In Skyfall, black tie is not black. Bond arrives at the Macau casino in a two-piece dinner suit in navy wool by Tom Ford, a colour that photographs as midnight blue and reads as nearly black by lamplight. The Tom Ford Skyfall dinner suit is the clearest reminder that a dinner suit in a deep navy is a perfectly good alternative to black.
In the film
Daniel Craig’s Bond wears the suit in Skyfall. One of the film suits was sold as Lot 42 at Christie’s, fetching GBP 46,850 (US$75,756). Sources note that the poster images show a brighter navy than the colour on screen, which was a darker midnight blue.
Owning it now
The film suit is gone: it was auctioned in 2012, and this model is out of production. Our button runs an eBay search for a Tom Ford navy dinner suit; what turns up second-hand will be similar suits, not the film copy. Tom Ford still sells dinner suits and tuxedos, and the current range is listed on its site, but those are different cuts. If you are looking for the look, the brief is a two-piece, single-breasted dinner suit in dark navy wool, with a shawl collar if you want it softer. Wear it as Bond does, with a white shirt and a black bow tie, and keep the cloth matt.
In the same spirit
These are current alternatives, not pieces from the film.
- Brioni Tuxedo (Casino Royale): a current black wool dinner suit with satin lapels, made in Italy. It is black rather than navy, but it makes the same argument for quiet black tie.
See other formalwear under clothing, or Daniel Craig’s Bond.
Specifications
| Maker | Tom Ford |
|---|---|
| Type | Two-piece dinner suit |
| Cloth | Navy wool |
| Film | Skyfall (2012), Macau sequence |
| Auction | Lot 42, GBP 46,850 (US$75,756) |
Questions
What dinner suit does Bond wear in Skyfall?
A two-piece navy wool dinner suit by Tom Ford, worn in the Macau casino sequence.
Is the Skyfall tuxedo black or navy?
It is a very dark navy, often described as midnight blue. Posters show it brighter than it appears on screen.
Can you buy the Tom Ford Skyfall suit?
Not the exact suit. The film copy sold at auction and the model is out of production. Tom Ford’s current dinner suits are different models, and second-hand examples vary.
More from the film is in our Skyfall guide.
