It goes without saying that the famously method Sir Daniel Day-Lewis went all-in for his villainous role in Gangs Of New York. After all, this is the guy who spent time in prison to prep for In The Name Of The Father, studied fashion to play a fastidious couturier in Phantom Thread and signed off texts as “Abraham Lincoln” while playing the US president. Sir Daniel met his match in Gangs Of New York director Mr Martin Scorsese, a similarly minded details guy who wanted the terrifying gang leader Bill the Butcher to look like a sharply dressed dandy. Styled in a lavish frock coat, bow tie and impossibly tall top hat, Bill the Butcher is an evilton every bit as luxe as a Bond baddie.

Damien Thorn, the infant Antichrist who is secretly adopted by American ambassador Robert Thorn (played by Mr Gregory Peck) after his own baby dies during childbirth, was responsible for sending many psychologically fragile viewers down a wormhole. In The Omen, the 1976 opener of the film franchise, this pale-faced boy and child of Satan orchestrates a series of increasingly gruesome deaths that involve killer crows, wild rottweilers, sheets of glass and even the spire of a church – all to the soundtrack of pant-wettingly terrifying choral chanting. And yet for all his faults – the “666” mark of the beast, being the biological son of a jackal, going off the rails when in the vicinity of vicars – Damien (played by Mr Harvey Spencer Stephens in the only major role of his film career) sure had style, rocking a look once described by Esquire as “haunted, Victorian menswear”.

While T’Challa, the king of Wakanda, is busy doing good, prancing about in a skin-tight black suit, his American cousin Erik Killmonger (Mr Michael B Jordan) has other plans. His mission: to spread the fictional kingdom’s secret sauce, the near-indestructible power-absorbing metal vibranium, and arm the African diaspora against its oppressors. If his motives are just, his methods – y’know, the whole world-domination schtick – can be called into question. What is beyond reproach, however, is Killmonger’s sense of style. His civilian duds set the scene early on: a shearling-lined denim jacket and round gold-rimmed glasses in the museum, looking like he’s about to pull a heist on our hearts. And while we have time for Black Panther’s natty compression wear, it’s his nemesis’ statement uniform – armoured vests layered over long sleeves and military trousers, a nod to his Navy Seal background and giving serious AW21-apocalyptic energy – that steals the show. Spoiler: when he becomes king, he’s very Versace in his regal black robe and gold necklace. The guy’s got range. We’re just patiently waiting for the origin-story prequel.

Mr Hugh Grant’s charmed third act has seen some PB performances: a tainted MP in A Very British Scandal, a scenery-chewing sociopathic paediatrician in The Undoing, the scourge of the tabloid press in real life. But his finest moment came in 2017’s Paddington 2, playing Phoenix Buchanan, a puffed-up West End thespian reduced to making advertisements for dog food. A master of disguise who uses his theatrical training as cover for a series of thefts, Buchanan’s own day-to-day wear sits somewhere between the Penguin of the camp Mr Adam West-helmed 1960s iteration of Batman and the lavishly betweeded Toad of Toad Hall. Without wishing to give the game away, even when swapping his trademark checked Savile Row suits for striped prison scrubs, Buchanan still looks resplendent.

A long time (and many subsequent prequels, sequels and Christmas specials) ago in a galaxy far, far away, a star was born. Not so much Luke Skywalker, the hero of this space saga, but the villainous muscle of the piece, Darth Vader. Something about the samurai-esque helmet, booming voice, mechanical breathing and sweeping black cape all came together to create the most iconic intergalactic bad guy ever, and arguably the most fashionable villain in the series. What really seared itself into our minds, however – more so even than the image of Vader marching down the gantry, blazing lightsabre in hand – is the moment where his mask comes off, and it’s revealed that he was a man all along (Luke’s old man, in fact, Anakin Skywalker). Not the embodiment of evil after all, but a complex figure who lost his way and made up for it at the end. The true meaning of “Return of the Jedi”.

If there’s one thing Game Of Thrones did well, it was grisly endings. (Some might uncharitably point out the irony, given how the show itself panned out.) However, King Joffrey’s dispatch felt particularly satisfying – poisoned on his wedding day, another of the series’ trademarks. While his reign was anything but distinguished, Joffrey’s wardrobe did much of the heavy lifting, ironing out the character flaws, as well as distracting from questions over his parentage and the legitimacy of his claim to the Iron Throne. (The phrase “vicious bastard”, deployed by his uncle Tyrion, never felt so apt.) A vain fop, Joffrey’s clothing was always of the highest quality, with gold tracery and silk sashes. Even his armour was incredibly ornate, worn far from the battlefield. Sure, he had staff to deal with the messiest of jobs, but his looks could kill. Also, his crossbow – that could kill, too.

“Name an actor who delivered iconic performances as both an amazing villain and an amazing hero during the course of their career” was a challenge recently posed on Twitter. Among the suggestions, Mr Denzel Washington stood out – notably for his villainous turn as Alonzo Harris, the narcotics detective in Training Day. In truth, it’s hard to get your head around Washington as a bent cop. The same guy who played Malcolm X? Sure, a penchant for wearing all-black everything usually suggests that you’re a bad guy. But, here, he just looks so cool. Add in the flashy silver chains layered over his shirt and a megawatt smile, and he’s your friendly neighbourhood street-smart cop schooling a rookie on the way of the world. Then, when he rigs crimes scenes, steals $1m of drug money and tries to get Mr Ethan Hawke’s LAPD officer Jake Hoyt killed to cover his tracks, it’s clear that by the time he is – spoiler alert – ambushed and killed by the Russian mafia, he had it coming. But at least he looked good while doing so.