From GoldenEye in 1995 through Casino Royale in 2006, James Bond—as portrayed by both Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig—was dressed by Roman tailoring house Brioni via costume designer Lindy Hemming. Brioni dressed Bond in various different models (specific designs) throughout the appearances. The models that Brosnan and Craig wear change primarily to stay current with Brioni’s models and to keep up with trends. None of Brioni’s models are all excessively trendy, but like all of Bond’s suits throughout the series, they touch upon the trends of the time.
Bond’s clothes from Brioni follow the brand’s specific models, but they are fitted in a bespoke manner and often modified to achieve a specific aesthetic. The Brioni models merely offer a starting place for Bond’s clothes. A jacket or trouser model is a certain silhouette but does not signify details like pocket or vent styles.
I would like to preface this by thanking @raccoon007japan on Instagram for working with Brioni to gather most of the information presented in this article. I would also like to thank Eisuke Ochiai—@inspiredbybond on Instagram—for help with translating Raccoon007’s research and consolidating the information. Most of the GoldenEye model names were originally presented by Piero Cirino in an Italian magazine called Mr. Bond!. I have written this article, which presents all of this research along with some of my own analysis.
Ochiai described the process of gathering the information: ‘Such questions are answered by each department, who ask the head of the department, who ask the factory (Roman Style) and Angelo Petrucci [a tailor at Brioni who designed Bond’s suits]. Such data is old, hence archive data isn’t as clearly recorded and is a result of research from each individual. [It is sometimes] the case where the person in charge, or someone who knows something, is no longer with Brioni.’
The information that could be gathered concerning the models used for each film follows below. Model names are written in all uppercase to set them apart from the rest of the text.
GoldenEye
The foundation for Pierce Brosnan’s Bond wardrobe is the Brioni AUGUSTO suit jacket. This is the model he wears in GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough.
AUGUSTO is likely named after the first Roman emperor. It also translates in English to ‘august’ and may be defined as ‘marked by majestic dignity or grandeur’. The AUGUSTO model undoubtedly gives Bond such a look. The AUGUSTO jacket has a classic Roman cut and a full, traditional fit. The shoulders are large, straight and padded, and the lapels are a medium width. It can be made with one, two or three buttons, and the button stance is low. For GoldenEye, the length and button stance are lowered from how Brioni would traditionally fit the suits.
The jackets and trousers of a suit always have separate model names. The GoldenEye suit trousers are the SNELLO model and have double reverse pleats, tapered legs and belt loops, and Bond’s are finished with turn-ups. SNELLO translates to ‘slender’ or ‘slim’. While they are full-cut by today’s standards, that was not the case for 1995 trends when excessively baggy trousers were fashionable. These trousers are meant to have clean, trim lines.
The six-button waistcoat is the NUMBER 1 model.
The cotton suit from the Cuba scene has a looser fit, but the model is still the same AUGUSTO and SNELLO. The models are tweaked in different ways for different films and sometimes for different suits within each film.
The navy cashmere overcoat is the ADIGE model, which is a full-length coat with notched lapels and low-fastening three-button front, following the low-fastening trend of the 1990s.
The black mohair-and-wool dinner jacket is made in the ORFEO model, named after Orpheus—a poet and musician in Greek mythology. The model has a single button on the front with silk-faced peaked lapels and silk-covered buttons. Brioni’s dinner jackets all have separate model names from the suits. The cut is similar to the AUGUSTO, thought it looks like the shoulders may have more padding. A pair of SNELLO trousers complete the dinner suit.
The navy blazer with metal buttons is the PLINIO, likely named after Pliny the Elder or Pliny the Younger of Ancient Rome. PLINIO is a button-two, show-three model, the most classic double-breasted configuration. Both suit jackets and blazers were made in the PLINIO model. The full-cut triple-reverse-pleat trousers that Brosnan wears with the blazer are reportedly not from Brioni, as it was not a style they made.
Raccoon007 was able to find out from Brioni that the blazer is made of 250gm hopsack. Brioni do not have fabric information for most of the clothes they made for Bond, and this may be in part because many of the clothes they made were not of Brioni fabrics.
Brioni also told Raccoon007 that they made a white shirt with a customized LEONID collar for GoldenEye, but it is unclear which shirt this is and if Brosnan even wears the shirt in the film. The standard LEONID collar has an 9.3 cm point with a 15.5 cm spread and is 3.8 cm high, so it is a wide spread collar with long points. None of Brosnan’s shirt collars in GoldenEye have a collar close to resembling the LEONID collar.
Most of the model names for GoldenEye were originally published by Piero Cirino, but Raccoon007 was able to confirm most of Cirino’s research and provide the model name of the overcoat as well as other details.
Tomorrow Never Dies
The suits are the same in Tommorow Never Dies as in GoldenEye, with the modified AUGUSTO model and the SNELLO model.
