Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey on Loewe and Fellow Travelers: the British heartthrob actor brought the glam factor to the Spanish luxury brand’s ‘Crafted World’ exhibition in Shanghai

British actor Jonathan Bailey became a hot commodity after the smash success of Netflix romance drama Bridgerton, the early 19th-century Regency-era series that catapulted him and his fellow cast members from obscurity into household names when it debuted in 2020.

While most people know him as his character Lord Anthony, aka Viscount Bridgerton, it’s his role in American drama series Fellow Travelers that cemented his status as a bona fide leading man and truly revealed his acting chops.

Bailey’s searing portrayal of a gay activist alongside Matt Bomer in the Showtime series has won Bailey a Critics’ Choice Award and plenty of accolades, from the LGBTQ+ community – Bailey is openly gay – and beyond.

Matt Bomer (left) and Jonathan Bailey in a scene from Showtime series Fellow Travelers. Photo: Showtime

Spanning almost five decades, from the Lavender Scare and McCarthyism of the 50s to the heartbreaking Aids crisis of the 80s, shown through the lives of two male lovers, the mini series is a beautiful love story as well as a remarkable history lesson. (The Lavender Scare was a mass dismissal of homosexuals from government institutions that paralleled the anti-communist campaign of senator Joseph McCarthy.)

Bailey, who is getting ready to embark on the promotional tour of Bridgerton season three, which debuts in May and June in two parts, was recently in Shanghai for the opening of “Crafted World”, an exhibition held by Spanish luxury label Loewe to showcase its history and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of creative director Jonathan Anderson, a fellow Brit and friend of Bailey’s.

Charithra Chandran, Simone Ashley, Shelley Conn and Jonathan Bailey in Bridgerton. Photo: Netflix

On the night of the opening event, after Anderson gave Bailey a tour of the exhibition, we managed to grab the actor for a very quick chat.

Clad in a striped nautical jumper paired with army green trousers and paint-splattered shoes, all from Loewe, Bailey was extremely friendly and excited to share this moment with Anderson and the Loewe family.

Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Loewe (left), with actor Jonathan Bailey and actress Sophie Wilde at the exhibition “Crafted World” in Shanghai, on March 21. Photo: Handout

Tell me about this trip to China.

It’s my first time here and I’m really upset to leave so soon. I managed to tour Shanghai today and you can just feel inspired being in the city.

What did you like the most about the exhibition?

Jonathan [Anderson]’s eye for collaboration is just next level. I’ve known him for a while and going back to see all his outfits in one room is like a montage of the last 10 years. My first Loewe show was in 2022, and I think his humble approach to understanding craft and collaboration, as well as what it really means to make something with your hands in a very fundamental way, is something that he stays true to. This adds a very special, celebratory and nourishing quality within Loewe as a brand.

Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer in a scene from Showtime series Fellow Travelers. Photo: Showtime

Finally, how did it feel to work on a project like Fellow Travelers?

It’s something I’ll be eternally proud of. It’s such an important story; I learned so much. You sort of feel guilty and ashamed that you don’t know about that history. Then you remember that it’s been left out of the history books and, if you can through your work, you can shine a light on stories that haven’t been told and mean so much to so many people.

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