the young man's paint.
Ewan McGregor as Count Rostov in “A Gentleman in Moscow.”
(Ben Blackall/Paramount+ with Showtime)
In what is known as the “Pretty Woman” scene, Temple undergoes a classic teenage makeover in the first episode. “I push each character a little bit to be funnier because I think it's a fun moment in the story and it was fun to do,” Bériot notes. Do you think gender fluidity is a modern phenomenon? Not so, says Symons. “Jacobean style as menswear was becoming feminized in many ways,” but French fashion in the 1770s further turned the dial on gender fluidity.
Unlike George and Temple, actor and assassin John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle) eschews color in “Manhunt.” Set in the period before and after President Lincoln's assassination, Booth favors statement pieces like a black fedora slouch. “I think it shows Booth's style because it's so different from the everyday hats we see that he stands out from the crowd,” Irish says. Other such effects while Booth's tie clip, pinky ring and monogrammed leather boots add to his carefully curated image.
As in “Manhunt,” Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov (Ewan McGregor) in “A Gentleman in Moscow” wears a monogrammed signet ring as part of his style identity. “Some people have looked at me like I'm crazy when I say I love menswear because it seems like a very serious, rigid set of rules,” Irish says. “But there are so many little options within them that you can customize it that way.”
He 2024 awards season showed an increase in brooches and lapel pins worn by men, reminiscent of the 19th century. “One of the things about this specific period of Victorian men's fashion is that it is a 'more is more' period where men had tons of jewelry at their disposal. Yeah you could afford it,” adds Irish.
Brandon Flynn, left, and Tobias Menzies in Apple TV's “Manhunt.”
(Chris Reel)
Look Closer at 'Manhunt': Wolf Footage Appears in Secretary of War Edwin Stanton's Film (Tobias Menzies) accessories. Lincoln nicknamed Stanton “Mars” and the animal associated with the Roman god of war was the wolf. “We made some custom buttons that had wolves on them based on some we had found in research,” Irish says. “My prop master came and he had the most beautiful clock with a wolf head on it.” Custom vests with intricate embroidery signify wealth and highlight Stanton's mood and loyalty through shades of blue: “There's a certain peacock look about just being so proud of what he and Lincoln have accomplished.”
Leadership values change, but the Bolsheviks put them under permanent house arrest for the luxury of Hotel Metropol in “A Gentleman in Moscow” does not prevent Alexander from dressing like an aristocratic man. “We started with him being more peacock, very cocky and a big contrast to what was going on in the rest of Russia,” Perry says. “We had the most matching socks and scarves… all the details.”
Since Alexander no longer has the option (or finances) to venture to London or Paris, it helps that the count's footwear is of excellent quality. “Dressing your shoes became redundant after he was there for a while, but they were well made, they were good things, and he didn't throw them away,” Perry notes.
Alexander's romance with movie star Anna Urbanova (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) gives the former earl an opportunity to make money on clothing. “They are both more peacock-like and glamorous when they fall in love and grow together as a couple,” adds the costume designer. “I thought it was lovely to do it with knitwear and softened fabrics, using different flannels circa 1940s and 1950s.” Priorities evolve, jacket lengths rise and fall and formal wear is seen less frequently, but attention to detail remains.
Without a doubt, fun menswear that does not take a backseat is in fashion on television and on the red carpet. “It goes in and out of fashion over decades or centuries,” Symons says. “I think it's having another renaissance.”
