My Modern Working Wardrobe: The Actor
Breakout star Laurie Kynaston schools us on why clothes are key to creating a character and how individuality is central to a good sense of style – and tells us all about his enduring passion for high-waisted trousers.
As an actor, you’re often at the mercy of the costume designer when it comes to your working wardrobe. Luckily, Laurie Kynaston, fresh from a run in Spring Awakening at London’s Almeida Theatre, has fared well in that department. There’s the head-to-toe Comme De Garcons x Junya Watanabe looks he got to wear in the upcoming TV series The Man Who Fell To Earth. Those handmade two-tone plum and blue tonic trousers he pinched from the set of Cradle To Grave. And then, of course, his favourite: the 1970s white three-piece flared suit he wore for the wedding scenes in the same production. “I’ve never been more terrified of spilling ketchup down myself!” he says.
Don’t let his boyish looks and charm deceive you, Laurie is an old soul, at least when it comes to style. In fact, his roles in period dramas have provided endless sartorial inspiration. But there’s more to it than an appreciation of style from years gone by. Much like wearing a suit to an important meeting can make you stand a little taller (in both the physical and metaphorical sense), Laurie says that clothes are a powerful tool in the complex process of characterisation. “Looking through racks of pristine (usually vintage) clothing is such a joy. If the piece is set in the 1920s, the minute you put on a starchy 1920s shirt, you already feel halfway to finding who your character is,” he explains.
You can still present a version of yourself full of drive and passion and intelligence without having to wear a tie. People are living busier and more varied lives and that is being shown in the things we wear.
Laurie Kynaston
Performing on the stage, that effect is only amplified. “In the theatre, your costume becomes a real part of you. It’s something you see every day, and after a while of performing the same piece, it’s like muscle memory. The moment you put your costume on you instantly know who you are and how you feel,” he says.
His career has also instilled something else in him: an enduring passion for high-waisted trousers. “I shot a film called England Is Mine which was about Morrissey and The Smiths in the 1980s and I tried on high-waisted jeans for the first time. Since then, I have literally never looked back!” he says. “All the trousers in my wardrobe are high waisted, some delicate and vintage and tailored, like a pair of black 1930s Navy dress trousers with a fraying red stripe, and next to them will be high-waisted Dickies that I’ve bought from B&Q. I love the juxtaposition.”
On his days not spent on set or the stage, that mix of utilitarian workwear and vintage is his preferred option – and it explains why his definition of a modern working wardrobe involves celebrating individuality. “It’s all about dressing for yourself and not for others. It’s about how you feel confident and comfortable. Times have absolutely changed from when the only thing you’re able to wear to work is a suit or heels,” he says. “You can still present a version of yourself full of drive and passion and intelligence without having to wear a tie. People are living busier and more varied lives and that is being shown in the things we wear.”
Suits, nevertheless, still have a starring role in his wardrobe, but at 5’8” he often has to have pieces altered to fit his frame. That though only makes it all the more special. “Tailoring makes me feel like I am wearing something totally unique. When I started to discover different lengths and cuts of clothes to accentuate my body, I found it so liberating,” he says. “When a piece is tailored to you, it feels like you’re the only person in the world who could wear it, which I find incredibly exciting… To have one tailored and see a shape you never thought you’d be able to fit into then fit perfectly is very satisfying – and confidence building.”
Tailoring makes me feel like I am wearing something totally unique. When I started to discover different lengths and cuts of clothes to accentuate my body, I found it so liberating.
Laurie Kynaston
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