Exclusive: Turnbull & Asser on James Bond, Casino Royale and How the Next 007 Should Dress
Updated: 9 hours ago
Twenty years after Casino Royale, Turnbull & Asser revisits its extraordinary relationship with James Bond. In an exclusive interview with The Life of Luxury, Creative Director Roberto Menichetti takes us inside the new collection, reveals why Bond’s style has endured — and explains how he believes the next 007 should dress.
Few wardrobes have influenced menswear quite like James Bond’s.
The dinner jacket, the immaculate evening shirt, the precisely chosen tie: for more than six decades, 007 has represented a particular kind of masculine elegance. Never overly styled and rarely attention-seeking, Bond’s clothes have traditionally communicated something about the man before he has said a word.
Few houses understand that wardrobe quite as intimately as Turnbull & Asser.
The British shirtmaker’s relationship with Bond stretches across generations of 007, from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. Today, its As Seen On James Bond collection alone comprises 13 products worn as part of ten outfits across five Bond films, while the Turnbull & Asser archive suggests further pieces have appeared throughout the franchise.
Now, twenty years after Casino Royale introduced Daniel Craig’s interpretation of James Bond, Turnbull & Asser is returning to the film with a new collection.
But rather than simply reproducing what Bond wore in 2006, the house has looked at what made the wardrobe work in the first place — and how those principles can translate into menswear today.
In an exclusive interview with The Life of Luxury, Turnbull & Asser Creative Director Roberto Menichetti takes us inside that process, from returning to original garments, documents and cinematic references to reconsidering the codes of black tie. And, looking beyond Casino Royale, he reveals how he would approach perhaps the biggest menswear assignment of them all: dressing the next James Bond.
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Reimagining Bond Without Recreating Him
How do you revisit one of cinema's most recognisable wardrobes without simply recreating the past?
For Menichetti, the answer begins in the archive — although not necessarily in the way one might expect. “An archive is not a collection of designs to be reproduced, but a legacy we have a responsibility to understand and interpret,” he tells The Life of Luxury.
“Understanding and respecting tradition is not about preserving the ashes, but keeping the flame alive.”
Bond and Turnbull & Asser share immediately recognisable codes: proportion, precision, exceptional materials and what Menichetti describes as a particularly British sense of restraint. But simply replicating those details would miss the point.
Instead, he wanted to understand why they existed. “The archive allows me to distinguish the enduring principles from the details that belong to a particular moment,” he explains.
From there came a process of subtraction: removing elements no longer necessary, softening those that had become too rigid and allowing the clothes to respond to how men actually dress and move today.
“The outcome should be recognisable, but not nostalgic; familiar, but not predictable,” Menichetti says. “I do not want the modernisation to be visible. I want it to be felt in the way the clothes move and are worn.”
It is an important distinction. This isn't Bond memorabilia. Nor is it an attempt to freeze Daniel Craig’s 2006 wardrobe in time. For Menichetti, respecting an icon means allowing it to continue evolving.
What Turnbull & Asser Discovered in the Bond Archive
Returning to original garments, documents, photographs and cinematic references revealed something particularly interesting about Bond's clothes. What struck Menichetti most was not extravagance, but discipline.
“When you look at the clothes themselves, beyond the mythology of Bond, you realise how carefully considered so many of the choices are,” he says. “There is very little decoration without purpose. The proportions, the collars, the evening shirts, the way the shirt and jacket work together — everything has a reason.”
Rather than treating the archive as a catalogue of pieces to reproduce, Menichetti began to see it as a guide to the way Bond dresses.
Precision matters, but it should never look as though the wearer has tried too hard. “Every detail is considered, yet the overall impression is one of natural ease.” That idea feels particularly relevant when looking back at Casino Royale.
Why Casino Royale Style Still Works 20 Years Later
Casino Royale may belong to another era of Bond, but its menswear has proved remarkably resistant to dating. Menichetti believes there is a simple reason. “Because it was built around character, not fashion.”
