You may have noticed, in recent years, a certain fashion trend some people have adopted, consisting of extremely short hair on the sides, longer and swept back hair on top, and which is often tucked beneath a flat cap.
It may be because people think it looks decent, and sometimes it does, especially if your name is Cillian Murphy.
Though it’s also largely thanks to Peaky Blinders as a whole, the Birmingham-set crime drama, starring Murphy and a host of other big name actors, and its rise in popularity.
Murphy, as Tommy Shelby, sports the look in the show, which he credits to hair and makeup designer Laura Schiavo. Aside from the brilliant cast, plot and signature music, the look and feel of the show has become one of its most defining features.
So it’s no wonder that the look has slowly infiltrated today’s culture. Peaky Blinders is, after all, based on a true story of a real-life gang, and it seems as if the fashion of the programme has struck the right notes with a fair few people.
Namely, David Beckham, whose fashion brand – Kent & Curwen – has collaborated with the Peaky Blinders team to create a new collection inspired by the show.
The new items, called Garrison Tailors after one of the pubs owned by the Peaky Blinders gang, include frock coats, tailored suits, argyle sweaters, rugby shirts and, of course, flat caps. Though I doubt there are any razor blades stitched into the peaks.
At an event to celebrate the launch of the new line, Beckham said, via The Guardian:
[I’m] a big fan of the show, and our brand has always been about the look. It keeps that authenticity.
Speaking about the signature flat cap, he said:
I got that from my grandad. I wore his from a very young age. Brooklyn has taken it on as well.
The line was launched with a show at London Fashion Week Men’s, the city’s biannual showcase for menswear. The items were designed by the brand’s creative director Daniel Kearns, and focuses on the theme of British classics.
The Guardian’s senior fashion writer, Lauren Cochrane, described the line as:
A pre-war influence without straying into the costume department. This is a well-pitched balance that works for young men of Brooklyn’s generation, who like their retro references in Insta-friendly bites.
Kent & Curwen has been a fashion label since 1926, when it was founded by Kent and Dorothy Curwen. David Beckham became the majority owner of the label in 2015.
As series five of Peaky Blinders is coming to our screens later this year, the show has grown in popularity since its inception, and is making the move from BBC 2 to BBC 1 for the new season in order to ‘give it the chance to be enjoyed by an even broader audience’.
The first footage of series five was shared earlier this week, and hints at drama to come as the show enters the 1930s, with main man Tommy Shelby taking on his new role as an MP.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.