One of the most signicant pieces unique to Tommorow Never Dies is the fawn-coloured cashmere ADDA double-breasted overcoat, named after the Adda river in North Italy. The coat is a button-two, show-three model with wide 11.5 cm peaked lapels and ‘narrow shoulders’, according to Brioni’s model description.
The World Is Not Enough
The AUGUSTO model continues for The World Is Not Enough, but the fashionably full and long cut and low button stance from Brosnan’s first two Bond films has been scaled back to more classic proportions that are typical for the standard AUGUSTO. The trousers are now the DELTA model, which usually have a darted front, belt loops and trim slightly tapered legs. The DELTA may also be made with pleats, and the trousers with the cream herringbone linen suit are an example with double reverse pleats.
Die Another Day
For Die Another Day, Brioni updated Brosnan’s suit model to the NOMENTANO, named after a quartiere of Rome. The model is similar to the AUGUSTO but has a trimmer cut with narrower shoulders, a higher button stance and a higher gorge (lapel seam). It has either two buttons or three buttons. The trousers are the DELTA model, all of which have a darted front in the film.
Brioni has records for bespoke camp shirts—featured in the Cuba scenes—and business shirts for Die Another Day. The camp collar is based on the WILL collar. The cutaway collar on the business shirts is completely bespoke, but they think it may be a modified MAX collar, which is a moderately proportioned wide spread collar.
Casino Royale
When Daniel Craig was cast as Bond in Casino Royale, Lindy Hemming was still the costume designer and Brioni was still making James Bond’s suits. Four years had passed since Die Another Day, and Brioni had a new model that was slightly updated from the NOMENTANO. For Casino Royale, Craig is dressed in the CHIGI suit, which is similar to the NOMENTANO but has a higher gorge, waist and button stance, and the lapels are narrower at 8.5 cm. Its proportions are more fashion-forward than the NOMENTANO. CHIGI is the name of a Roman princely family.
The trousers are the DELTA model, the same as what Brosnan wore in The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day.
The dinner suit is the CAPITOL model, which has one button at the front and peaked lapels like all of Brioni’s dinner suits for Bond. These lapels are narrower and have a higher gorge and less pointed lapels than any that Brosnan wore.
Craig’s business shirts in Casino Royale are made by Brioni. His collar is a custom variation on the CLARK collar, a classic semi-spread collar. The standard CLARK collar has an 8 cm point with a 12.5 cm spread and is 4 cm high. Brioni cannot confirm the changes made to the collar, but Craig’s collar appears to have been raised a little from the standard CLARK.
While most of the models that Bond wore are no longer part of Brioni’s standard collection, they are all still available through their custom programme. Ochiai states that this is necessary for Brioni to offer ‘given their VIP clientele who tend to stick to their favoured cut’. Decades later, Raccoon007 has successfully re-created a number of Brosnan’s outfits through Brioni.
Again, I would like to thank to @raccoon007japan and @inspiredbybond for helping to bring us this information. I would also like to thank Piero Cirino for the research he conducted many years ago.
Great discoveries!
Are the TWINE Delta trousers less tapered than the Snello trousers he wore before?
I think they are tapered less but are narrower overall.
When talking about TND, Hemming is quoted as saying she lowered the button stance 1”. Not sure if that’s in addition to the changes in GE or just what she changed about the Augusto model initially.
It seems impossible to imagine the Brosnan Bond character (assuming he maintained a similar taste) getting his suits from Brioni today, unless he was already a longtime customer who could just order his “usual.” The company seems quite a bit removed from their 90s styling, given all their recent direction changes over the past decade. They seem lost.
I took that as to mean the button stance was lowered for both GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies. It doesn’t appear lower in the latter film to me.
You’re right that Brioni wouldn’t work for Bond in the same way today. Today, Brosnan gets the same effect from Tom Ford as he got from Brioni 20 years ago.
Great article, Matt.
In your documents is there any info on the linen fabric used for the blue DAD floral shirt? I know the fabric was used on a long sleeve shirt with a standard collar.
Best article ever. Period.
Does the Nomentano suit jackets Brosnan wore in DAD also had 9.5 cm wide lapels ?
It’s interesting, I have a Nomentano Brioni suit probably from the same period with a lower button stance and gorge than Brosnan’s. More similar to the Twine proportions. The padding is rather light though.
Brosnan’s lapels look about 9.5 cm.
Do you know what differentiates the Augusto model from the Palatino ?
I think the Palatino has stronger shoulders. The fit is probably different as well.
One thing that strikes me when looking at the photos is how Brosnan physically changed from Goldeneye onwards. In Goldeneye he is positively skinny, whereas already 2 years later in TND he both looks quite a bit older and heavier. And the weight gain continued until peaking in DAD. Strange that he was allowed to (or allowed himself to) “go” that way, when we see how DC is in better shape than ever for NTD.
Does anyone know Brosnan’s approximate weight in GE vs DAD?
S
Supposedly his weight went from 164 lbs to 211 lbs. I don’t know if that is to be believed.
