What goes hand in hand with a handsome secret service agent who drives Aston Martins? You guessed it… Fashion. I think we can all agree that James Bond would not be the 007 that we know and love without his garments. Of course, he wouldn’t be 007 without his guns, gadgets and women too.
The James Bond series is rather meaningful to me. The movies were my father’s favorite when I was younger and he used to make me watch them hoping I would like them too. I have to admit, when I watched the movies with him I didn’t really know what was going. All I knew was that Bond was a “super cool guy” who went on “super cool adventures” with cars that went on water, cigarettes that became guns, and pens that became poisonous. What I never noticed was Bond’s fashionable attire. Today, though, especially after watching Spectre, the fashion in the Bond movies is something I cannot stop noticing. If any of you had the same realization as me, keep reading to discover what helps make Bond, James Bond.
Jany Temime was the costume designer for Spectre. If her name rings a bell that’s because she was also the costume designer for Skyfall, Harry Potter, and Gravity (just to name a few). So Temime has quite a bit of experience, which is why the costumes in Spectre were so brilliant.
The costumes in Spectre were mostly a collaboration between Temime and Tom Ford. Personally, I think that Tom Ford was a perfect match for a man like James Bond. Tom Ford’s garments always seem to be of an impeccable elegance, which fits 007’s character. Luckily for Temime, Ford was a very easy to collaborate with. Temime would simply design what she wanted, choose the fabric from Ford’s own collection, and then Ford would manufacture what Temime wanted. Ford truly respected Temime’s work and never attempted to impose his own thoughts or ideas.
Since the James Bond movies are action movies, there are numerous stunt doubles for Daniel Craig (who played Bond in Spectre). Evidently, that made matters more difficult for Temime and Ford because they had to make suits in different sizes depending on which stunt double would be used in which scene. Moreover, the suits had to be made differently for the stunt doubles than for Craig because of all of the movements the stunt doubles had to do. So for instance, if a stunt double had to run, Temime had to make the hem of the trousers longer and put fabric between the legs so that he could run faster. On the other hand, when Craig would take over, the trousers needed to be of a perfect size and there couldn’t be fabric between the legs. I know what you’re wondering now… If so many stunt doubles were used and each suit had to be made differently depending on the actor or stunt double wearing the garment, how many suits were made for one, single action scene? Well, sometimes there were up to 30 suits for one scene. For example, for the white tuxedo, there were 20 white tuxedos in five different sizes for Craig and all of the stunt men. And that’s just for one fight scene! Here’s the best part, though… The jacket (just the tuxedo jacket) cost $5,200. I mean, it is a beautiful, luxurious, silk-blend jacket with padded shoulders and faille peak lapels, lined in sleek satin, but still. That is pretty darn pricey.
Now here’s a little bit more about the actual outfits in the movie. All of Bond’s outfits are always elegant, classic and traditional. First let’s talk about the tuxedoes and suits (because Bond wears a lot of them). There is the classic white Windsor silk-blend tuxedo that I mentioned earlier. Bond wore this when he was in Morocco. When Bond was in London, he wore a gray pin-stripe suit, white shirt a gray necktie and a navy coat. In Mexico, Bond wore the O’Connor suit and in Rome he wore the Windsor three-piece suit. Of course, all of these clothing items are by Tom Ford. Those four garments put together cost about $18,000. Crazy, right?
There is of course all of the other garments that aren’t suits or tuxedos. While in the Alps, Bond wore a Tom Ford Bomber jacket, Danner Boots, Vuarnet aviator sunglasses, with trousers based on vintage military models. The trousers were specially made for the film. Bond also wears a double-breasted jacket in the film along with leather gloves. I find this jacket to be absolutely gorgeous. It is masculine, elegant, yet discrete at the same time. Another important clothing item is the blue cashmere sweater by N. Peal. Although it is a simple sweater, Bond wore this sweater in several scenes in Spectre as well as in Skyfall. So it’s a pretty meaningful garment.
