For this episode (#258) of the From Tailors With Love podcast I’m talking in person to bespoke tailor Chris Kerr. We’ve had Chris on the show before to talk about James Bond and the suit he made for Daniel Craig in the Sony advert to promote Quantum of Solace.
Matt Spaiser and I also spoke to him for the book From Tailors With Love, An Evolution of Menswear Through the Bond Films about his work on the Bond films such as Casino Royale & Goldeneye.
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt Running of course in Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning 2023, wearing a teal suit made by Chris Kerr. Photo Source IMDB
That Teal Suit
Chris talks mainly about his work on Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning. He made the teal suit that Tom Cruise wears in the airport scene in Abu Dhabi.
PB (me): Can you talk about the suit you provided for the airport scene? How did you choose the fabric?
CK (Chris Kerr): Its a conversation and we look for them together I can suggest, when they tell what they think it should look like I’ll give them options, I’ll buy in fabrics to be approved […]
The colour for the airport suit is quite specific, it’s not an ordinary blue. There can be a tendency to go down the grey and blue route. The grey suit in venice wasn’t ours. But they wanted something that was going to look good in the bright sunlight. That teal blue/petrol blue was a good fit.
Tom Cruise & Hayley Atwell waving to fans at Birmingham Airport (posing for Abu Dhabi). Photo Source: The Metro, via Splash News
Fitting Tom
PB: What’s it like fitting Tom Cruise? How much contribution does he have towards the look of the suit?
CK: Tom knows what he likes. He likes it millimetre perfect. There will always be a change. They want perfection. He’s a traditionalist, he doesn’t like anything too fancy. He likes classic, down the line. Nothing loud and garish, and you can see that in his personal life as well. At the same time he wants to look like the character and not his every day life.
Me and Chris Kerr in his store in Berwick Street circa SEPT 2023
The Ties for Dead Reckoning
PB: Did you also supply the ties?
CK: We did supply ties, can’t say which one. They took a number of ties. Benji (played by Simon Pegg) wears one of ours. I’ve seen them pick up. The tie Tom wears with the grey suit and the airport suit, was not ours. I’ve been in those fittings and I’ve seen the number of ties they get to chose from. There are hundreds of them, from all brands.
Chris Kerr Ties and Cufflinks
Still Available?
PB: Can we get the screen accurate teal blue suit from you? Is it still available?
CK: Yeah absolutely.*
PB: Did you make for any other principle actors?
CK: Yes we made for others apart from Tom. For the train wreck scene we made the Hayley Atwell suit and mac and halter neck waist coat and trousers and there was a lot of them. The whole suit was made for action. There must have been 30 trousers, 20 waistcoats.
Hayley Atwell as Grace in Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning wearing Chris Kerr. Photo Credit: Pure People [dot] com
Extras
PB: Outside of James Bond, Peaky Blinders and Mission Impossible what else do you get asked about the most from your customers?
CK: The biggest requests are from Legend, and from the suits for Nick Cave. I make for Nick, other tailors make for Nick, but a lot of people ask me for the Nick Cave look. He has everything. Music, clothes, poetry, books.
*I am following up with Chris Kerr for a price and availability for a ready to wear version of the Airport Suit from Dead Reckoning.
UPDATE
Answer from Chris:
We would only make as a made to measure or bespoke version. M2M £2000. Bespoke £3000.
The Sunglasses:
Courtesy of Lorenzo from Omega Bond Watches. He informs me the glasses have a colour code 007.
Costume Designer for Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning is Jill Taylor. You can read my interview with her for Match Point in a previous blog.
Chris can be reached through his website.
Listen to the podcast
Available to download directly. Through iTunes or Spotify (type in From Tailors With Love into your podcast player look for episode 258. Or listen in the player below.
