Another Tom Ford Harrington!
This review is of another Tom Ford Harrington that was designed for Daniel Craig for consideration to be included in Quantum of Solace, or at the time of pre-production “Bond 22”. The Harrington jacket is the same as the navy version that was featured in the film, however, this one is in a beautiful ivory cream coloured jacket. I was very fortunate to acquire this jacket from another collector, and is the jewel of my collection.
Test shoots
Daniel Craig was photographed wearing the jacket as part of test shoots to see how it looked. These pictures are important as it allows the costume designer to get an idea of how the jacket looks on the actor and on film. I don’t know why this jacket was not included in the film, but it seems as part of the costume process that photographs were taken of Daniel in several costumes for consideration.
I will say that the test shoot pictures are amazing. You can see Daniel as Bond, and he is wearing an unknown white crew neck t-shirt, a black waistcoat type cardigan, and with indigo blue jeans. Just that look alone is very stylish and one that can be replicated very easily.
Navy vs Cream
From my limited knowledge on how costumers’ style for films, they usually see how the costumes fit and it is a process of consulting with the director and others to consider inclusion within the film. I don’t know what the decision-making process was involved in relation to this jacket, however, from the film it appears that the navy ensemble of the jacket, polo shirt, and 7 For All Mankind jeans was the preferred look for the film. It should be noted that TOM FORD did sell the cream-coloured Harrington jacket, whereas the navy one was not commercially sold.
One previous owner…
On Christmas eve a few years ago, a FedEx delivery was received and inside that box was this amazing item.
The box:
The TOM FORD box is labelled with the address of the TOM FORD New York boutique at that time on Madison Avenue, it is adorned by a wax like stamp and wrapping with the name TOM FORD and Madison Avenue. Within the box is a lovely surprise. It includes two photos of Daniel Craig modelling the jacket taped within the box lid, in the photos he is wearing the cream-coloured Harrington jacket, a white crew neck t-shirt, and a black waistcoat cardigan.
Learn more about the style of James Bond in our book From Tailors With Love: An Evolution of Menswear Through the Bond Films. Available on Amazon.
The jacket:
What can I say about the cream colour? It is a little bit more than off-white. The pictures in social media make it look a lot lighter than it is, but it is a lovely cream colour. The jacket is identical to the design of the navy Harrington jacket as featured in the film. However, there are some nice contrasting details that are just sublime. The first are the zippers, the dark cream / brown coloured leather zip handle are made from leather and have a nice TF embossed within the leather, and the buttons on the collar and sleeves are lovely.
The interior pocket:
The jewel of this wonderful jacket is the small embroidered name tag, which reads: “Tom Ford, Daniel Craig, Bond 22”. Also within the interior pocket was a small colour photograph of Daniel Craig wearing the jacket. These tags were produced for the Harrington jackets used in the film, but this is the only TOM FORD cream jacket to have this tag.
The fit…
I am a lot shorter than Daniel Craig, so I wasn’t looking to get the jacket to wear. Saying that the jacket length hits mid waist, so a few inches longer, but not as long as I initially thought. The sleeves are about 2 inches too long, but again not as long as I first thought. The body of the jacket is a size too big, and almost reminds me of this type of Harrington jackets that I wore as a kid. Indeed if I was back in the late 80’s early 90’s, I could just get away with wearing the jacket.
I have never been tempted to alter this jacket. It is a piece of movie history, and there is a lot of provenance that mean that this jacket is truly unique in that with the navy Harrington, this jacket is the only one that has been worn by Daniel Craig but not featured in the film. Also, it is an item from arguably the most stylish Bond movie ever, and it has only been recently that the navy Harrington has been recreated for several Bond fans.
What if….
What if this jacket was used instead of the navy Harrington? It is an interesting question; would the colours be too similar to the background? Would it actually make Bond more visible, remember how Bond wore the navy Harrington when meeting Felix at the bar in Bolivia, and the chase thereafter by the CIA agents.
The dark navy (almost tactical look), would allow Bond to hide in the shadows whereas the cream-coloured jacket could stand out more. Then there is the comparison with Steve McQueen. He was famed for wearing a stone / cream coloured Baracuta jackets. I could see Daniel Craig wearing this as his personal outfit of choice and I like the way he wears it with a nice t-shirt, and jeans.
Final thoughts…
The jacket is desired for several reasons: Daniel Craig has worn this jacket; the colour of the jacket; a piece of movie history; and it is just a sublime piece of tailoring. For me I bought the jacket to start a project which didn’t really succeed, but I just adore this jacket which fuses the style of Steve McQueen and Bond just makes this an amazing jacket.
As this jacket is a part of movie memorabilia, I have left this jacket untouched. Yet I yearn for an opportunity to own a version of this jacket. This is where Mr Love, Daniel Love, comes in with his Royale Filmwear Cream version, which I think is a great attempt at recreating this wonderful jacket.
There is also a project on ajb007 to put names down for either the Navy or Cream Tom Ford reproduction. It is nice to see that there are options, and some could argue that a stone coloured G9 Baracuta Harrington is enough to suffice as both McQueen wore that jacket, as has Daniel Craig. But this jacket has a je ne sais quoi feel to it that is indescribable. Overall, this is a treasured piece, and it is something really cool to say that you have an item that has actually graced 007’s shoulders albeit for a test shoot.
Credits
Article by Z aka Tie Another Day on Instagram.
