The Style of Power: A Deep Dive into MobLand's Wardrobe & Fashion (Part 2)
In the world of MobLand, clothing isn't just fabric and thread—it's armor, identity, and strategy. Costume designer Rebecca Hale has crafted a visual language that speaks volumes about power, loyalty, and the dangerous game of appearing invisible while controlling everything.
Behind MobLand's tensely thrilling storyline lies a wardrobe department filled with Ralph Lauren suits, Barbour jackets, and Hublot watches—all carefully curated to tell stories without uttering a single word. In this second installment of our MobLand series, we explore the fashion philosophy that defines the Harrigan family and the criminal underworld they inhabit.
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
The Philosophy: Power in Invisibility
Rebecca Hale's research into modern London gang families revealed a crucial insight: unlike the flashy gangsters of 1940s New York or 1960s London, contemporary criminals don't want to be noticed. They've learned that true power operates in the shadows.
"The more recent generations of gangs don't want their clothing to stand out," Hale explains. "They were still expensive, don't get me wrong, but they didn't stand out. They wouldn't wear a Gucci bowling shirt because that is very noticeable."
This philosophy of "expensive but understated" became the foundation for the Harrigan family's wardrobe—with one notable exception: Eddie, the young, flashy wild card who breaks every rule.
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
Conrad Harrigan: Countryside Sophistication
Pierce Brosnan's Conrad Harrigan embodies refined power with a wardrobe that reflects his Irish roots and Cotswolds lifestyle. Hale deliberately chose brands that weren't obviously London, creating an authentic countryside aesthetic.
The Conrad Capsule Wardrobe
Country Attire:
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Dubarry of Ireland knitwear and outerwear
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Purdey moleskin trousers and corduroys
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Purdey long fishing coats
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Barbour jackets for practical countryside wear
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Connolly and Drake's premium knitwear
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Le Chameau boots (the family staple in the boot room)
Business Facing:
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Ralph Lauren tailoring for high-end meetings
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Anglo Italian bespoke suits
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Classic timepieces that whisper wealth rather than shout it
Hale discovered these authentic pieces on a research trip to Cheltenham, finding men's outfitters that catered to the type of wealthy, established gentleman Conrad represents. The result is a wardrobe that looks effortlessly expensive—the kind of clothes that signal old money and established power without a single visible logo.
Conrad's style tells us he's a man who has transcended the need to prove anything. He's moved from London to the countryside, adopting the uniform of landed gentry while maintaining his iron grip on criminal operations. His clothes allow him to move seamlessly between worlds: legitimate businessman, country gentleman, and ruthless crime lord.
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
Maeve Harrigan: The Lady Macbeth Aesthetic
Dame Helen Mirren's Maeve Harrigan dresses in stark contrast to the Cotswolds ladies who lunch. She exists outside their world entirely, and her wardrobe reflects this deliberate separation.
Maeve's Signature Style
Core Pieces:
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All black everything (her signature color palette)
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Dolce & Gabbana silk shirts
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Connolly cashmere pieces
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Armani classic trousers
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Penelope Chilvers boots
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Barbour outerwear when necessary
The Jewelry: A single piece of religious jewelry—a necklace she wears with everything—serves as a constant reminder of her Irish Catholic roots. It's the only overtly personal element in her otherwise austere wardrobe.
The Watch: A classic, expensive timepiece that subtly signals wealth without drawing attention.
Maeve's all-black wardrobe creates a visual representation of her character: powerful, mysterious, and slightly ominous. She's not trying to fit into Cotswolds society; she's above it, beyond it, focused solely on family and empire. The Lady Macbeth comparison is apt—she's the power behind the throne, calculating and ruthless, dressed in mourning black for the lives destroyed in service of the family business.
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
Harry Da Souza: Function Over Fashion
Tom Hardy's Harry required a completely different approach. As the family's fixer, Harry needed to be a chameleon—able to blend into any environment while maintaining the physicality required for his dangerous work.
Harry's Functional Wardrobe
Key Pieces:
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Custom-designed wax jacket (Barbour-inspired silhouette)
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Dunhill shearling jacket
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Salomon shoes (chosen specifically to muffle footsteps)
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Minimal, unbranded clothing
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Functional layers that allow for movement
Tom Hardy himself emphasized that Harry's clothing should never provoke. "Everything about Harry is not meant to provoke—including his clothes," Hale recalls.