Daniel Craig's Bond introduced a notably physical interpretation of 007. His wardrobe had to accommodate that physicality rather than simply create an image around it.
The clothes, Menichetti notes, are “formal but natural, strong but not rigid.” That combination arguably feels even more relevant in 2026. Luxury menswear has shifted significantly towards comfort, softer tailoring and ease of movement, but Casino Royale was already working with those ideas twenty years ago.
“Good menswear endures when you stop noticing the period in which it was created,” Menichetti says. “You simply see the man.”
What Should a Modern Bond Wardrobe Say?
If Bond's clothes communicate his character before he speaks, what should the modern interpretation say about the man wearing it?
Menichetti's answer comes down to three words:
“Confidence without ostentation.”
“I have always believed that elegance does not need to announce itself,” he explains.
The man Menichetti imagines wearing the collection understands quality and understands the rules of formal dressing, but does not require either to be immediately recognised by somebody else.
There is precision, but also ease.
“He understands the codes of formal dressing and, because he understands them, he can wear the clothes naturally, without appearing self-conscious.”
It is an approach Menichetti sees as fundamentally Bond. “Self-assurance expressed through restraint.”
Why James Bond's Black Tie Is Going Midnight Blue
One of the defining choices within the collection is its use of Midnight Blue rather than traditional black. And for Menichetti, the difference is about far more than colour. Black, he argues, can suggest absorption, containment and even protection. It reflects very little light and creates a boundary around its wearer. Midnight Blue offers something different.
“Midnight Blue, by contrast, is a darkness that retains depth,” he explains. “It evokes the night sky, the depth of the sea — something into which the eye can still travel.”
The distinction becomes particularly interesting when thinking about Bond himself. “A very dark blue retains the gravity of black, but suggests that a powerful presence can still be approachable.”
Under evening light, the colour can appear almost black, but velvet and silk satin catch the light in different ways, revealing its richness. There is, inevitably, something cinematic about it too.
Without becoming theatrical, Menichetti believes Midnight Blue carries “mystery, restraint and sensuality” — qualities that feel particularly at home in Bond's world. And despite the continued casualisation of menswear, he sees the dinner jacket as anything but obsolete.
“As our lives become increasingly virtual and informal, there will always be a moment when a man needs to dress for reality.”
Are the Rules of Black Tie Changing?
The modern luxury wardrobe looks very different to the one Bond first inhabited.
Tailoring has softened. Dress codes have loosened. Comfort has become an increasingly important part of luxury. So, does black tie need to change with it? Yes — but not by abandoning what makes it black tie in the first place.
“I do not believe black tie needs to lose its identity in order to become contemporary,” Menichetti says. “The conventions of formal dressing matter.”
Instead, he believes evolution should happen in the relationship between the garment and the body.
Construction can soften. Fabrics can become lighter. Proportions can change. Most importantly, the wearer must be able to move.
“The dinner jacket remains one of the defining garments of masculine elegance,” he says. “Its future does not lie in making it casual, but in removing rigidity while preserving its authority.”
It's a philosophy that runs throughout the Casino Royale collection.
Velvet, silk satin and deep Midnight Blue inevitably carry cinematic associations, but Menichetti is conscious of the line separating cinematic clothing from costume. His solution is to start with the person rather than the picture.
“Costume exists primarily to communicate something visually. Clothing, on the other hand, has to live on the body.”
Weight, touch, movement and proportion therefore become as important as appearance.
“The moment a man becomes too conscious of what he is wearing, part of the elegance disappears,” he says. “Cinema can suggest the atmosphere. The clothes, however, have to belong to real life.”
The Casino Royale Details Bond Fans Will Notice
That doesn't mean Turnbull & Asser has resisted referencing the film altogether.
Look closely and Bond fans will find details drawn directly from Casino Royale, including pocket squares referencing Bond's winning hand.
