Costume maketh the man
May 30, 2007 
Hollywood is putting to bed the notion that King Henry VIII was a flabby man in a series hitting the screen, in which he is portrayed using a sexy actor and modern costumes.
In Showtime's series The Tudors, Jonathan Rhys Meyers depicts the king in leather, according to the Envelope.
Joan Bergin, costume designer for The Tudors, says that a 16th century style corset and trousers she saw at a Balenciaga show influenced her in her costume design for the dance sequence where Henry first meets Anne Boleyn. She tried to make the original garments sleeker and more contemporary.
Yet in much the same way as a corset flattens the waist and accentuates the bust, men's Tudor clothing may have caused the belief that King Henry was on the fat side.
Kevin Jones, fashion historian at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, explained: "Fabric was extremely valuable back then, so the king liked to layer all these rich silks and velvets. It was conspicuous consumption. He wasn't really that rotund."
No doubt the series will also see many of the actresses in corsets, a popular garment in Tudor times.
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