Designing 007, an official James Bond exhibit, launched in London

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2012-08-13

Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style, a new exhibition celebrating 50 years of James Bond films, features a variety of costumes, props and other artefacts from every one of EON Productions' twenty-three James Bond films.

From Sweden with Love was delighted be one of the invited to the exclusive launch party of Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style at The Barbican Centre in London on Thursday 5th July 2012. (We were the only Swedish people present at the event.)

In collaboration with EON Productions and with unprecedented access to their archives, Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style is a multi-sensory experience, immersing audiences in the creation and development of Bond style over its auspicious 50 year history.

It explores the craft behind the screen icons, the secret service and villains, tailoring and costumes, set and production design, automobiles, gadgets and special effects, graphic design and motion graphics, exotic locations, stunts and props.

Highlights include gadgets and weapons made for Bond and his notorious adversaries by special effects experts John Stears and Chris Corbuld, along with artwork for sets and storyboards by production designers Sir Ken Adam, Peter Lamont and Syd Cain, and costume designs by Bumble Dawson, Donfeld, Julie Harris (Live and Let Die (1973) and the 1967 version of Casino Royale (1967)), Lindy Hemming (GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002) and Casino Royale (2006)), Ronald Patterson (The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)), Emma Porteous (Octopussy (1983), A View to a Kill (1985) and The Living Daylights (1987)), and Jany Temime (Skyfall (2012)).

Official videos:

Designing Bond's look

Designing Bond's world

On display are lavish screen finery by Hollywood costume designers and major fashion names including Giorgio Armani, Brioni, Roberto Cavalli, Tom Ford, Hubert de Givenchy, Gucci's Frida Giannini, Douglas Hayward, Rifat Ozbek, Jenny Packham, Miuccia Prada, Oscar de la Renta, Anthony Sinclair, Philip Treacy, Emanuel Ungaro and Donatella Versace.

Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style has transformed The Barbican, taking the audience on a journey - a 'making of' and presentation of Bond style over 50 years.

What did we think of the exhibition?
The exhibition is elegantly designed by Ab Rogers and curated by The Barbican, with guest-curation by fashion historian Bronwyn Cosgrave and Oscar®-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming. The Ian Fleming biographer, Andrew Lycett, has acted as consultant for the project. All of them have done a tremendous amount of work to put it all together.

Being Swedish, it was nice to discover a Swedish Goldfinger poster in the entrance, and the fact that Barbara Broccoli suggested the idea for the ice palace in Die Another Day (2002) to be based on the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi located in the north of Sweden. (Peter Lamont then created the icy construction at the backlot of Pinewood Studios.)

One of the rarest artefacts in the exhibit include the first call sheet of Dr. No dated January 16, 1962, which list Sean Connery, Margerat Lewars, Reggie Carter and John Kitzmuller being on set directed by Terence Young (1915-1994).

Without doubt, this is the most ambitious James Bond exhibition to date, a must-see for all film lovers, and James Bond aficionados in particular. You can easily spend a whole day inside it!

Bond guests at the launch party included:
• Alan Church (optical camera operator)
• Andrew Noakes (associate producer)
• Anthony Waye (executive producer)
• Arthur Wooster (second unit director)
• Barbara Broccoli (producer)
• Callum McDougall (unit production manager and executive producer)
• Carole Ashby (actress)
• Caroline Munro (actress)
• Chris Corbould (special effects technician and supervisor)
• Colin Miller (sound editor)
• David Arnold (film composer)
• David Wilson (son of Michael G. Wilson)
• Debbie McWilliams (casting director)
• Goldie (actor)
• Gregg Wilson (son of Michael G. Wilson)
• Fionn Morgan (Ian Fleming’s step-daughter)
• John Glen (second unit director/director)
• John Richardson (special effects supervisor)
• Lili Pohlman
• Lindy Hemming (costume designer)
• Madeline Smith (actress)
• Margaret Nolan (actress)
• Martine Beswicke (actress)
• Meg Simmonds (EON archive director), and her amazing daughters
• Michael G. Wilson (producer)
• Mollie Peters (actress)
• Neal Purvis (screenwriter)
• Norman Wanstall (sound and dubbing editor)
• Peter Janson-Smith (Ian Fleming’s foreign sales agent of the 1950s and 1960s, former Chairman of Glidrose Productions)
• Peter Lamont (production designer)
• Robert Wade (screenwriter)
• Safira Afzal (actress)
• Shane Rimmer (actor)
• Shirley Eaton (actress)
• Steve Begg (visual effects supervisor)
• Stewart Hamilton (second assistant director)
• Valerie Leon (actress)

Friends and members from the Bond community who attended the very exclusive launch party included:

• Ajay Chowdhury (Editor of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)
• Andy Boyle (Bondstars)
• Brad Frank (Member of the Board of Directors, The Ian Fleming Foundation)
• Dave Worrall (co-editor of Cinema Retro)
• Gareth Owen (Roger Moore's PA and proprietor of Bondstars)

Reviews in the press about the exhibition:
>Mail Online, July 5, 2012
>Radio Times, July 9, 2012
>Disegno, July 10, 2012
>Because London, July 12, 2012
>Metro UK, July 16, 2012
>The Globe and Mail, August 4, 2012
>Travel London, August 10, 2012

Many thanks to the Barbican staff (Sir Nicholas Kenyon and the design team in particular), and EON's publicity staff.

Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style is on display at the Barbican Centre in London until September 5, 2012, and then at Toronto’s Bell Lightbox from October 26 to January 20, 2013.

For more information about the exhibit in London, visit the official website.

The new Bond film, Skyfall (Daniel Craig's third film as Ian Fleming's secret agent), opens in UK and Swedish cinemas on October 26, 2012.

This article was written by Anders Frejdh. © 2012 From Sweden with Love.

Schedule for Designing 007 around the world:
>London (from July 6 to September 5, 2012)
>Toronto (October 26, 2012 to January 20, 2013)
>Shanghai (March 28, 2013 to June 30, 2013)
>Melbourne (Nov 1, 2013 to February 23, 2014)
>Moscow (June-September 2014)
>Rotterdam (October 12, 2014 to February 8, 2015)

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Designing 007, an official James Bond exhibit, launched in London

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