DAY 22: THE LIGHT GREY LINEN SUIT
as seen in Casino Royale (2006).
Casino Royale may have been a Bond reboot, but filmmakers had no intention of introducing him in his signature dinner jacket. Viewers would have to wait until nearly halfway through the film to see Bond wearing a tuxedo with his signature martini in hand, and Sony knew they were taking a gamble: "The biggest risk with Casino Royale," they said in a marketing document, "is that people are very connected to their view of James Bond as a suave, sophisticated brains-over-brawn secret agent with a tux and a martini. It will be crucial to present an image of Craig as Bond that will be acceptable to the Bond fan, while moving in the direction of a contemporary action hero for the newer Bond audience without alienating the core." The answer was to have him grow into the tuxedo.
Daniel Craig's Bond starts off the film in casual clothes, and the first suit we see him in is a casual number, too: a light grey linen suit made by Brioni (with a not-so-casual price tag). In a nod to the Brosnan era, the suit featured strong shoulders, but the body of the jacket was tailored closer to Craig's frame. It was a perfectly respectable holiday suit for a high-end trip to the Bahamas, if a little uninteresting, but look closer and both plot and character reveal themselves.
Evidently, it's a suit made for subterfuge, somewhere between costume and daily wear. Bond loses the jacket early on, leaving him in a short-sleeved white shirt that sees him doubling for a staff member at the resort, where he sneaks into the security room to get footage. Assuming Bond is good at his job, he probably did his research to come prepared in an outfit that looked similar to the staff's. Indeed, the shirt, which features short sleeves and shoulder straps, was designed by Lindy Hemming, the film's costume designer, to echo the resort staff uniforms.
The black belt alone is enough of an affront to tailors everywhere; well-tailored trousers don't need a belt. Even more controversially, at least to those with an eagle eye for style and tailoring, Bond commits a faux pas by mixing black accessories (his watch and belt) with brown (his shoes and sunglasses). Lindy Hemming was clear that the upset was intentional: Bond, early in his role as a 00, doesn't quite know how to dress himself to the expected standard of his character. As Vesper would point out on the train to Montenegro, he wears his fine clothes with disdain. This served a narrative purpose, but also gave audiences time to see Daniel Craig grow into the role of Bond – a very successful gambit in hindsight.
In this suit's case, whether Bond opted for a less well-fitted suit to blend in with other workers at the resort, or whether he was simply going by his own tastes, is up for viewers to decide. Regardless, until Bond gets on the train to Montenegro, he's not the agency's sharpest dresser.
Sources: Fashioning James Bond: Costume, Gender and Identity in the World of 007, Bond Suits, Sony Casino Royale Domestic Marketing Strategy.
