The 8 most stylish Shakespeare adaptations

With it being 400 years since the death of legendary bard William Shakespeare, we thought we’d round up the 10 most stylish versions of his characters. 

Because looking at pictures of cool versions of his characters is way better than deciphering his language, right? We left that behind with our English GCSEs.

Romeo & Juliet

Outrageous tropical summer shirts, floppy hair and cigarettes. If Leo wasn’t one of the most famous faces in the world, you could easily mistake him for being about 90 per cent of East London’s current male population.

The Hollow Crown

Tom Hiddleston…what happened? You built up your credibility to such a high standard with performances in BBC’s Hollow Crown series and the Night Manager, only to burn it down by wearing an I Love Taylor Swift vest in the sea. We’ll forever remember you this way in your red leather and tight trousers as Henry V.

Coriolanus

Khaki and military is massively on trend with brands such as Saint Laurent and Valentino representing army vibes in their recent collections. Yes, we know that Ralph Fiennes' Coriolanus is actually military and an absolute psychopath, but don’t let that put you off wearing it…

Much Ado About Nothing

Everything looks better in black and white. Or with superheroes. But in this Shakespeare adaptation director Joss Whedon went with the first, adorning the Avengers’ Clark Gregg as Leonato in a fine printed dress scarf.

10 Things I Hate About You

OK, we know this might not strictly be Shakespeare, but it’s obviously a homage to Taming of the Shrew (plus there’s only so many ruff collars and tights we can get away with). The cult movie showcases some key forgotten 90s looks such as cord trousers and v neck jumpers. Just give it a year and they’ll be back on trend.

Macbeth

This embroidered gown looks like something Gucci would genuinely sell. The price would be astronomical though, so it might be easier to kill a king to get one like Fassbender did.

Hamlet

Mel Gibson has a history with going a bit mad. First Mad Max, then Hamlet, and lastly when he drunkenly made anti-Semitic remarks when he was allegedly pulled over by the police (we forget what film that was from). Here he is on form in this 1990 version, looking all melancholy-cool in a graveyard with his cape like he’s in a low budget death metal video.

The Tempest

Is this the 2010 version of The Tempest or is it a London Collections Men show? Alfred Molina's worn in workwear blazer and Russell Brand's 70s coloured, ringmaster-esque outfit suggests that it's the latter.