HOW THE TUDORS LOST THEIR HEADS: REGAL COLOURS, RED STRING & A VERY FAST TURNAROUND

A little behind the scenes of my latest styling job for National Geographic’s How the Tudors Lost Their Heads.

There are some jobs that arrive with months to prepare, endless research time and beautifully organised schedules.

And then there are the ones where you blink and suddenly you’re on set.

This was very much the latter.

My latest styling work has just landed for How the Tudors Lost Their Heads, a new series for National Geographic, with the brilliant Dan Snow and Professor Suzannah Lipscomb delving into some of the darker, stranger and considerably more headless moments of Tudor history.

And honestly, the moment the brief landed, I was excited.

Anyone who knows my work will know that I LOVE a bit of history. Give me an archive, a portrait, a slightly unhinged monarch and several hundred years of fashion to disappear into and I’m happy.

And the Tudors? Come on.

A LITTLE BIT REGAL… WITHOUT ACTUALLY DRESSING AS ROYALTY

The interesting thing about this job was that we weren’t creating historical costume.

Dan and Suzannah needed to look contemporary — they’re our guides into this world rather than characters within it — but I still wanted the styling to feel connected to the visual language of the Tudors.

So instead of ruffs, doublets and farthingales, I started looking at colour, texture and silhouette.

Deep burgundy. Rich navy. Charcoal. Winter wool. Layering. Strong tailoring.

Colours that have a richness and weight to them, and that could sit beautifully against the incredible Tudor-inspired artwork created for the campaign without ever becoming too literal.

Suzannah’s long burgundy coat was particularly perfect for this. There’s something inherently regal about that deep wine colour, especially paired with the high-neck knit underneath. Dan’s navy layers then gave us the darker counterpoint — understated, masculine and contemporary, but still substantial enough to hold its own within the final artwork.

Together, there’s almost an accidental royal portrait quality to them.

Which, naturally, I rather love.

WINTER TEXTURES ARE MY HAPPY PLACE

This was also one of those lovely styling briefs where texture could do a lot of the talking.

Autumn/winter clothes give you so much to play with — wool, brushed fabrics, heavy coats, knitwear, layers, beautifully structured trousers. You can create depth without needing to throw lots of pattern or colour at somebody.

And when you know the finished image is going to be surrounded by Tudor portraits, embroidery, crowns, roses, historical documents and a conspiracy-board quantity of red string, you don't exactly need the clothes shouting for attention too.

The styling needed to belong in that world, not compete with it.

Although I will say: red string is apparently the hottest Tudor accessory for AW26.

You heard it here first.

OLD FRIENDS & FAMILIAR FACES

One of the nicest things about this industry is arriving on a fast-paced job and discovering you’re surrounded by people you already know.

The brilliant photography was by Parisatag Hizadeh, and the art department was Paula and Rich, who I’ve worked with on and off for years.

There’s something particularly lovely about that shorthand you develop with people over time. Everyone knows their job, everyone is moving at approximately 100 miles an hour, and somehow all the individual pieces start slotting together.

And our talent couldn't have been lovelier.

Dan and Suzannah were an absolute pleasure to dress — funny, warm, completely up for it and, perhaps most importantly when you’re standing around tweaking coats and trousers, incredibly patient!

The whole shoot was fast, collaborative and genuinely great fun.

I BLAME ELIZABETH I

My fascination with the Tudors has been around for a very long time, but Elizabeth I has always been the one for me.

The clothes! The pearls! The wigs! The symbolism! The complete commitment to creating an image!

Queen Elizabeth - My personal favourite of the Tudors

Elizabeth understood something we talk about constantly in fashion and celebrity culture today: your image tells a story before you've even opened your mouth.

Her portraits weren't simply portraits. They were propaganda.

Pearls could signify purity, crowns and globes communicated power, and her increasingly elaborate appearance helped construct the almost mythical public identity of the Virgin Queen. Even her clothing became part of the political theatre.

Basically: Elizabeth I had personal branding nailed approximately 450 years before Instagram.

And I respect that enormously.

The Tudors generally understood the power of clothing. Sumptuary laws even regulated who was permitted to wear particular fabrics, colours and materials according to social rank. Clothes weren't merely something you put on in the morning — they told everybody exactly where you sat in the hierarchy.

Which, as a costume designer, is basically catnip.

SIX WIVES, ONE GODDAUGHTER & AN EXTREMELY CATCHY SOUNDTRACK

There was also rather perfect timing around this job because I recently took my goddaughter Skye to see SIX the Musical.

Our Trip to Six the Musical on the Westend - Fabulous show full of catchy songs, stunning costumes and a history lesson all rolled into one.

For anyone unfamiliar, SIX takes the six wives of Henry VIII — Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr — and reimagines them as a pop girl group competing to decide whose experience with Henry was the worst.

Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.

Possibly history's catchiest mnemonic.

It also happens to be a brilliant example of exactly what I love about costume: taking historical references and translating them into something completely contemporary.

The costumes don't attempt to recreate Tudor dress. Instead, they pull apart its visual codes — corsetry, exaggerated sleeves, jewels, ruffs, structure — and rebuild them through the language of pop stars.

So somewhere between taking Skye to see six Tudor queens belting their hearts out on stage and then finding myself styling a campaign surrounded by portraits of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, I seem to have been having a particularly Tudor-heavy moment.

I'm not complaining.

A FEW TUDOR TITBITS FOR YOUR NEXT DINNER PARTY

Because you've made it this far, here are a few things worth storing away for the next time somebody unexpectedly tests your Tudor knowledge:

Henry VIII wasn't born expecting to become king — his older brother Arthur was heir to the throne, but died aged just 15.

Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon lasted for more than 20 years, considerably longer than his other five marriages combined.

Elizabeth I ruled England for nearly 45 years, from 1558 until her death in 1603.

And despite the Tudors' reputation for casually chopping everybody's heads off, only two of Henry VIII's six wives were actually executed — Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.

Still two too many, obviously.

FROM HISTORY TO THE FINAL IMAGE

What I particularly love about seeing these photographs finished is how all the departments came together.

The wardrobe is contemporary. The artwork is Tudor. The red string gives us our investigation. And Dan and Suzannah sit somewhere between historians, detectives and people who perhaps know considerably more about Henry VIII's private life than would have been advisable in 1536.

Exactly where they should be.

Sometimes styling isn't about making the clothes the loudest thing in an image. It's about understanding the world being created around them and finding the clothes that make sense within that story.

And for a history obsessive who gets disproportionately excited by regal colours, portraiture and a beautifully structured winter coat, this one was an absolute treat.

Now, where did I put my ruff…?

Stay in the Spot = 👑