Denzel Washington’s Robes Are the Real Stars of 'Gladiator II'
CultureCostume designer Janty Yates talks about turning the Oscar winner into the Roman god of drip.By Gabriella PaiellaNovember 22, 2024Collage: Kelsey Niziolek; Photos: Aidan Monaghan / Courtesy of ParamountSave this storySaveSave this storySaveThis story is from Gladiator Week, GQ’s dive into all things Gladiator in pop culture to celebrate the release of Gladiator II. Read the rest of the stories here.This article also contains spoilers for Gladiator II.In Gladiator II, Denzel Washington plays Macrinus, a deliciously evil arms dealer who acquires Paul Mescal’s Lucius for his stable of gladiators. Though the film is set in 200 A.D. Rome, Washington speaks like Denzel Washington, with the New York accent of a man born in 1954 A.D. Mount Vernon. He schemes, he peacocks, he comes dangerously close to saying “my man” at one point. You can tell Washington relishes the performance, and he confirmed as much when, at an early Gladiator II screening, he said: “I’m putting this dress on, these rings, and I’m going crazy.”Aidan MonaghanHe was, indeed, putting this dress on, these rings, and going crazy. In fact, I’d argue that Macrinus’s robes are some of the best parts of Gladiator II. (It’s enough to make you want to live in a caftan 24/7.) As costume designer Janty Yates, who worked with Ridley Scott on the original Gladiator and several other projects since, told me, “I love the fact he calls it a dress.”Aidan MonaghanWhen it came to the costume inspiration, as always, the directives came directly from Scott. Specifically, Yates said that they looked to “the art of Orientalism,” including paintings by Jean-Léon Gérôme, Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, and Lawrence Alma-Tadema. “They had these great big sweeping togas. They had turbans,” Yates shared. “Denzel and Ridley decided no turbans, which I was sad about. But I understood because Denzel has got so much power in his face and his whole head. I was delighted he wore earrings, because I never thought he would.”Photo Credit: Cuba ScottMost PopularSales (Style)Percival's Black Friday Sale Is Packed with Jolly Good Menswear DealsBy Reed NelsonStyleThe 13 Best Celebrity Watches from the GQ Men of the Year Red Carpet 2024By Cam WolfGQ RecommendsThis Aesop Sale Smells Too Good To Be True (But It Is)By Danielle DiMeglioFrom there, Yates said, “it was a question of just finding the most fabulous fabrics and the most fabulous embroideries.” She sourced the fabrics from Rome and Prato in Italy and the Marché Aux Puces flea market in Paris, while her assistant Melissa Moritz handled the dramatic draping.Yates stressed that the sumptuous robes were not—as Scott’s films often are not, in service of drama—strictly historical. “Frankly, dye was so expensive back in the day. I think most people wore very muted colors,” she admitted. “They're all very, very expensive fabrics. Color and quality is the huge difference.”“We really did exaggerate and we ran with it,” she added.Aidan MonaghanEach and every robe was ultimately in service of the story. “We built him a huge arc. His clothes at the first ‘suburban colosseum’ were much more sedate. And then we get more ornate with the leopard skin, with the embroidered drapes. There's one green one encrusted with jewels that he wears a couple of times in actual fact. When he was really close to the emperors, his look is simpler: He wears a white gown with a white toga, but it's got very heavy gold trim on it. And then when he dies, it’s peacock Italian silk with gold trim all over it.”Most PopularSales (Style)Percival's Black Friday Sale Is Packed with Jolly Good Menswear DealsBy Reed NelsonStyleThe 13 Best Celebrity Watches from the GQ Men of the Year Red Carpet 2024By Cam WolfGQ RecommendsThis Aesop Sale Smells Too Good To Be True (But It Is)By Danielle DiMeglioAidan MonaghanThat one, in particular, was Yates’s favorite. As for her subject? “I don't think Denzel had a favorite,” she said. “I think he was happy to get back into his Nikes.”
This story is from Gladiator Week, GQ’s dive into all things Gladiator in pop culture to celebrate the release of Gladiator II. Read the rest of the stories here.
This article also contains spoilers for Gladiator II.
In Gladiator II, Denzel Washington plays Macrinus, a deliciously evil arms dealer who acquires Paul Mescal’s Lucius for his stable of gladiators. Though the film is set in 200 A.D. Rome, Washington speaks like Denzel Washington, with the New York accent of a man born in 1954 A.D. Mount Vernon. He schemes, he peacocks, he comes dangerously close to saying “my man” at one point. You can tell Washington relishes the performance, and he confirmed as much when, at an early Gladiator II screening, he said: “I’m putting this dress on, these rings, and I’m going crazy.”
He was, indeed, putting this dress on, these rings, and going crazy. In fact, I’d argue that Macrinus’s robes are some of the best parts of Gladiator II. (It’s enough to make you want to live in a caftan 24/7.) As costume designer Janty Yates, who worked with Ridley Scott on the original Gladiator and several other projects since, told me, “I love the fact he calls it a dress.”
When it came to the costume inspiration, as always, the directives came directly from Scott. Specifically, Yates said that they looked to “the art of Orientalism,” including paintings by Jean-Léon Gérôme, Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, and Lawrence Alma-Tadema. “They had these great big sweeping togas. They had turbans,” Yates shared. “Denzel and Ridley decided no turbans, which I was sad about. But I understood because Denzel has got so much power in his face and his whole head. I was delighted he wore earrings, because I never thought he would.”
From there, Yates said, “it was a question of just finding the most fabulous fabrics and the most fabulous embroideries.” She sourced the fabrics from Rome and Prato in Italy and the Marché Aux Puces flea market in Paris, while her assistant Melissa Moritz handled the dramatic draping.
Yates stressed that the sumptuous robes were not—as Scott’s films often are not, in service of drama—strictly historical. “Frankly, dye was so expensive back in the day. I think most people wore very muted colors,” she admitted. “They're all very, very expensive fabrics. Color and quality is the huge difference.”
“We really did exaggerate and we ran with it,” she added.
Each and every robe was ultimately in service of the story. “We built him a huge arc. His clothes at the first ‘suburban colosseum’ were much more sedate. And then we get more ornate with the leopard skin, with the embroidered drapes. There's one green one encrusted with jewels that he wears a couple of times in actual fact. When he was really close to the emperors, his look is simpler: He wears a white gown with a white toga, but it's got very heavy gold trim on it. And then when he dies, it’s peacock Italian silk with gold trim all over it.”
That one, in particular, was Yates’s favorite. As for her subject? “I don't think Denzel had a favorite,” she said. “I think he was happy to get back into his Nikes.”
