Many movie costumes are custom made, such that the closest thing you can get to owning them yourself is a chance purchase of something similar, or to have your tailer whip you up a copy. But the James Bond franchise is as much about capturing the zeitgeist as it is about gadgets, girls and guns. Look back at the Bond films through the decades and you’ll catch a glimpse of the musicians and singers, the actors and actresses, the clothing and hairstyles and even the social and political concerns that shaped the day.
Which is part of the reason we watch with such interest as Skyfall starts its domino chain of cinema release dates globally. We’re interested in the careers it will shape and the reviews it will receive, and not least of all the designers and outfits that were chosen to clothe the characters. Here’s one of those outfits: a peridot-coloured silk gown worn by Naomie Harris.
This is one of those garments that was not custom designed for the film. It is, in fact, from UK designer Amanda Wakeley’s fall 2011 collection. Wakeley has wisely re-released the dress, so if you fancy it, for £995.00 you can get your hands on it and get your Bond Girl on.
I’ll reserve judgement on the choice of costuming until I see the film, but based on the picture above it seems fairly rational given the colouring of the set and the general desire to strike a balance between contemporary and classic (though more variation from the floor-sweeping silk gown cliche might be nice).
But the all-important question, the question of influence, is whether the massive marketing coup of appearing in a Bond film will cause the dress to fly off Amanda Wakeley’s shelves.
With the increasing number of sizes being marked ‘sold out’ on Wakeley’s website (and that goes for all three colours in which the dress is available), the answer would seem to be yes.
