The Witcher Fan Theory That Explains Geralt's All-Black Attire
The world of "The Witcher" is not too far gone from our own. Well, at least it would have been, were it not for the Conjunction of the Spheres. If that phrase seems a little too thick on the vague exposition, just know that Andrzej Sapkowski, the author of "The Witcher" novels that inspired both the video game franchise and the Netflix series, was dealing with multiversal collisions long before Marvel made it cool. The Conjunction of the Spheres is the origin story of how magic and monsters mixed with mankind. Aside from the vampires and elves from "The Witcher," there are still similarities to our world. The Continent still struggles with oppressive governments, racial discrimination, and elitist classism.
And while these familiar, larger themes are discussed in-depth throughout the series, it's sometimes more interesting to insert less consequential similarities into the worlds of fantasy. In this way, a number of theories have popped up to explain away trivial matters in "The Witcher" that might feel culturally familiar to audiences. One of those theories suggests that Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) might be rolling in gold thanks to his choice of attire. Buckle up, dear reader, and get ready for a brief history lesson on the finances of medieval fabric dye.
Geralt wears all black to market his Witcher talents
In a post on the Fandoms and Me Tumblr page, deepspacepirate theorized that Geralt wears all-black clothing to market his business as a successful Witcher. The user also pointed out that one difference between Netflix's "The Witcher" and the video games is that in the games, Geralt normally wears medieval colors such as brown, red, and blue, but on screen, he exclusively wears black. Deepspacepirate added, "... which is crazy because, black was actually considered a luxury dye in the middle ages because of how complicated the dying process was."
In response, Tumblr user mindfulwrath suggested that since monster ichor (aka blood) is often black, Geralt's gothic aesthetic could be entirely incidental. Bringing home the theory, another user ruffboijuliaburnsides wrote that monster ichor is known as an expensive black dye and added, "Witchers dress entirely in black as advertisement of their role as monster hunters, because for them, it is relatively easy to acquire." With his all-black garb, people can easily and quickly spot Geralt as a Witcher.
It's a fun theory that gives credence to a choice that was likely made to depict Geralt as an edgy, dark hero, and, given that he wears similar attire in the books, it's possible the author was thinking a bit like a Tumblr theorist. Wouldn't that be something? Maybe they're both getting their info from Postej & Stews, which states, "To achieve proper black fabric required the fabric to be dyed multiple times, which made the fabric quite expensive."