At the end of season six of Peaky Blinders, Cillian Murphy's character, Tommy Shelby, deep in his feels. He's really going through it. Riding off on a white horse, he's a man going it alone following the deaths of his wife and daughter, and the revelation that his tuberculoma was a lie. He's a solitary figure consumed by grief.

In the follow-up film, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, little has changed. Shelby is now an older, grey-haired man, living in exile away from 1940s Birmingham. Haunted by his past, he remains isolated in a remote country house.

His image has also undergone a transformation. His signature three-piece suit, grandad collar shirt, tweed overcoat, and flat cap - a defining element of this century's pop culture-inspired menswear - have been discarded. The absence of the Tommy Shelby aesthetic might come as a loss (and surprise) to viewers at the beginning of the movie.

However, while the calculating anti-hero may have shed his familiar attire, he still possesses a killer wardrobe, even in solitude. Though his leather gloves have been hung up, he has adopted a new look that reflects his confinement and brooding nature. As seen in the trailer, Murphy's character sports a roll neck knit and a shorter hairstyle. It's a significant vibe shift, and - apologies to the flat cap advocates - an improvement. It appears that depression in a country house can lead to a guy becoming exceptionally well-dressed.

"We had quite a journey with him this time around because I think everyone is so conditioned to seeing Tommy in a certain look, very silhouetted, very strong, and very similar throughout, which is great because then we know who that character is," Alison McCosh, the Peaky Blinders costume designer since season four, told Esquire in a phone call ahead of the movie's release. "But this film takes us on a different journey with Shelby emotionally, and I think that's what people are going to really enjoy and connect with - to see that he is a human being."

The charcoal roll neck he wears, reminiscent of something from a Margaret Howell lookbook, was carefully selected to reflect his downbeat mood. McCosh wanted a beautiful, understated garment. "You're still focusing on the character," she shares, citing Clark Gable as a key influence from that era. "That piece evokes a lot of the great Hollywood icons when I looked at that period. There was a beauty to that simple and elegant shape. Shelby was retreating into his own world, his own life, and he's pulled back from that public persona. We wanted a wardrobe that allowed us to see that."

The knit sadly, while inspired by some of the great knitwear of the 20th century, is a custom piece for the film, and a lot of thought went into it. "We have this fantastic knitter named Lyria who makes all of our pieces for us, and we dyed the wool to match the historical references we pulled together," McCosh shares, explaining that everything for Peaky Blinders has been consciously designed and made in the UK. "There's a lot of research that goes into it. You're looking at the shape and if it's correct for the time, and if it also appeals to a modern audience. That's another thing you have to take into account." That being said, while the cashmere piece was intended to show Shelby's softer side (before - spoiler alert - he actually goes back to his former uniform), it has simply made me want to buy a super soft roll neck, Shelby's or not.

The new Peaky Blinders film is entered into a menswear canon of other films that, unintentionally, have become knitwear showcases. Knives Out had its iconic Aran jumper, while Banshees of Inisherin featured went hard on lambswool. That being said, Shelby's knit might just top them all.

Originally posted on Esquire UK