In HBO’s 'War,' the Divorcees Go to Savile Row

This story contains some spoilers for HBO’s War.In HBO’s punchy new legal drama War, billionaire tech scion Morgan Henderson (Dominic West) is nearly always dressed as though he’s on his way to a board meeting. Or at least that’s how costume designer Matt Price envisioned Henderson’s daily uniform. Set amidst a thrilling and very British divorce between West’s Henderson and Sienna Miller’s Carla Duval, an A-list movie star who’s in the dark about what her husband’s net worth truly amounts to, the show and its costuming also offers a deeper look into the inner workings of the British establishment.War is about divorce, first and foremost, but it’s also about class, something Price played with in crafting a variety of corporate costumes for the central cast. While Henderson occasionally wears a tie, his uniform style of dressing was critical for Price: “I don’t think you can necessarily cheat luxury on camera,” Price says. They agreed early on that he wouldn’t rely on neckties because “it didn’t feel like with his wealth and his position that he ever really needed to go there, to tighten up” in that way.St. John Smallwood (Pip Torrens) and Morgan Henderson (Dominic West) in War. Courtesy of HBOHenderson’s classic suits weren’t initially what the costumer had envisioned for West’s character. “We actually started with 1990s vintage Armani with him,” Price says. The simpler look was what stuck, albeit accented with rare orange detailing or a lilac shirt. “We wanted him to be formal yet kind of relaxed at the same time.”It was also important to highlight the legacy of Savile Row, which is, in the world of the show, mere minutes away from the fictional law firms of Taylor & Byrne and Cathcarts, where West and Duval seek out representation ahead of what inevitably turns into an incredibly messy divorce. “I’ve always been interested in the independence of Savile Row,” Price says. “It’s such a sort of short street and yet it holds so much heritage. It just felt kind of like a natural fit to be able to explore the Ede & Ravenscroft and the Thom Sweeneys and many others down there.”When Price joined the show, the law firms’ spaces had already been designed, so it became his job to craft the outfits that would make sense inside those places. “We had the more traditional heritage space with Cathcarts: wood-clad, more compartmentalized,” he says. For certain characters, that meant classic three-piece Savile Row suits, nip ties, and a trilby hat. At Taylor & Byrne, the outfits couldn’t just be classic—they had to be elevated, modern.Archie Renaux as Johnny Warren. Courtesy of HBOFor Price, the character of overconfident Johnny Warren proved an interesting challenge: as both a double agent and a striving outsider (he had a stint as a restaurant server between law jobs), he needed to fit in with both law firms and yet look slightly out of place at the same time. He had the idea that Warren would have “leftover [clothing] from his time in New York,” such as a classic American button-down, but with details that underlines his position outside the upper echelon of his clients—say, a mismatched striped shirt and a printed tie. “There’s little combinations that don’t necessarily feel exactly correct,” he says.“Maybe he’s got two or three suits that he can afford to buy, so his look doesn’t change that much.”Halfway through the season, as Johnny cozies up to Sienna Miller’s Carla, she helps the young lawyer obtain a new black-tie ensemble, purchased from the same place where Morgan Henderson shops. Price wanted to ensure the look was as classic as possible, with a boxier fit than his everyday look at work. “It was kind of like, where would Morgan potentially go on Savile Row for something really classic for a black-tie event?” he says. They went with Ede & Ravenscroft.Warren in his Ede & Ravenscroft getup. Courtesy of HBOPrice, when he isn’t costuming within the parameters of Savile Row and British tailoring on War, is captivated by newer conventions of formal dressing. Outside of his day job, he’s, “really interested in softer tailoring. I love Kartik Research, for example, and [how the brand is] taking inspiration from different cultures and bringing it into suiting. I think suiting’s really changing drastically at the moment.” He also tells me the readers of this magazine shouldn’t necessarily emulate Henderon’s ultra-staid look when they’re seeking out their next suit. “[Suiting] is all to do with proportions,” he says. “Don’t be afraid to have some fun with tailoring.”