It was the shock heard ’round the world:
Not Jude Law, not Clive Owen, but house-hold question mark Daniel Craig–he of slightly doughy facial features and day-old beard–who would play the next 007 in next year’s Bond film “Casino Royale.”
“Already there’s a bit of a hoo-ha over whether Daniel looks the part and whether he’s smooth enough,” said Nick Sullivan, Esquire fashion director and co-author of the 1996 study “Dressed to Kill: James Bond, the Suited Hero.”
But, Sullivan said, Craig could be perfect by style standards, both as a 21st Century role model and as an heir to the first and best Bond: Sean Connery.
The son of a truck driver, Connery was kidded about past blue-collar jobs when he landed the role.
“Connery was no suit-wearer by nature. He came in as a blank canvas.”
And that’s what’s best in a Bond, Sullivan said. The character must loom larger than the actor who plays him and the clothes–which had better not wear him.
It also happens to be what’s best for any man, Sullivan said, which is part of why Bond remains so potent a style icon.
“This is a man in a very well-made suit, end of story, now can I kill you,” is how Sullivan, in a genuine British accent of his own, sums up Bond’s style.
“If you contrast that with all the villains, they’re fashion victims,” he said. “You’ll find them wearing pretend military dictator uniforms. It’s all about style run amok as the sign of a deranged or evil person. Whereas controlled, simple, but very high-quality clothes are the mark of a man. It’s a message that men who are getting into fashion and probably going a little too far would do well to learn.”
“Casino Royale” is an original Bond book by Ian Fleming, whereas the last few movies were not. So Craig’s rough edges, truer to Fleming’s vision of Bond, make him particularly fitting.
Plus, “men today need an icon who isn’t so smooth all the time,” Sullivan said. “They’d like to know how to look cool and fit and well-put-together, but not like they think about it all the time.”
Fashion trends could further bond Craig to Connery. After the bleak postwar 1950s, British men were donning slim suits when Connery debuted.
That look–narrower pants and jackets, higher armholes–is enjoying a renaissance now.
“You’ll find it everywhere from Banana Republic to Armani. It’s a very strong shift, not a mini-trend. That really is a sort of Bond legacy.”
If it’s passed to Daniel Craig, he could shine. “What I’m trying to say is, Connery is the model for all Bonds,” Sullivan said. “If he’d been rubbish we wouldn’t be doing this now.”
– – –
The 1st: Sean Connery
CLOTHES: Wore Turnbull and Asser shirts, with distinctive turn-back cuffs, and suits from a tailor off of London’s Savile Row. Jackets were longer, trousers narrower, fabrics lighter than those of Bond’s peers, often with a square-tipped, unpatterned tie. “They made the right choices: flat-front trousers, a suppressed waist, which means the jacket is fitted at the back and sides–the bed-rock of a Savile Row look,” Sullivan said.
FASHION HIGHS: One of Sullivan’s favorites is from “Goldfinger,” a tweed jacket with whipcord slacks, a wool tie and white shirt with suede wingtips, “the simple look of a military man in civvies,” Sullivan said. “With Connery, it’s all about ignoring unnecessary details. It’s always right.”
FASHION LOWS: Only on the villains. In a scene from “Goldfinger,” Bond wears plain slacks with a polo shirt and a logo-branded sweater, which became men’s staples. But Goldfinger wears Shetland tweed plus-fours–Prince of Wales baggy knickerbockers– “as if he’s a bogus English country gentleman.”
The 3rd: Roger Moore
CLOTHES: “Moore was always keen on clothes; he started out as a pattern model,” Sullivan said. In a bow to the 1970s, he wore his fair share of brown. In the earlier films, suits gave way to sports jackets and slacks in contrasting colors. Later he reverted to more formal three-piece suits, whose look has aged more gracefully than his casual attire.
FASHION HIGHS: “There’s a part of `Live and Let Die,’ which is sort of that blaxploitation vibe, where he goes into a very ghetto area, wearing a fantastic double-breasted coat that looks straight off Savile Row. They’re in American disco gear, huge hats; he has a very restrained coat with black gloves. Again, Bond wins by not overdressing.”
FASHION LOWS: “We always like to say that the ’70s are the decade that style forgot, which is unfair, because the ’70s was a very stylish decade. The funny thing is, though we point out how funkily dressed [Moore] was, he was very conservatively dressed compared to men in other movies of the time. He’s still wearing a suit, well-cut trousers and a jacket and tie, but maybe with a knot the size of his fist. It’s not his fault that the ’70s happened.”
The 5th: Pierce Brosnan
CLOTHES: Brioni suits, made in Italy with a more overtly luxurious look than Savile Row stock. Due to the increase in action scenes, Brioni had to make nearly 50 suits for “GoldenEye.” Whether they measure up to Savile Row remains a subject of debate.
FASHION HIGHS:
“His gray glen Urquhart check three-piece worn in ‘GoldenEye.’ “
FASHION LOWS: A blazer, also in “GoldenEye,” worn with an open neck shirt, “like an old man trying to look young but not knowingquite how,” Sullivan said. “Bond never has a fashion or identity crisis.”
