EDITOR’S LETTERDECEMBER 2006
Marking the release of Casino Royale
and Craig’s series debut, the new 007
fronted British GQ’s James Bond special
issue. Photographed by David BaileyNOVEMBER 2008
For Daniel Craig’s second outing as James
Bond, in Quantum Of Solace, a global GQ
cover of the star was specially syndicated
by us. Photographed by Simon EmmettOCTOBER 2005
Alongside Jay-Z, Pierce Brosnan and Frank
Lampard, Craig was honoured at GQ’s 2005
Men Of The Year Awards, winning Actor Of
The Year. At the awards dinner he shared a
table with the outgoing Bond, Pierce Brosnan>> and – how could we ever forget? – the way
in which he carries himself.
There has always been something eco-
nomical about Bond. Sharp, yes. Controlled,
obviously. But never ever showy. And unlike
his famous Martini, as a fashion plate Bond has
never looked shaken or stirred. Never flash or
ostentatious, he has always been pared-down,
measured, almost spartan. And while the
well-dressed gentleman spy is certainly a thing
of the past, 007’s signature style will be with
us forever.
Fleming was always fairly bluff in his
descriptions of Bond. His creation is probably
best detailed by the author in Moonraker: “The
rather saturnine young man in his middle thir-
ties... something a bit cold and dangerous in
that face. Looks pretty fit... [a] tough-looking
customer.” His classic outfit (his usual rig),
meanwhile, was best sketched in The Man
With The Golden Gun, the very last Bond
novel: “Dark-blue single-breasted suit, white
shirt, thin black knitted silk tie, black casuals.”
A man who drives an Amherst Villiers super-
charged 4.5-litre Bentley, no less.
And that is about it. Other than to say that
Bond was well dressed without being particu-
larly overdressed, Fleming was always fairly
circumspect about his protagonist’s wardrobe,
which is perhaps why his books took so long
to be turned into pictures.
The visual style of the early Bond films was
based on the Bond cartoon strip that first
appeared in the Daily Express in 1958, during
that long-forgotten period when the paper >>While the gentleman
spy is a thing of the
past, 007’s style will
be with us forever04-20EditorsLetter_3351554.indd 31 12/02/2020 09:48
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