Before we begin I would like to stress that I am absolutely not here to hand out any commendations to men for being “brave” enough to wear pink.
Long since past are the days when masculine wardrobes were restricted to muted tones of greys, browns, blues and blacks; and the very notion that a former XY chromosome should be congratulated for wearing a shade that is not only eminently flattering but also wonderfully easy to wear (and, essentially, ungendered) is nothing short of barmy.
The truth is, however, that I am here to commend Daniel Craig, the sixth James Bond, who last night wore a deep fuchsia pink velvet tuxedo – double-breasted, no less! – to the much-delayed premiere of No Time To Die, his final turn as 007, at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
Not only did the jacket, a bespoke number from storied Savile Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard, fit Craig like a strangler’s glove, but the details were as impeccable as one would hope from the human vector for the most fastidious spy to have ever been committed to page and screen.
From the pink velvet-clad buttons (correctly fastened – take note, Prince Charles) to the artfully disheveled pocket square, the perfectly hand-tied bow tie, the pristine dress shirt (all from Budd), the eye-popping polish of his patent Crockett & Jones shoes, and the elegant glint of his Sedna gold Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra wristwatch, 53-year-old Craig looked the very picture of modern masculine composure.
The broad peak lapels of his suit, an Anderson & Sheppard signature, lengthened the bulk of his frame and, somehow, worked well in tandem with his quasi-elven ears, while the shoulder of the jacket sat perfectly above his bothersomely honed bicep.
All that wonderful prissiness aside, however, it’s really for the fact that Craig, like a rough-hewn Iris Apfel of his generation, knowingly chose to wear a bright pink jacket against the backdrop of a bold scarlet carpet, that I believe he deserves the most praise.
It has long been decreed by some of the less progressive quarters of the menswear fraternity that pink and red should never be worn together. As outmoded a notion as the one which suggests shades of navy blue and black can’t be sported in tandem (a pile of Blofeld, if you ask me), if worn in the correct way the combination of salmon and scarlet, or of maroon and millennial pink, can look, well, as elegant as Craig did last night.
One thing I will say, however, is that the cut of his jacket sleeve could be a smidge longer. Just by an inch. But that’s a matter of personal taste, Mr Bond.
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