inspired by the british superspy, and the author who created him
Few fictional characters have cemented a place among the ranks of style icons as firmly as James Bond. Created by the author Ian Fleming in 1953, the British Secret Service agent has come to epitomise all things suave, sophisticated, and dangerously sexy — what guy doesn’t want some of Sean Connery’s or Pierce Brosnan’s swagger? Though Bond has served as an inspiration for scores of designers, few can claim to have actually dressed 007.
Sunspel, the English sportswear brand founded in 1860, is one of the handful that can, as the brand outfitted Daniel Craig with the perfect polo shirt — an airy mesh knit tailored to hug all the right places — for Casino Royale. Now the brand has teamed up with Ian Fleming’s estate for a collection of luxurious basics that draw on the sartorial legacies of both the author and the suave spy he created.
The Fleming capsule is cut almost entirely out of Sea Island cotton, an exceptionally fine variety that is so rare it only accounts for 0.0004 percent of the cotton used worldwide. The fabric is of particular significance as it is grown in the Caribbean, where Fleming’s Jamaica home, Goldeneye, served as his writing retreat. Fleming was known to favour wearing Sea Island cotton pieces while staying at Goldeneye, and many of the styles in the collection are informed by what Fleming himself wore and how he described the wardrobe of 007. Think 1950s-inflected warm-weather essentials like camp collar shirts with mother-of-pearl buttons and silky, soft knits in crisp white, sky blue, navy, or an elegant charcoal gray.
Other highlights include a riff on Craig’s polo from Casino Royale and a pair of drawstring tropical wool trousers that toe the line between tailored and beachy. And since Fleming’s Goldeneye home has been converted into a resort by a real-life man-about-town, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, you can now get away in true Bond style — wardrobe included.
