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| Peter Brooker sits at Ian Fleming's desk in his Jamaican villa, Goldeneye |
With the imminent screening of the long-awaited latest Bond Film, No Time To Die, the book comes at a good time for Bond fans and for those with any interest in men's style. There's no doubt that 007, for a fictional character, has had a significant influence on how men dress, illuminating brands like Tom Ford, Barbour, Turnbull & Asser and so many others, but the book also looks at the tailors and shirtmakers who supplied their wares to the early film Bonds such as Connery, Moore and Dalton.
I recently spoke to Pete Brooker to find out more about his love for the Bond films and his book:
GF: Peter, please introduce yourself and tell us something about the book you've co-authored on the clothing of the James Bond films.
PB: I’m Pete, I moonlight as a menswear blogger with an unhealthy fixation on the clothes of James Bond. Some time ago, maybe four years ago, I had a chance to present a book proposal to the big cheese at Laurence King Publishing. So I went away, invited my friend and editor of Bond Suits Matt Spaiser to come up with a pitch for a book about, well, Bond Suits. Eventually that pitch was turned down, but I remember them saying it was one of the best they’d seen.
GF: How did your interest in James Bond come about?
PB: Like many, it was through my Dad. As a family we all loved watching and laughing with Roger Moore and his one liners. I would actually just laugh at my Dad laughing at Bond. At one point we both suffered injuries. My Dad broke his ankle, I chopped part of my finger off. Mum nursed us back to health and whilst convalescing, we watched back to back Bond films and played chess.
Then came the locations. I met my girlfriend Anastasia 5 years ago and we went to Rio for the Olympics. We went up Sugarloaf Mountain where they filmed the cable car chase from Moonraker. Of course I went on a hunt for the telescopes and a huge 7UP sign. From then the locations and the travel bug for Bond kicked in.
GF: Which of these locations did you find most interesting?
PB: Most of the locations have been all been thoroughly documented. And I’ve been lucky to go to the big ones like Piz Gloria from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Phang Nga Bay, aka James Bond Island, (The Man with the Golden Gun) I remember I cried when I got ashore, not very Bond. I would say the balcony in Bilbao from the pre-titles in The World is Not Enough. Pound for pound the best pre-titles of all the Bond films. I did some proper sneaky Bond work to get in that building (not open to the public) and worm my way onto the balcony.
GF: Peter, please introduce yourself and tell us something about the book you've co-authored on the clothing of the James Bond films.
PB: I’m Pete, I moonlight as a menswear blogger with an unhealthy fixation on the clothes of James Bond. Some time ago, maybe four years ago, I had a chance to present a book proposal to the big cheese at Laurence King Publishing. So I went away, invited my friend and editor of Bond Suits Matt Spaiser to come up with a pitch for a book about, well, Bond Suits. Eventually that pitch was turned down, but I remember them saying it was one of the best they’d seen.
GF: How did your interest in James Bond come about?
PB: Like many, it was through my Dad. As a family we all loved watching and laughing with Roger Moore and his one liners. I would actually just laugh at my Dad laughing at Bond. At one point we both suffered injuries. My Dad broke his ankle, I chopped part of my finger off. Mum nursed us back to health and whilst convalescing, we watched back to back Bond films and played chess.
Then came the locations. I met my girlfriend Anastasia 5 years ago and we went to Rio for the Olympics. We went up Sugarloaf Mountain where they filmed the cable car chase from Moonraker. Of course I went on a hunt for the telescopes and a huge 7UP sign. From then the locations and the travel bug for Bond kicked in.
GF: Which of these locations did you find most interesting?
PB: Most of the locations have been all been thoroughly documented. And I’ve been lucky to go to the big ones like Piz Gloria from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Phang Nga Bay, aka James Bond Island, (The Man with the Golden Gun) I remember I cried when I got ashore, not very Bond. I would say the balcony in Bilbao from the pre-titles in The World is Not Enough. Pound for pound the best pre-titles of all the Bond films. I did some proper sneaky Bond work to get in that building (not open to the public) and worm my way onto the balcony.
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| Peter Brooker visits various Bond locations |
GF: Has the Bond sartorial style rubbed off on you? I know you have worn some interesting items of clothing with links to the Bond films.
GF: I’ve really gotten into some casual elements of Bond. I’m less about the suits for my own style, but the polos from Sunspel for example, or the Rogue Territory Waxed Ridgeline Supply jacket seen recently on Bond in No Time to Die. These brands wouldn’t necessarily be on my radar if it weren’t for Bond.
But mostly the shirts from Frank Foster who made the shirts for many Bonds (Sean, Roger, George) and the villains. They have some of the original fabric still in their warehouse. Mary the seamstress is still making shirts and I’ve been fortunate enough to become a client of theirs.
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| Peter Brooker wearing his Frank Foster shirt in the original fabric |
GF: The book covers Bond's style in all the films, was his clothing selection influenced in any way by the clothes that Fleming's Bond wears in the books?
PB: There was not much style in the books to influence the films. In the book, Bond usually wears a dark blue suit, and Bond wears dark blue suits in many films. Sean Connery wore shirts in Sea Island cotton like in the books. The black silk knitted tie from the books shows up on rare occasion in the films. Throughout the 1980s, Bond wears slip-on shoes that take after Fleming's Bond's moccasins. It's mostly generic or ordinary styles that made it from the books to the films, and if there are any similarities between the way Bond dresses in the book and the way he dresses on-screen, it could just as likely be coincidence as it could be influence.
GF: It's clear from the book that you have met some of the recent greats of English tailoring and menswear manufacture - what were some highlights?
PB: We talked to some of the costume designers. Lindy Hemming was just incredible, so eloquent. We pretty much used the entire transcript from her interview word for word. Then some of the lesser known designers that were harder to track down. Emma Porteous for example, Jodie Tillen of course. Some of these interviews were the fruits of me hounding them for years (in some cases) before they finally relented.
GF: The film Bond has recently begun to wear clothes from US, Italian and other non-British designers and suppliers. Would you like to see a return to an all British wardrobe for Bond?
PB: Not necessarily. I think it makes sense for Bond to be international in terms of clothing. Jany Temime did a great job bringing British casuals back to Bond. Barbour, N.Peal, Orlebar Brown for example. I think it would be nice to have an all British wardrobe, would certainly help illuminate some of the brands here. But probably not practical for Bond now as a man exiled from Mi6 living abroad.
GF: If you were able to style the next James Bond, how would you dress him (or indeed, her)?
PB: I’d bring him back to the Row, or at least the Row style with a slightly fuller silhouette. I don’t actually mind the look of Daniel Craig. In Brioni in Casino Royale and Tom Ford in Quantum of Solace he looks irresistible. Some people say he looks too shrink wrapped in Skyfall and Spectre, and yes he does in some. But he has to also reflect the trends of his time. He also has to look considerably younger than M played by Ralph Fiennes in Spectre dressed in Timothy Everest. The way M dresses reflects maturity and authority. In a perfect world that’s how Bond would dress, but we can’t have Bond being ‘too establishment’.
GF: Many thanks, Pete, for this insight into your fascinating book.
Useful links
For information on the book: https://fromtailorswithlove.co.uk/book
To buy the book on Amazon:https://amzn.to/3DU1gwM
Useful links
For information on the book: https://fromtailorswithlove.co.uk/book
To buy the book on Amazon:https://amzn.to/3DU1gwM
For Matt Spaiser: https://www.bondsuits.com/