So you’re not a secret agent but you want to look like one. Well, now you can. You can get the Tom Ford knitted sleeve bomber jacket for $2,302.60, the Tom Ford Henry Vintage Wayfarer Sunglasses for $405, the O’Connor Windowpane suit for $4,590 and the Danner boots for $350. Just click on the first row of images below. Of course, these items are rather pricey because they are the exact same outfits that Bond wore. If you want outfits that aren’t an exact match but that are pretty similar (which means they will be more affordable), click on the second row of images below. There is a Hawke & Co jacket for $39.60 that looks like the bomber jacket, Original Penguin sunglasses that look like the vintage Wayfarer sunglasses for $67.21, a Tallia Orange suit for $178.50 similar to the O’Connor suit, Hi-Tech boots that look like the Danner boots for $46.05 and a $29.99 coat that is similar to the double breasted coat.
If you happen to be in Paris right now, there’s an exhibition that just opened a few days ago called “Inside The World of James Bond.” The exhibition is at Grand Halle de la Vilette until September 2016. On display there is more than 500 costumes, cars, sketches and gadgets from the Bond archive including some items from Spectre. For more information, click here. It’s a pretty cool exhibition, especially since most of the props and costumes have only been shown in Mexico.
Have any of you heard of The Fifth Element? If not… I suggest you look into it. Because it is honestly the most outlandish sci-fi movie I ever saw. That doesn’t mean that the movie is good or bad. It simply means that it’s a really, really goofy movie with cliches and interesting visuals. Personally, I think that goofy movies are sometimes fun to watch. Especially when it is visually intriguing. And the creators of The Fifth Element really went far to ensure that there were incredible special effects, scenery, and costumes. And what better designer than Jean Paul Gaultier to create ostentatious garments that could help with the visuals?
I have watched Straight Outta Compton four times, and it was released less than a year ago. Okay… I know what you’re thinking: “does this girl not have anything better to do than watch movies all the time?!” Well, what can I say. I love movies. But I promise, I don’t always watch movies. Just 4 times a week! Is that bad?
The Age of Adaline is set throughout eight decades. Of course, most of it is filmed in the present. There are only little flashbacks to Adaline’s life in the past. However, because there are only quick flashbacks, the film’s costume designers had to ensure that the outfits that Adaline wears perfectly depict the decade that the character is in. Everything, from shoes to hair styles had to show the passage of time. Evidently, a lot of careful research and planning had to be done to accomplish this. However, unlike most movies, it wasn’t only Angus Strathie, the costume designer for The Age of Adaline, who was in charge of Lively’s outfits. It was also Blake Lively herself, Gucci and Harrison Ford. On the left you will see a collection of outfits that Adaline wears throughout the decade. As you can see, there is an incredible amount of detail to ensure that viewers know what time period they are in.
In the past few weeks I’ve discussed fashion trends that have developed thanks to old films, such as Annie Hall and Sabrina. However, what I haven’t analyzed is how current movies that are set in the 1950s use the 1950s styles and trends. This is where Brooklyn comes in.
I have to be honest with you, I love watching old movies. For some reason, I am attracted to the grainy look, unrealistic sound system and mediocre acting. I feel like it gives movies a personality. Today, movies are just too perfect. They are so perfect that they don’t feel unique. They simply feel systematic. Don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean that I prefer older movies to recent movies. I love both. But for this blog post, I want to take it back and analyze fashion in older movies. And when I say older, I mean 1970s. Lucky for me, older movies set just as much of a fashion trend as recent movies. This is especially true with Annie Hall. A 1970 classic Woody Allen film.
f their different personalities, she still made both characters match one another. For instance, in the opening scene, both girls wear a plaid ensemble. However, to emphasize Dionne’s “sassy” character, Dionne wears a unique hat while Cher remains minimalistic in her look. The reason why Dionne almost always wears a variation of what Cher is wearing is to show Dionne and Cher’s friendship as well as their shared values (fashion).
FASHION UNRAVELED 