Recreating the Tom Ford Ties from Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Tom Ford Ties

Back in 2022 the culmination of a fan-based project reached fruition with the completion of the TOM FORD Quantum of Solace tie project. The project was to get a recreation of the TOM FORD ties as featured within the film. – – Article by – Tie Another Day.

The background

In June 2019, on the AJB007 fan forum, Mark (AKA 007DCMWR) started a project to get all five ties featured within Quantum of Solace to be reproduced. This was following the success of a previous project to get the Skyfall TOM FORD ties reproduced.

The project was not as straightforward. It had been over ten years since the film was made, and in order to get the project started TOM FORD needed screen accurate ties to then start working to reproduce them. There was a call to arms (and ties) to support the project and to help in getting the project started.

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Resources

There were resources available such as some costume cards and pictures of tie swatches, and through the generosity of the community donor ties were provided. I did have a number of the ties from the film, the Greene Party tie; Kazan tie; Pre Title Sequence tie; and the Bolivia tie (or a version of it), I will talk more about these ties later on.

By July 2019 there were 38 confirmed buyers for each of the 5 ties, so almost 200 tie orders. All that we were missing was authorisation for the ties to be reproduced….

Our man in Milan

One of the most important person who has been involved in all of the TOM FORD projects is Luigi who is based at the TOM FORD Milan boutique. He has been very instrumental and a point of contact for us James Bond fans. It is thanks to his patience and enthusiasm that has helped in getting a lot of the TOM FORD fan projects.

In July 2019, he confirmed that the production request was accepted and that the minimum order requirement had been reached. They also had swatches available, and the next stage would be to see if the swatches matched the donor ties.

Production

In October 2019 the team at TOM FORD did an amazing job of getting all five ties bang on. It is a testament to them that they were able to faithfully recreate the ties so accurately.

Coronavirus

In March 2020 the world entered lockdown with the spread of coronavirus. However, the impact it had on the project was to be more profound.

Northern Italy had been massively affected by the spread of the virus in the early days of coronavirus. TOM FORD closed its doors. Several members of staff had been furloughed, and several of the fabric manufacturers also closed their businesses during this time.

Suddenly… Stop

The momentum in the project has screeched to a halt, and with the delayed release of No Time To Die, there was a collective pause as we all were thinking of how long this virus will stay. How will our lives operate? Consequently the tie project itself took a back seat.

It wasn’t until June 2020 when things started to operate back again at TOM FORD. A few things had changed in that the Pre Title Sequence tie and the Bolivia tie were labelled as recreations as opposed to accurate matches. The team were also reconnecting with the fabric suppliers to confirm that they were still in business and were able to provide the fabrics for the ties.

A restart

At the start of August 2020, the team at TOM FORD informed that several manufacturers had ceased production. Almost 70% of their yarn providers were gone, so effectively the fabric hunting process began again. Additionally, Italy in August shuts down annually, so this added another delay in the project.

The next update was in November 2020. With the coronavirus re-emerging again after the summer, and new working conditions, TOM FORD were concentrating on fulfilling customer orders and production of new season collections it meant another delay. Additionally, the process to find the right fabrics also proved to be another challenge.

One rises to meet a challenge

It wasn’t until June 2021 that there was an update, and the production team came good in producing a set of samples from new fabric suppliers. Again, in August the TOM FORD factory closed down for a month, so it was only in September 2021 that there was another update with orders being collected.

In January 2022 it was announced that the Bolivia tie was to be dropped as the team at TOM FORD were not able to perfect the right blend of fabrics to get the colour correct. In February 2022 three samples were provided to the members to identify or select one that the group were happy with as the close recreation to the Bolivia tie.

We finally got the order forms in March 2022. The project was again restarting. However the question over which option for the Bolivia tie still raged. It was as close result with 52% selecting one option over another. However, in a twist of fate, another vote was put forward, and the option that lost got 90% of the second vote.

In July 2022 production on four of the ties were completed, and I was fortunate to be in Milan albeit for a fleeting working visit. But because I ordered five ties, I decided to wait for all five ties to be created. The final tally was 244 ties were produced, which was a record for any tie project.

In September 2022 I finally received the full set of ties

Time to get out – The Pre-Title Sequence tie

This tie was worn by Bond whilst driving the Aston Martin DBS with Mr White in the boot of the car whilst being pursued by Quantum (Spectre?) agents. In the film, Bond wears a navy and blue pinstripe suit, with a pale blue shirt, with the tie which is a pattern of dark blue and azure blue in a chequerboard design.