Hardy referenced Steve McQueen in Bullitt and Daniel Craig in Barbour for inspiration, leaning toward the latter's understated, functional aesthetic. The result is a wardrobe defined by practicality and stealth.
Harry's Salomon shoes are particularly significant—they help muffle his footsteps, ensuring nobody knows when he's coming. This attention to functional detail extends throughout his wardrobe. Everything serves a purpose. He can wear the same outfit to meet a fentanyl dealer in a dodgy warehouse and then walk into the bar at The Ritz without looking out of place.
"It had to be very minimal," Hale explains. "You could tell it was all expensive, but it didn't really stand out. Nothing was obviously branded."
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
Eddie Harrigan: Designer Excess
Anson Boon's Eddie Harrigan is the glorious exception to the Harrigan family's understated aesthetic. Young, entitled, and desperate to be noticed, Eddie embraces designer labels with enthusiasm that borders on recklessness.
Eddie's Flashy Fashion
Designer Labels:
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Hublot watches (brash and show-off-y)
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Aspesi suits (the suit he wears in the club scene)
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Casablanca pieces
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Burberry designs
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Alexander McQueen statement pieces
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Rose-tinted glasses (literally and figuratively)
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Ridiculous designer jackets
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High-end trainers and accessories
"He's a London kid with more money than sense," Hale laughs. "He wants to wear a designer version of something. It's going to be expensive, and he wants everyone to know it's expensive."
Eddie's wardrobe serves multiple narrative purposes. First, it visually distinguishes him from the rest of the family, marking him as the outsider who doesn't understand the rules. Second, it creates tension—while everyone else is trying to avoid attention, Eddie is practically begging for it. Third, it makes him a target, both for rivals and for the audience's mixed feelings of frustration and sympathy.
Anson Boon embraced the character's fashion-forward approach, going shopping with Hale to build Eddie's wardrobe collaboratively. The result is a character who looks absurd in the best possible way—wearing rose-tinted glasses while getting into serious trouble, making it easier for other characters (and viewers) to be wound up by his antics.
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
Seraphina Harrigan: Modern Sophistication
Mandeep Dhillon's Seraphina represents the modern face of the Harrigan empire—London-based, fashion-conscious, but still adhering to the family's core principle of expensive subtlety.
Seraphina's London Style
Fashion Choices:
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Victoria Beckham pieces
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GANNI designs
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Alexander McQueen statement items
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Clare Haggas scarves (her link to the family's Cotswolds base)
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High-fashion pieces without flashiness
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Le Chameau boots for countryside visits
Seraphina's wardrobe bridges the gap between Eddie's flashy excess and the older generation's understated power. She wears high-fashion labels, but chooses pieces that are sophisticated rather than showy. Her Clare Haggas scarves—from a Cheltenham-based designer—serve as a visual link to the family's countryside headquarters, reminding viewers that despite her London base, she's still very much a Harrigan.
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
The Stevenson Family: Tacky Excess
In deliberate contrast to the Harrigans' understated elegance, the rival Stevenson family embraces a more overtly criminal aesthetic.
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
Richie & Vron Stevenson: South London Flash
Geoff Bell's Richie and Annie Cooper's Vron represent what Hale describes as "south London bridge and tunnel"—think The Only Way Is Essex meets organized crime.
Their Style:
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Tracksuits (avoided for Guy Ritchie's other characters, embraced here)
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"Really bad colours"
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Crocodile shoes
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Horrible belts
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Awful shirts
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Very dated cardigans
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Graphic, loud patterns
"There's been a lot of tracksuits in Guy Ritchie's catalogue, so we had to steer away from that initially," Hale explains. "But with the Stephensons, we looked up really bad colors, nasty-looking shoes, horrible belts, awful shirts, and very dated cardigans. Things were quite graphic with the Stevenson family."
The Stevensons' wardrobe serves as a visual representation of their position in the criminal hierarchy—powerful but lacking the Harrigans' sophistication and restraint. They're nouveau riche criminals who haven't learned that true power doesn't need to announce itself.
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
*Image Sourced From Moviestills
The Power of Accessories
In MobLand, accessories tell crucial stories about character and status.
