This March, on Netflix, an exciting new series by Guy Ritchie premiered. It's a series that extends the world of his 2020 film The Gentlemen onto television. Although the series has the same name, it features brand new characters and plot lines, but it also has the same Guy Ritchie-esque gangster charm many of us know and love from the movie. Take a look at the trailer below (Warning: very strong language).
The series follows the adventures of the aristocratic Horniman family over eight episodes. After the ninth Duke dies, Eddie Horniman (played by Theo James), soldier and second son, is surprised (as is everyone else) to find that he has inherited the title and estate over his feckless older brother Freddy. Shockingly, it's not the only secret that his father has been hiding. Eddie, the newly minted tenth Duke of Halstead, is stunned to discover that his ancient family holdings are being run as a cannabis farm by a large and powerful gangster family headed by Susie Glass (Kaya Scodelario) in her incarcerated father's absence (Ray Winstone). At first, Eddie tries to extricate himself from the arrangement. However, after discovering Freddy is in debt to the tune of eight million pounds to a bunch of different gangsters, Eddie concedes that the unconventional arrangement is his only way forward. Throughout the series, we see the escapades this somewhat ungentlemanly life (and his brother Freddy's antics) lead him into.
The costumes were curated and designed by LouLou Bontemps (@maisonbontemps). The stories of the Hornimans, Susie Glass, and the other characters are skilfully embedded into each outfit.
Lady Sabrina Horniman (Joley Richardson)
Lady Sabrina Horniman is Eddie and Freddy's mother, the new Dowager Duchess, and the family's matriarch. On the surface, she appears to be upstanding, honest, and refined. Lady Sabrina initially aims to encourage her son Eddie away from involvement in the criminal world he has been unwittingly dragged into. However, as events unfold throughout the series, it becomes apparent that Lady Sabrina isn't as clueless or innocent as first assumed. She takes an ever-increasing role in supporting her son's enterprises and is generally an encouraging mother to all three of her unconventionally behaved children. There is also the thread of a charming relationship between her and the groundskeeper, Geoff (Vinnie Jones), which appears like a show of courtly love on Geoff's behalf until a shocking twist is hinted at in Episode Five and becomes evident in subsequent instalments.
Lady Sabrina's style subtly indicates her character and temperament. According to LouLou BonTemps, she chose a more stylish look for Lady Sabrina with a European twist rather than the quintessential lady-of-the-manor look. Her outfits are more casual but still classic and fashionable.
At her husband's funeral, the ninth Duke, we see Lady Sabrina in a traditional black mourning look with a very intriguing headpiece. The hat sports a singular stuffed magpie, which indicates her loss (one for sorrow in the traditional rhyme) but is also the first hint at the relationship between her and Geoff.
For most of the series, we see Lady Sabrina striding around the estate in a variety of suitable but stylish outdoor ensembles. She sports many gorgeous coats, capes, and jackets made of shearling or tweed, fashionable fedoras, flat caps, or cosy fur hats all worn at jaunty angles, cashmere jumpers in rich jewel tones with complementary silk scarfs, white blouses, and beautifully tailored trousers.
Lady Sabrina's style doesn't change throughout the series like Eddie's. Her choice of outfits reflects her character, and that stays true to the very end if only her family could see it before the crisis point occurs.
The Takeaways
Have you watched The Gentlemen on Netflix? Will you be watching? Watch for the other characters' outfit choices and style evolutions. Would you wear any of Lady Sabrina's pieces?
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