Theo James is an English Gentleman in Church’s Spring Campaign
Theo James is quickly becoming the poster boy for the English gentleman look.
The British actor is starring in Church’s spring 2025 campaign, playing a modern Englishman in relaxed tailoring and various footwear styles, from a suede loafer to an Oxford brogue.
James is the star of Netflix’s “The Gentlemen,” playing Edward “Eddie” Horniman, the new 10th Duke of Halstead, who overnight goes from being a United Nations peacekeeping officer to a duke to a gentleman gangster, swapping his camouflage uniform and plaid shirts for fisherman jackets, car coats and sharp smoking suits.
In the Church’s campaign, titled “Stage Craft,” the actor takes on a similar role — each character is dictated by the type of shoes he’s wearing in the black-and-white images shot by English-born photographer Phil Poynter.
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When he’s wearing the Chetwynd Contour brogue, he’s a sleek, self-assured man on set, while the Maesteg penny loafer adds a somewhat romantic touch to James’ character.
The English gentleman has been a recurring motif throughout Church’s campaigns. In June 2024, the brand launched its global advertising campaign under the creative direction of David James and lensed by Poynter. The location was St. Giles House, the family home of the Earl of Shaftesbury located in East Dorset, England.
Similarly, British actor Harry Lawtey took on the persona of an English gentleman in Church’s 50th anniversary campaign for the Shannon derby in October last year.
The campaign was shot in the 18th-century country house West Wycombe House in Buckinghamshire, which is famous as the setting for Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange” and Marek Kanievska’s 1984 film “Another Country” starring Rupert Everett and Colin Firth.
