The style in Netflix's new series 'The Serpent'

The Serpent is Netflix's new mini-series that tells the life and crimes of Charles Sobhraj, a serial killer and forger active in Southeast Asia in the 1970s. Much of the series takes place in Bangkok, where Sobraj and his accomplices lured European tourists, drugged them, robbed them and, in some cases, even ended up killing them. The real Sobhraj, known as The Serpent or even the Bikini Killer, was defined by his biographers as «handsome, charming and utterly without scruple» - an aspect that the actor Tahar Rahim brings to life also thanks to a series of absolutely spectacular period costumes. 

In truth, the entire mini-series is a triumphant vintage fashion parade, led by Rahim along with his co-stars, Jenna Coleman and Amesh Edireweera. The series has become so popular that it has sparked a new interest in the 70s aesthetic – interest that has been quantified in numbers by online shopping platform Stylight in its latest insight report. 

Flared pants & vests

Stylight's report was compiled considering the number of clicks recorded in the 5 days following the release of the series on Netflix, which took place on April 2. The most interesting fact is the doubling of searches for flared trousers, which suddenly grew by 104% and followed by those of knitted vests, increased by 80%. In the third place, we find the aviator-style sunglasses (fun fact: aviator and turtle glasses were worn by many serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer for example wore an aviator model) while at the bottom of the ranking there are turquoise accessories, with a 52% increase of clicks, silk scarves and hoop earrings, up 45% and 42% respectively. 

The best movies that capture the 70s aesthetic 

If the eight episodes of The Serpent are not enough to feed the curiosity of fans of the Seventies aesthetic, both cinema and TV are full of films and series that tell those years: the easiest to find on Netflix are certainly American Hustle (2013) and the series by Baz Luhrmann and Stephen Adly Guirgis on the birth of rap, The Get Down, starring Justice and Jaden Smith. For those who want to go deeper, the best films are certainly Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000), Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997) and Studio 54 (Mark Cristopher, 1998) while among the series there is the cult That '70s Show, the series The Deuce with James Franco and the second season of Fargo.