Rivals, Dominic Treadwell-Collins’s exuberant adaptation of the delicious Jilly Cooper romp, knows its appeal – copious sex, endless yearning, jaw-dropping boardroom manoeuvres and an unapologetically ostentatious ’80s wardrobe, as provided by British TV veteran Ray Holman (Broadchurch, Fleabag, Doctor Who). Now, the talented costume designer is back to outfit all of our favourites – Bella Maclean’s wide-eyed Taggie O’Hara, Nafessa Williams’s no-nonsense TV producer Cameron Cook, David Tennant’s conniving CEO Tony Baddingham, Alex Hassell’s charismatic MP Rupert Campbell-Black, Aidan Turner’s dashing journalist Declan O’Hara – for a rip-roaring second instalment.
It finds two factions at war: Tony is determined to hold onto power at the helm of TV network Corinium, while its rival, Venturer, the new upstart from Rupert, Declan and self-made businessman Freddie Jones (Danny Dyer), faces an uphill battle. As a result, all our ambitious power players are dressed to kill – the shoulder pads are bigger, the suits sharper and the embellishment even more eye-popping. Paired with hair backcombed to the heavens, giant earrings and bright red lips, it’s a knockout.
Ahead of the show returning to Disney+ from 15 May, Holman discusses the ’80s icons on his moodboard, the designer archives he delved into and the Vogue covers which provided inspiration.
The first season of Rivals was such a hit. Does that mean even more designers wanted to lend you pieces from their archives this time around?
Well, when we came back, I said to the executives and directors, “Can I carry on with the naturalistic look?” And they said yes. It’s a decision to make this world feel real. And yes, there is some of that from designers. Obviously, I have to make sure one brand doesn’t get preference over others, but we had great support. For Rupert, for example, Dunhill let me go into their ’80s archives and get three blazers and a suit. Mulberry also sent me a box of original ’80s classic bags to use – saddlebags and evening bags. And Ray-Ban sent me a load of sunglasses, Longines and Omega gave us watches, Burberry helped, too. We just had to be careful about how we used them, mixing them with non-designer pieces and everyday clothes.
What was on your season two moodboard?
I have a personal collection of The Face throughout the ’80s, and Vogue and Tatler too, so I went through them. This season takes place in 1987, so on the covers of British Vogue you have Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell. For Cameron, we also looked at Sade and Whitney Houston.
And then in Hayley Atwell’s character [a newcomer in season two, as Rupert’s ex-wife], there’s some Cindy and Linda Evangelista – she wears this big dramatic hat in one scene, which was bespoke and is inspired by their looks from this period. It’s all wide shoulders, nipped-in waists, tailoring. I also looked at the adverts in the magazines – the brands, the models. For every character, we put their season one looks on a board, and thought about how we can go bigger, deeper and move it forward.
Talk to me about Taggie. How is she growing as a character?
She’s completely naturalistic. There was a point in the mid ’80s when there were these white cotton shirts with embroidery on them. I’ve done a bit of that, and kept her Levi’s and cowboy boots. She also has comfy pumps, cowboy belts, classic denim dresses, high-backed dungarees – there’s a black denim pair; they were a remake of an original I found in the ’80s. And this season, we’ve also given Taggie some cashmere jumpers, because now she’s cooking and earning money. They’re from vintage cashmere sites.
Her clothes aren’t pompous. The references for her are, like, people at polo matches. When people think of polo matches in the ’80s, they remember them as being more dressed up than they actually were. It’s that Sloaney look, but Taggie isn’t a Sloane Ranger. It’s very simple and classic.
Coming back to Cameron, how is she different this time around?
In series one, we were establishing Cameron as a ballbreaker. Now, she’s a bit damaged – she’s been through a lot. We’ve kept the red, but only when we need that dramatic feel. Elsewhere, I went with softer tailoring and longer skirts. At the polo match, she’s in a copy of a Ralph Lauren suit from the period. There are moments when she goes for it, fashion-wise – we looked at Armani, she has Armani trousers, and also Lolita Lempicka and Azzedine Alaïa. And I do have an outfit later in the series which is inspired by Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel in that period.
And when it comes to the men in their suits, how do you make each of those characters feel distinct?
With Tony, Jilly wrote that he went to see Bugsy Malone and based himself on the gangster – so it’s that double-breasted, chalk-striped style, single-breasted with waistcoats. He has everything, it’s all new, bespoke and that’s the point. He’ll have braces, a hanky, shoes with buckles on the sides and brash socks.
Rupert is more subtle – he doesn’t do any of that. He’ll have Prince of Wales checks. His suits might not be quite as new, but they’re classic. They sometimes have that hand-me-down quality. He likes blues and greys, he wears brogues, a houndstooth coat, he doesn’t like big stripes. We try to take ties off him as much as possible. But then he’s an MP, so he has those MP suits, and also that little bit of tweediness that comes from his riding. His clothes are really influenced by that.
Then we have Declan, who is in pure Irish tweed, and Freddie whose clothes are a little bit brasher. And it comes through in the accessories, too. Freddie has a ’80s gold digital watch. Tony has the flashiest watches, two or three, and then Rupert has a Longines because they used to sponsor polo in the ’80s. Declan’s is an Omega.
The show has so many other huge characters. Who else do you enjoy dressing?
Valerie [the wife of Danny Dyer’s Freddie, played by Lisa McGrillis], Maud [Declan’s wife, played by Victoria Smurfit] and Monica [Tony’s wife, Lady Baddingham, played by Claire Rushbrook] – I absolutely love dressing them.
Rivals season two airs on Disney+ from 15 May, with a three-episode premiere, followed by more episodes later this year.