The key is discretion.
A pocket square, Menichetti explains, is almost private. Depending on how it is folded, its design can either be displayed or largely hidden. That allows a recognisable reference to exist without turning the entire outfit into a commemorative piece.
Elsewhere, references are communicated more subtly through colour, construction, material and proportion.
Menichetti likes the possibility that someone could buy and wear the collection without understanding every cinematic reference — only to discover those details later.
His philosophy is neatly captured in a single sentence:
“Well-crafted clothes should reward attention, not demand it.”
What Has 60 Years of James Bond Style Taught Turnbull & Asser?
Actors change. Silhouettes change. Even the idea of what masculinity looks like has changed enormously since Bond first appeared on screen.
Yet when The Life of Luxury asks what has remained consistent throughout 007's wardrobe, Menichetti chooses an unexpected word: Appropriateness.
“Bond understands where he is, what the situation requires and how to dress accordingly,” he explains. “That is perhaps more important than any individual shirt, dinner jacket or suit.”
Precision is the other constant.
Bond's clothes rarely need to explain themselves. Instead, they quietly communicate authority.
Menichetti sees a clear parallel with Turnbull & Asser itself. Craftsmanship, proportion and quality are present, but their purpose isn't to demand attention.
“They are there to give confidence to the person wearing them.”
“The actors change, the silhouettes change and the world around Bond changes, but that idea of controlled, natural elegance remains.”
And that raises a much bigger question.
So, How Should the Next James Bond Dress?
If Menichetti were handed the opportunity to dress the next James Bond from the very beginning, he wouldn't start by choosing a tuxedo.
In fact, he wouldn't start with clothes at all.
“Before deciding what he should wear, I would want to understand who this Bond is,” he tells us.
“How does he move? What is his relationship with the world? What does he carry with him, and what must he leave behind?”
It's perhaps the most interesting point in our conversation.
The next Bond, Menichetti believes, should not look as though he has simply inherited the wardrobe of Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig or any of his predecessors. He needs his own visual language.
The fundamental principles can remain — precision, appropriateness and restraint — but the expression of them must belong to the man and the era.
“A new Bond should not look like someone who has inherited the wardrobe of his predecessors,” he says. “He should have his own visual language… capable of speaking to the present.”
But Menichetti's vision for the next 007 goes beyond the cut of his dinner jacket. He would like to see a Bond who is comfortable allowing greater emotional depth to show. “I believe a contemporary Bond should not be afraid to allow his sensitivity and depth to be perceived,” he says. “Strength does not necessarily mean being impenetrable.”
For a character whose power has so often been communicated through invulnerability, it is an intriguing proposition. Menichetti instead imagines strength that acknowledges fear, pain and limitation without becoming controlled by them.
“I would be interested in a Bond who demonstrates that vulnerability and strength are not opposites,” he says.
And his clothes would reflect that evolution. Fewer gestures. Greater precision. Extraordinary materials and intelligent construction. Clothes designed to move naturally enough that they become an extension of the character rather than a costume placed upon him.
There is, however, one quality Menichetti would be reluctant to surrender. Mystery. In a world of constant communication, visibility and branding, Bond should remain someone we can never entirely read.
“His elegance should not tell us everything about him,” Menichetti says. “It should suggest a new era without declaring it.”
Perhaps that is ultimately what Turnbull & Asser's return to Casino Royale gets right. The most successful way to honour Bond isn't to recreate the man we already know. It is to understand the codes that made him an icon — and work out which deserve to follow him into whatever comes next. Or, as Menichetti puts it: “The next Bond should not appear to be the custodian of a tradition. He should be the proof that the tradition is still alive."
Discover the Casino Royale Collection
Twenty years after Casino Royale first arrived on screen, Turnbull & Asser’s new collection reinterprets the codes of Bond eveningwear for today — from Midnight Blue tailoring and silk satin to subtle references that dedicated 007 fans will recognise.
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