The tie produced is amazing the colours pop, and the design and colours mean that it is one of the more versatile ties in the collection. In the recreation for this article I have used a plain midnight blue suit, with a light blue shirt from Turnbull and Asser.

I did get a version of the pre title sequence tie from an eBay purchase, and this picture shows my tie against the newly produced Quantum ties. As you can see there is no difference between the two and it looks amazing.

You’re lucky to be here – London Tie

Within the film Bond wears this tie when he arrives in London at the flat of Craig Mitchell, he also wears it when he’s at MI6 headquarters being briefed on the money tagging operation to identify a Quantum (Spectre?) contact. Bond wears a black (dark grey) suit, white shirt, and what appears to be a grey tie, but it is actually an aubergine / dark blue tie with a series of white pin dots. The effect it gives is a grey look.

The whole suit look is very apt with attending a funeral, as opposed to an office suit. That said it does keep in line with the monochrome look of the film. Additionally, Bond wears a black top coat on top of his suit when he visits M at Mitchell’s apartment.

For my recreation, I have used a black suit, white shirt and the tie, and instead of the black top coat. I have used the midnight blue top coat from Skyfall to recreate the look.

We are teachers on a sabbatical – Bolivia Tie

One of the more popular ties from the film was the Bolivia tie. This tie has the same chequerboard design as seen with the Pre Title Sequence blue tie, except that the colours are a champagne gold with brown squares. The effect being a very luxurious tie with an amazing sheen that matches perfectly with the brown mohair suit that Bond wears.

This tie was the hardest to recreate from the team at TOM FORD. The version created is a little darker than the screen accurate version. Full credit has to be given to the team at TOM FORD who went to extraordinary lengths to try and recreate this tie. It is a shame that it wasn’t possible to create an exact replica.

In 2013 I saw a posting on eBay for a tie that was virtually identical to the Bolivia tie by a seller based in Japan. It was a very popular item, and was really pushed and paid well above the asking price to secure the tie. But I have no regrets. The tie has that look and feel and fits well with the TOM FORD brown suit I have.

I have put the two ties next to each other, and you can see there is a difference. However, it is a very smart and beautiful tie.

Do you want to go to a party? – Greene Party Tie

The tie worn with Bond’s midnight blue TOM FORD suit is a blue and silver square designed tie. It is not like the chequerboard design as seen in other ties from the film, but has a similar motif. The blue and silver gives a nice sheen and a blue silver look when seen on screen.

In 2009 I visited the TOM FORD boutique at Harrods and was amazed to see the Greene party tie on sale. There was no question about it in my mind it was the same tie, and it is one of the ties I do wear quite often. When comparing the two ties you can see that the design is the same, but the one bought in 2009 has a lighter blue. The newer tie is a darker blue, which in turn gives it more of a grey hue.

I have also recreated this look with my midnight blue TOM FORD suit, white shirt, and tie. It definitely fits the look, and captures that luxurious sheen to the tie as seen in the film.

I never left – Kazan tie

This tie was seen when Bond confronts Dimitrios and Corinne in Kazan. The tie has a beautiful black, silver, and grey design in a repeating oval shape design. Bond is wearing a beautiful double breasted black herringbone great coat with a brown and black prince of wales design silk scarf with a cashmere backing.

We do not see much of the suit. It could be hypothesised that it is the same black / dark grey / anthracite suit that he wears when he is at MI6 earlier in the film.

I bought the tie from another collector in 2010. The remake is an exactly identical when you put them side to side.

The recreation of the suit, scarf, and coat show that this is a perfect version of the tie seen on screen.

Final thoughts

The Quantum of Solace tie project was a long project that was unfortunately impacted heavily by the coronavirus. However, it also shows amazing tenacity by the team at TOM FORD who worked tirelessly to recreate the ties as seen on screen, as well as the patience of the Bond community who all contributed to this project.

It is amazing that a multi-billion dollar fashion company has been so accommodating to a small group of Bond enthusiasts. It’s just something we don’t see from other companies who may dismiss us Bond fans as a very small market.

I personally have to thank Luigi for his efforts to not only help in pursuing this project but also being a point of contact and a very valuable friend to the Bond community. With the sale of TOM FORD Inc to Estee Lauder it remains to be seen whether the continued co-operation and special projects will continue. I do hope that further projects and opportunities continue, and that us Bond fans get a chance to own these products.

I have to thank Mark as well for his patience and organisation skills. The time taken is probably more than either of us expected. He was tireless and a great supporter whose enthusiasm really kept the momentum going for this project.

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This article was written by Z (@Tie_Another_Day). Be sure to follow him on instagram.