I’d say the 164 pounds in Goldeneye would be pretty accurate. He was lean, but fit and toned. You see him without his shirt on in the pool scene and he is fit for his era. He is definitely bigger in DAD but he was also bigger in TWINE though not overweight. I have read him saying in an interview not long after DAD that he weighed 209 pounds (95kgs) on a good day. So 211 pounds wouldn’t have been too far off. He is 6 foot 2. Brosnan likes a beer, wine or a whiskey occasionally in real life and he doesn’t have a dietitian setting up meal plans like a lot of actors have now. He also was doing weight training more for DAD then he did during Goldeneye era so he would have had more muscle in 2002 as well as a bit of body fat.
Interesting if off-topic discussion. I have met Brosnan; he’s a tall, athletic guy. Anyone watching Remington Steele can see that. He is physically convincing and, in Goldeneye, is almost exactly Flemings Bond’s height and weight (based on the SMERSH dossier in From Russia With Love, Fleming-Bond is 6’1″ and 167 lbs; Brosnan was 6’1″ and 165 at Goldeneye). Brosnan put on more muscle for TND, slimmed down a big for TWINE but maintaining most of the increased muscle. He looks great in all three films, and, despite some increased weight in DAD, looks terrific. I think audiences have, in the super-hero era, become, as @Dr.LisaFunnell has pointed out, body-centered. That was never the appeal of Bond for me – it was the trappings around him, and I never thought Craig can particularly blend into the surroundings or play the golf game in Goldfinger; he always looks like a bodyguard or ex-special forces. That’s fine for the current era, but it’s a dramatic change in how Bond is portrayed onscreen compared to 1962-2002. And Craig, despite the likely-supplement-fueled physique, is giving up (assuming one believes the studio-listed 5’10”) 3-4 inches and 20-30 pounds to his predecessors in any athletic endeavor.
I was a fan of Remington Steele, and I envisioned Brosnan as Bond long before he got the role, but I thought he was painfully thin in RS and GE. Connery, Lazenby, and even Moore pre-OP had more physical presence. (Dalton always looked odd to me, with his slim physique and large head.)
I sort of doubt those numbers too (including the oft-repeated claim that Brosnan was both the lightest and heaviest Bond). I think the heaviest Bond is probably Connery in DAF ahah
To me Brosnan was definitely the lightest but yes the heaviest is clearly Connery in DAF. I don’t think Brosnan’s weight increased continually. Clearly in Twine he is slimmer than in TND, after two years. I think he looked pretty fine in both TND and Twine from a « physically believable » action hero point of view. Yet what I appreciate in his Bond movies is that he seems pretty comfortable with his body, be it skinny in Goldeneye, slightly heavy in DAD and in between for his other two Bond movies. And the Brioni cut worked well with him whatever shape he was in ! Nothing like today’s current Brioni suits for sure.
I agree Brosnan always carried himself with a pretty consistent presence, regardless of weight. He was trained by the same swedish dancer (Yat Malmgren) who worked with Connery on his “panther”-like movement. Connery did move more like a purposeful, animal on the slow prowl in the first 2 or 3 Bonds (and the other non-Bond films of that time like Marnie or Woman of Straw), but by his final few Bond movies (when he didn’t give a shit anymore), he was mostly just doing a relaxed strut reminiscent of how Brosnan also moved.
Connery had a broad chest, Brosnan doesn’t. Regardless of their weight. Connery was 195 pounds (88kg) when he made DAF and he wouldn’t have had much muscle then. He wasn’t taking care of himself and he wouldn’t have been working out. It wasn’t commonplace for actors of Connery’s era to workout too much beyond running, push-ups and sit ups. Connery worked out apparently with light dumbbells and barbells into his elder years but he had a bodybuilding background.
There might be some official documentation on that DAF number you’re quoting, but wasn’t he already 201lbs in Thunderball? In the Playboy interview at the time, he said he weighed himself on all the scales that were around the Shrublands set and was 14stone 5lbs (201). In any event, it would certainly seem he was heavier in DAF than TB.
By far, my favourite suits of the Brioni era are from TWINE and DAD. CR’s are also good, but don’t quite have the same punch.
I was under impression Casino Royale dinner jacket was Spartaco model rather than Capitol – especially since Brioni marketed a 007 version of it along with the film?
What 3 piece suit is in the end scene? Looks like a Palatino to me?
It’s possible that the ready-to-wear Casino Royale dinner jacket was a different model than the one Daniel Craig wore for fit purposes. They may have wanted a more mainstream fit for the ready-to-wear version.
The three-piece at the end is a CHIGI. The PALATINO was an older model with a fuller fit, larger shoulders and a different lapel shape.
I liked the Brioni era of Bond suits, they just seem to fit the character of Bond well. My personal favorites of course were the Goldeneye Navy Birdseye suit, the Charcoal suits from TND and TWINE, and the Charcoal Blue Plaid Suit from Casino Royale. I would love to have the Charcoal Blue suit but in a birdseye weave as I love a good birdseye pattern.
Brosnan wears the PALATINO model in the movie Remember Me.