Ray Holman on Dressing 'Rivals' Season 2 with '80s Icons and Designer Archives

Costume designer Ray Holman returns for the second season of 'Rivals,' the adaptation of Jilly Cooper's novel, set in 1987. The season premieres on Hulu on May 15. Holman drew inspiration from '80s icons including Whitney Houston, Sade, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, and Naomi Campbell, as well as magazines like The Face, Vogue, and Tatler. He accessed archives from Dunhill (blazers and suits), Mulberry (bags), Ray-Ban (sunglasses), Longines and Omega (watches), and Burberry. Characters include Bella Maclean's Taggie O'Hara, Nafessa Williams's Cameron Cook, David Tennant's Tony Baddingham, Alex Hassell's Rupert Campbell-Black, Aidan Turner's Declan O'Hara, and newcomers like Hayley Atwell as Rupert's ex-wife. Holman emphasized a naturalistic look, mixing designer pieces with everyday clothes. For Taggie, he used embroidered cotton shirts, Levi's, cowboy boots, and cashmere jumpers. Cameron's wardrobe features softer tailoring, longer skirts, and pieces inspired by Armani, Lolita Lempicka, Azzedine Alaïa, and Karl Lagerfeld. Men's suits distinguish characters: Tony's are new and bespoke with double-breasted chalk-striped styles; Rupert's are classic Prince of Wales checks with a hand-me-down quality; Declan wears pure Irish tweed; Freddie has bolder accessories like a gold digital watch. The season pits Tony's network Corinium against Rupert, Declan, and Freddie's upstart Venturer.