Bond's original suit to be recreated for Barbican exhibition

The evening suit worn by Sean Connery in the inaugural James Bond film Dr. No is to be recreated by its original tailor’s – Anthony Sinclair - for an upcoming exhibition at the Barbican this summer.

Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style marks the 50th anniversary of the James Bond franchise and promises to showcase the inside story of the design and style of the world's most influential movie brand.

When James Bond was first introduced to our screens in 1962, the first thing to be seen was not the man himself, but the satin turn-back cuffs of his midnight-blue, shawl collared dinner jacket as he dealt cards whilst playing chemin-de-fer in Le Circle room of Les Ambassadeurs Club in Mayfair. The evening suit formed the signature look for all of the James Bond’s that were to follow.

It was Terence Young, the director of Dr. No who turned to his own tailor Anthony Sinclair to oversee the transformation of the relatively unknown and unrefined Connery into the suave and stylish character that prevails in our minds today.

Now 50 years on, the original suit has long since disappeared and so the tailoring firm has been turned to once more to create the garment for a central feature in the Barbican’s upcoming exhibition. Exhaustive research has been carried out to enable the tailor’s to faithfully reproduce the original in time for the exhibition in July.

The finished product will be unveiled at the Barbican on 6th July and will be just one of the pieces displayed at the exhibition, which will showcase five decades of Bond gadgets, sets, costumes and cars, along with the blueprints, drawings and models that went into creating them.

The bespoke tailoring firm, Anthony Sinclair, re-launched earlier this year and in doing so has revived the founder's signature philosophy to produce elegant, understated and timeless clothing for a new generation of modern men.

The production of genuine bespoke hand-tailored clothing remains the core activity of the company, which operates from its new premises at 6 Sackville Street, London under the creative control of British designer David Mason.

The Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style exhibition will take place at the Barbican from 6 July – 5 September 2012 before going on a three-year world tour. Tickets are on sale now at www.barbican.org.uk/bond

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