Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style

I was really looking forward to this exhibition. Unfortunately I was neither shaken nor stirred. It started off promisingly enough with a recreation of Shirley Eaton in gold paint (Goldfinger) on a rotating bed, and the golden gun (Man with the Golden Gun), and a few other choice gold pieces, but the next casino themed room had a few mannequins that were horribly disproportioned, making most of the clothing looking dumpy and flat for chubby short actors. I have heard that the camera can put on a few pounds, but the way things were displayed, they  would have made everyone the size of Humpty Dumpty on screen.

There are a few models of the underwater Lotus and quite a few villains' costumes, but the whole experience, split in to three separate areas left me underwhelmed and wanting a martini to drown my sorrows, not celebrate.













In a separate area to the right of the exhibition there is a silver birch Aston Martin DB5, paired with a recreation of the suit that Sean Connery wore to Goldfinger's ranch in Kentucky. At no point in time was Sean Connery ever filmed with that suit and the Aston. It somehow seems out of place and a poor mannequin makes the suit look limp and ill fitting. 

The highlight for me was probably the first edition covers on display. Tells you I am getting old. We took inspiration from the first edition cover of Goldfinger to come up with a tie design in homage. They are almost all sold out.

Exhibition details at the Barbican can be found here.

Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style

http://www.barbican.org.uk/bond/

The Barbican marks the 50th anniversary of the James Bond franchise, from 1962's Dr No to this year's Skyfall, with a unique exhibition showcasing the inside story of the design and style of the world's most influential and iconic movie brand.