Inspired by the blockbuster spy film, here’s our perfect British kit for a warm-weather caper.

If there were a Mecca for classic menswear, it would be located in the neighbouring central London districts of Mayfair and St James’s. Here, within the confines of this pilgrimage-worthy site, it’s possible to find superlative examples of almost every aspect of the traditional male wardrobe. On Savile Row, the internationally renowned address of some of the world’s finest tailors, you’ll find bespoke, fully canvassed suits; on the Royal Arcade you’ll find bench-made shoes at George Cleverley; on St James’s Street you’ll find the centuries-old gentleman’s hatter, Lock & Co; and on Jermyn Street you’ll find famous shirtmakers such as the royal warrant holder Turnbull & Asser plying their trade.

It’s a compact area, small enough to be walked across in 20 minutes or so, even at a flâneur’s pace. But, why walk? A few years ago, when MR PORTER was approached by director Mr Matthew Vaughn to devise a custom wardrobe for his upcoming spy thriller, Kingsman: The Secret Service, we spotted an opportunity to create an entirely new brand for the modern gentleman – one that brought together the very best of Mayfair and St James’s under one roof, with no walking required. Kingsman was born.

This wasn’t your average movie tie-in. While some of the most iconic moments in fashion history have been played out on the silver screen – think of Mr Hubert de Givenchy’s designs for Ms Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Mr Giorgio Armani’s work on American Gigolo, or, more recently, Mr Tom Ford’s work on his directorial debut, A Single Man – the silver screen is, for the most part, where these clothes remain, as distant and inaccessible as the fantasy worlds that they inhabit. With Kingsman, it was possible for the first time to watch a movie knowing that all of the clothes featured, from the suits and ties to knitwear and shoes, and even pens, watches and umbrellas, were available to buy. And not just some cheap imitation: the very same clothes.

And we didn’t stop there. The cinematic exploits of the Kingsman agents, a super-secret spy organisation operating from behind the façade of a Savile Row tailor’s shop, may have provided the context for the original collection. But the label was intended from the very beginning to continue, regardless of how the movie performed. As it happens, Kingsman: The Secret Service proved to be a major hit at the box office, becoming one of the top 10 highest grossing spy films of all time – yes, that includes the Bond and Bourne franchises. But that played no part in our decision to continue the brand. Nor did 20th Century Fox’s recent announcement that a sequel is in the works. In fact, by the time the movie was released in late January 2015, production on the second season of Kingsman the brand was already well underway. Today, we’re ready to share the results.

“What we’ve created is very much the summer counterpart to our debut season,” says Mr Toby Bateman, Buying Director at MR PORTER, who worked once again with Mr Vaughn and costume director Ms Arianne Phillips on this collection. “It’s built on the same basic principle: the traditional image of the British gentleman, given a 21st-century update. Imagine the members’ Pavilion at Lord’s, or the Stewards’ Enclosure at Henley. It’s the gentleman at leisure, in other words. Building this new collection was all about playing with, but modernising, these archetypes.”

The double-breasted silhouette, a Kingsman signature, remains at the heart of the latest collection. It is reinvented in stone linen, a classic summer fabric. Another feature of the debut collection was the use of bold, statement-making patterns such as chalk stripe and Prince of Wales check, and these, too, are ongoing motifs. One standout piece, a jacket produced for Kingsman by Mackintosh, is cut from a black-and-white Prince of Wales check that appears grey from a distance, while another sports jacket is produced from a high-twist, breathable summer tweed in the same pattern. “Heritage fabrics remain central to the Kingsman aesthetic,” says Mr Bateman, citing another piece by Mackintosh, a field jacket made from Ventile – a tightly woven, waterproof cotton first developed for the Royal Air Force during WWII.

Another new addition to Kingsman’s sartorial armoury is the single-breasted jacket. “We were conscious that we needed one for spring,” explains Mr Bateman. “But we were still looking for something distinctive. The shape we’ve gone for is a single-button fastening, cinched at the waist and with a sharp shoulder to mirror the silhouette of the double-breasted jacket.” The fabrications provide yet another point of difference. “We’ve done a single-breasted jacket in a pale blue puppy tooth,” says Mr Bateman. “Worn with a navy twill trouser and a pair of brown suede Oxfords, it’s a classic look.”

A classic look requires a classic car, so we took a 1970s Aston Martin V8 down to the coast of south England to show how to wear Kingsman: season two.