Mads Mikkelsen’s version of Le Chiffre is introduced in Casino Royale dressed in a thoroughly villainous manner. However, his suit is very Bond-like, made by English tailor Chris Kerr. The suit is made of a deep charcoal-brown lightweight worsted that is woven from mottled yarns. In low lighting the suit looks black, but outdoors the variegation is apparent.
The button three suit jacket has a structured silhouette with straight shoulders with roped sleeve heads. The lapels are a medium width with a slightly high gorge. The jacket is detailed with single vent, flapped pockets and four buttons on each cuff. To show he’s a flamboyant character, Le Chiffre wears his last cuff button open.
The suit trousers match the cut of trousers of James Bond’s dinner suit in Casino Royale. They have a medium rise, single reverse pleats and medium-width tapered legs. The trousers are supported with a black leather belt.
Unlike the classic suit, the dark shirt immediately identifies Le Chiffre as a villain. This one element of Le Chiffre’s outfit does all the work. The shirt is aubergine—a dark, muted purple—and it’s not a colour appropriate for a formal shirt. The darker a shirt is, the less formal it is, and shirts darker than medium shades are not formal enough to wear with most suits. This bold way of breaking convention is a classic method of dressing a villain. By boldly showing they don’t follow the rules of dressing up, they’re also showing that they don’t follow other rules.
The shirt has a moderate spread collar with short points. The suit jacket sleeves are too long and make it difficult to see the shirt’s cuffs, but they are most likely a type of button cuff.
Le Chiffre wears a solid black tie with a medium-sized self grid check. He ties it in a windsor knot that is too fat for his collar. Such a large knot needs a taller or wider collar with longer points. Le Chiffre’s black shoes have an elongated, square toe, which was very trendy at the time.
Hi, Matt
I believe some of the suits worn by Mads “Le Chiffre” may have been made by Chris Kerr Bespoke, Soho, London, who makes a lot of suits for films, and has pictures of Mads (as Le Chiffre) in his shop.
Regards
Mike
Thank you. I updated the article with the information.
Boy does he really look the part of the villain for the movie. But he dresses way different from the novel, however this contrast from bond’s suits is a nice touch to distinguish them.
The suit does have a bit of a brown colour and brown would fit the environment he wears it in. One could say he looks out of place with the suit on, but it is a business deal. Wearing a dark suit with a darkish open neck shirt is done a lot these days, but In my opinion it doesn’t really work. But you do see it a far bit at a cocktail party or a semi-casual event in the evening.
I am a customer of Chris Kerr and he is a fantastic tailor with the ability to produce almost any style due to the amount of work he does in film and theatre. Quality of Savile Row at a third of the price too – his shop in on Berwick street, Soho
Absolutely garish which is why this suit is archetypical Bond villiain Style. The purple shirt is what really puts it over the top
Oh and in addition to what you said, having the knot of the tie too fat for the collar with short points and too long sleeves gives him a feeling of untrustworthiness.
Not sure I like the black tie with this outfit. The dark eggplant shirt pushes him into villain territory, but it at least follows with the muted earth tone of the suit. The black tie stands out too much from what was clearly intended by its wearer to be a low-contrast outfit.
Villains wearing dark suits works well. Shows that he is somebody who cannot be trusted
Hello,
I was wondering if you could make a future article on Le Chiffre’s outfit that he is wearing on his yacht?
I think I saw a shot where you could see he wore double cuffs. Interesting although the trousers are mid rise, they don’t seem that high compared to the button stance of the jacket. Maybe wearing the jacket unbuttoned was more flattering than wearing it closed for this reason. Or maybe his trousers had just fallen down a bit between takes.
Firstly is the tie done in a full or half windsor and would a four in hand have been preferable for this shirt?