Watches: The Silent Status Symbols
Watches function as character shorthand throughout the series:
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Eddie's Hublot: Brash, expensive, attention-seeking—perfectly matching his personality
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Conrad, Maeve, and Harry's timepieces: Absolute classics that everyone would wear, chosen specifically not to be noticed
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The contrast between Eddie's flashy Hublot and the family's understated classics visually represents the generational divide
Jewelry: Identity and Heritage
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Maeve's religious necklace: Worn with everything, connecting her to Irish Catholic roots
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Seraphina's Clare Haggas scarves: Linking her London sophistication to the family's countryside base
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Minimal jewelry throughout—nothing that draws unnecessary attention
Footwear: Function and Statement
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Harry's Salomon shoes: Chosen specifically to muffle footsteps—function over fashion
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Le Chameau boots: The family standard for countryside wear, lined up in the boot room
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Penelope Chilvers boots: Maeve's practical yet expensive choice
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Eddie's high-end trainers: Another opportunity for designer excess
The Research Process: Building Authentic Looks
Rebecca Hale's approach to costume design for MobLand was deeply rooted in research and collaboration.
Mood Boards and Mood Boxes
Hale created "moving mood boards" set to music, bringing the costume concepts to life before a single piece was purchased. She also developed innovative "mood boxes"—physical dioramas with cardboard figures dressed in proposed costumes, placed in miniature sets to visualize how everything would work together.
London Gang Research
Hale researched famous London gang families, including the Adams Family (Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate), paying particular attention to how modern criminals dress to avoid attention. This research revealed that contemporary gangsters favor expensive but unbranded clothing—a crucial insight that shaped the entire Harrigan aesthetic.
Location-Based Shopping
Rather than relying solely on London fashion houses, Hale traveled to Cheltenham to find authentic countryside outfitters that would dress someone like Conrad. This commitment to authenticity resulted in discovering brands like Dubarry of Ireland that perfectly captured the character's identity.
The Collaboration: Working with Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie's specific vision shaped the costume design throughout production. He wanted the show to look different from The Gentlemen while maintaining believability. Every element—cars, clothes, sets, locations—had to feel authentic.
"The big thing was that it had to look believable," Hale emphasizes. "Guy was quite specific that he didn't want it to look like The Gentlemen, so we had to build from another area."
Ritchie's preference for "moving mood boards" set to music helped Hale build narrative through costume, creating visual stories that complemented the script.
The Impact: Clothes That Tell Stories
What makes MobLand's costume design exceptional is how the wardrobe advances character development and narrative without calling attention to itself (Eddie excepted).
The audience may not consciously notice that Conrad's Dubarry knitwear signals his Irish roots, or that Harry's unbranded jacket allows him to move between worlds, or that Maeve's all-black wardrobe creates a Lady Macbeth atmosphere—but these choices register subconsciously, enriching the viewing experience.
"I wanted the audience to sort of not notice the clothes, but then take a second look and think, 'Oh wow, that's interesting,'" Hale explains. "I wanted the clothes to help tell the story without getting in the way of the acting and the plot playing out onscreen."
Style Lessons from MobLand
For viewers looking to incorporate MobLand's aesthetic into their own wardrobes, several key principles emerge:
1. Invest in Quality Over Logos The Harrigans prove that true luxury doesn't need visible branding. Quality fabrics and expert tailoring speak louder than any logo.
2. Dress for Your Environment Conrad's countryside wardrobe differs from his business attire, which differs from Harry's functional pieces. Context matters.
3. Accessories Tell Your Story A classic watch, meaningful jewelry, or quality footwear can communicate more than an entire outfit.
4. Know When to Break the Rules Eddie's flashy excess works because everyone else is understated. Strategic rule-breaking can be powerful.
5. Function Can Be Fashionable Harry's practical wardrobe proves that functional clothing can still look sophisticated and expensive.
The Verdict: Fashion as Character
Rebecca Hale's costume design for MobLand elevates the series from entertaining crime drama to visual masterpiece. Every character's wardrobe tells a story, reveals personality, and advances the narrative.
From Conrad's countryside sophistication to Eddie's designer excess, from Maeve's Lady Macbeth blacks to Harry's functional minimalism, the clothing in MobLand does what all great costume design should do: it makes the characters more real, more complex, and more compelling.
As we await Season 2, one thing is certain—the Harrigans will continue to prove that in the criminal underworld, the most dangerous people are often the ones you don't notice until it's too late.
Both parts of our MobLand series are now complete. Stream all ten episodes of Season 1 on Paramount+, and watch closely—you'll never look at a Barbour jacket or a pair of Salomon shoes the same way again.
"PEOPLE WILL STARE. MAKE IT WORTH THEIR WHILE" - HARRY WINSTON -
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