It’s 30 degrees outside and we are at an elegant stable in Buenos Aires. Amid a vista of perfectly manicured polo fields, Poppy Delevingne sits on a horse, resplendent in vintage Ralph Lauren. Welcome back to the world of Riviera.
As the saying goes, nothing succeeds like excess. Sky's high-octane, high-glamour original series is certainly testament to that. There’s a pacy, Bond-esque plot, awash in art theft and murder. Dreamy, sun-drenched backdrops offer a tantalising glimpse of the Côte d’Azur, while an endless parade of high fashion has doubtless spawned a million Net-a-Porter searches. Little wonder the show quickly became Sky’s most successful original series of all time (since overtaken by Chernobyl).
I’m here to meet Rebecca Hale, the woman who has taken over Riviera’s costume design. A quick scan of the many mood boards around her trailer shows this is no small undertaking. ‘We just dressed 300 people for a single opera scene,’ she says, calling to mind Cecil Beaton’s couture crowds at Royal Ascot in My Fair Lady. ‘We shipped 150 huge boxes to Buenos Aires alone.’
Because while the intriguing what-the-hell-just-happened plot kept us all binge-watching into the small hours, it’s the breath-taking visuals that really elevate the show. Gleaming superyachts, palatial garden parties and sweeping shots of a glittering coastline conspire to create a visual masterpiece. And the fashion is the jewel in the crown of that money-no-object fantasy. Julia Stiles in impeccable, razor-sharp tailoring. Delevingne in sweeping, yacht-perfect Erdem. Jack Fox in crisp white linen that creases not a jot. It’s pure, distilled escapism – and who doesn’t need a drop of that these days?
Indeed, it comes as no surprise that Zai Bennet, Sky’s Director of Programming stated that they ‘set out to make the most glamorous show in the world’.
‘Everything about Riviera is heightened,’ agrees Hale. ‘And to me, the clothes are as integral as the dialogue – they are a huge part of it.’
So where will season three take us? Surely we’ve exhausted the ill-fated Clios family by now? ‘It’s exciting this season,’ says Stiles, who joins us fresh from a long day’s shoot. ‘It’s a bigger show. Georgina has separated from the Clios family, changed back to her maiden name and is trying to start fresh.’
Many of the original cast have moved on, but a strong Anglophile thread remains. Alongside Delevingne and Fox are homegrown stars Rupert Graves – you’ll recognise him from Sherlock – and Clare-Hope Ashitey of Doctor Foster.
The Riviera itself no longer occupies centre-stage: Georgina moves back to London before quickly finding reason to flit in and around the world’s most glamorous cities.
‘It’s definitely more international,’ says Stiles. ‘The French Riviera has always been a title character, but [the show] encompasses not just that location but the glamour and that aspirational wealth.’ For anyone concerned, however, there are a few stopovers in the original setting. ‘My arm gets twisted and I have to go back to St Tropez.’ Thank God for that.
However, we begin in Venice, to Hale’s delight. ‘I know Venice quite well and I really wanted to bring the Catholicism, the suppression and the bold colours into the outfits,’ says the designer. ‘I wanted the palate to be gold and broken-down pinks, which would look amazing against the city.’ Upon searching for Georgina’s opening look, Hale had strict criteria: ‘It had to have impact, it had to go from day to night, and it had to survive her running along the backstreets.’
The perfect piece was already in her initial sketches for the show: a stunning, floor-length tea dress by Gucci that Hale had spotted on Hailey Baldwin some years before. ‘I’m not tied to fashion seasons,’ she explains. With a few other options on the table she left the final call to Stiles. ‘She got to the palazzo and said: “It’s got to be the Gucci dress”. And she looked incredible in it. She wears that outfit the whole way through episode one and you just don’t get bored of it.’
Has Georgina changed in this series? ‘She’s more front-footed,’ says Stiles, ‘which is making her happier. Even though she’s swept up in an elaborate mystery, she’s more in the driver’s seat. Instead of dealing with all the grief and tragedy around her, she’s jumping into the fire, and it’s thrilling and exhilarating.’ She adds, ‘Style-wise, I think Rebecca has made her slightly tougher and maybe edgier.’
‘Georgina is a woman you would aspire to be,’ says Hale. ‘She’s got the right moral compass, she looks great, she’s got a brain, she’s an empowered woman. I try to make clothes her armour but in a way that doesn’t override her.’
This season’s fashion also branches into the worlds of vintage and – whisper it – repeats. ‘That’s one thing I think Rebecca is really clever about,’ says Stiles. ‘Not that she’ll repeat an entire outfit, but a speciality piece. When women invest a lot of money in a bag or an accessory, they reuse it.’
Despite having left our title character behind, Riviera still offers plenty of opportunities for Stiles to dress up. Standout looks include a long scarlet Elie Saab dress, a beautiful backless dress in deep maroon by Roland Mouret (‘One of the only designers who still makes nice, close-fitting pieces,’ notes Hale) and a billowing Giles Deacon look that became the new season’s poster shot. ‘The minute Julia put it on, her whole body lit up,’ says Hale. ‘I’ve never seen that before in an actor.’
Of course, Georgina is not the only one whose wardrobe we covet. Delevingne’s glorious and newly-single Daphne has moved from floaty florals to a punchier look. ‘We’ve really upped the ante with her: with Ashish, The Vampire’s Wife and Silvia Tcherassi, who do amazing acid colours. And I wanted to bring in vintage fashion, so I’ve used Ralph Lauren dresses from the early 1990s – the fabric from back then is just so much nicer.’
This season sees another former model joining the cast: Norwegian actress Synnøve Macody Lund. ‘She’s astoundingly beautiful – mesmerisingly so,’ says Hale. ‘Because she’s so tall, I looked at Amanda Wakeley, Alexander McQueen, Roland Mouret and Victoria Beckham. I’m all about British fashion. It’s edgier – more interesting. Mouret is French, but he lives in England so we can count him as ours!’
Meanwhile the dashing Jack Fox is effortless as ever in beautiful Boglioli and Dunhill, while a fresh contingent of men – Argentina’s Franco Masini and Eliseo Barrionuevo, and Italy’s Maurizio Lombardi – mostly sport head-to-toe bespoke Cifonelli. ‘He changed my life,’ says Hale of the Italian designer, who is based on London’s Clifford Street. ‘He turned around entire suits in less than a week and they are all beautiful.’
‘My appreciation for fashion has definitely grown with this show,’ says Stiles. ‘When you step out into the world and you feel confident with how you’re presenting yourself, and you can feel that the clothing you’re wearing is really well-made, it makes you feel special.’
Sky original Riviera Series 3 is coming to Sky Atlantic and NOW TV on 15 October.
