A quick update on the project's progress. Exciting times, indeed! The ‘Copper’ Hamburg has been received by T&A, supplied by a generous member of the forum for CAD scanning. It is an absolute stunner!
We now have orders for the Rubyeon, the Copper Hamburg, the Bilbao, and the London Flight ties all submitted to the T&A tie department.
We have discovered that the London Flight tie design was a Charles Hill tie. Charles Hill Silks was a company bought by Turnbull’s in the mid 90’s and their designs were used as several Bond ties. Apparently, these gold and blue squares ties were originally sold to people attending Ascot meetings. However, one of the other famous Charles Hill ties is the TWINE promotional tie. Here is a photo of it.
It's worth clarifying that these Charles Hill Silk designs were acquired by T&A in the mid 90's, and then used to make the Bond ties (ie they were not Charles Hill ties in the films as, by then T&A had bought the company).
Hence, in terms of orders, we now have the Rubyeon, the Copper Hamburg, the Bilbao, and the London Flight tie all submitted. We also asked Liam for clarification on the ‘Tipping’ of each tie. He confirmed that he’s ordered cream lining for the back of the Rubyeon, blue for the Copper Hamburg, and navy blue for the Bilbao & London Flight ties. All will be T&A embroidered, unless they have none of that tipping left. Hence, hopefully they’ll all be as close to the originals as possible. We've requested them to have the T&A tipping like the originals, provided they've still got some left in the factory, otherwise it will be paisley design in those colours.
The road is long, but, I'm sure you'll agree, the ties are worth the wait.
Thanks for the update Blair. I always loved the The ‘Copper’ Hamburg. It would be so great if this project will work, fingers crossed. Thanks for all your effort!
Blair - shouldn't the Bilbao tie have either a cream or white lining? Pretty sure the screen version was not navy, unless the colors are just being arbitrarily chosen by T&A based on their preference. (there's a few pics/stills where you can see it when the tie is whipping in the wind when he's jumping from the building)
Thanks, Dan for the heads-up. I have forwarded the screen grab to Liam De Vanney at T&A, and will follow up shortly. Concerning the other ties, they will be based on the ties that we have in hand. If anyone has information regarding the London BA Tie and its tipping, please let me know as soon as possible so that wee can ensure that the samples are screen-accurate.
Blair,
Just out of curiosity, do you know if Lindy Hemming has been involved or contacted about this project by T&A for any assistance, given her first-hand knowledge on much of this?
On the subject of Lindy, I would love Lindy Hemming’s involvement in the project. The issue from T&A’s perspective is not a creative one, it’s political. EON want a cut of T&A’s James Bond clothing, whereas T&A view it as their creative work. Hence, they are reluctant to request any assistance from either EON’s archives or previous clothiers. From our perspective this is hugely frustrating, as it has meant that we’ve had to undertake all the research from the T&A archives, or from kind tie owners on the forum. Re the TWINE Pipeline tie, the strange thing about this tie, is that around that time, T&A had license to also produce Herbie Frogg ties. My colleague on the project has already seen some of the Herbie Frogg folders in the archive. So it's not impossible that there is a T&A Pipeline tie around, he just can't find it at the moment. But it’s definitely on the wish list and the search continues.
In the meantime, here is a picture which neatly summarises what we’re trying to achieve in phase 1.
Apologies for the long delay in updates for this. Currently the 'T&A Bond Project' is on hold due to the desperately sad outbreak of the worldwide Covid-19 virus. All of their offices, stores, factories and supply chains have been closed over the last few weeks due to this recent unexpected event.
The good news is that the 'Bond Project Will Return' but only once it is 100% safe for everyone concerned; customers, staff, contributors, researchers, producers and suppliers (everyone who makes T&A so special).
In the meantime a personal thanks want to go out to the Bond Community and also to the individual Tie owners, who have shown the patience of a saint over the past year. All we can say at this time is that progress was viewed in early 2020, and was spectacular. So exciting times ahead when the project does eventually resume.
At the moment I believe the T&A website is still running for your sartorial needs, but we will keep you updated on the Bond Project side as future news arrives.
Until that time, please stay safe everyone, stay at home, and look after your family & loved ones.
I saw that T&A actually just reopened their Gloucester factory to make scrubs for NHS, so kudos to them.
I'm curious, is your sense that their is broad support within T&A to see this project through, or are you primarily working with a small contingent of Bond fans within the company who are pushing for this to happen? I know James Cook who now manages the Jermyn St branch is a bit of a Bond fan (he had a small role in DAD too), but I don't think I've ever seen anyone in the company talk much Bond apart from the former bespoke manager in the NY store.
There is support for the project from the very top of the company. It's all very exciting, but we shall have to see how the virus impacts on the timing of production and launch.
@welshboy78 - Sorry to revive this thread but just to clarify: are you saying that our former AJB member David Schofield has died? If so, that's very sad news. I always enjoyed his contributions to literary Bond threads here and we shared a few PMs on Bond topics over the years.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Ah, I see. That's really sad. I got on well with him here as we had similar interests in the literary Bond field. I had no idea he'd passed away. Thanks for letting us know.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
Comments
We now have orders for the Rubyeon, the Copper Hamburg, the Bilbao, and the London Flight ties all submitted to the T&A tie department.
We have discovered that the London Flight tie design was a Charles Hill tie. Charles Hill Silks was a company bought by Turnbull’s in the mid 90’s and their designs were used as several Bond ties. Apparently, these gold and blue squares ties were originally sold to people attending Ascot meetings. However, one of the other famous Charles Hill ties is the TWINE promotional tie. Here is a photo of it.
It's worth clarifying that these Charles Hill Silk designs were acquired by T&A in the mid 90's, and then used to make the Bond ties (ie they were not Charles Hill ties in the films as, by then T&A had bought the company).
Hence, in terms of orders, we now have the Rubyeon, the Copper Hamburg, the Bilbao, and the London Flight tie all submitted. We also asked Liam for clarification on the ‘Tipping’ of each tie. He confirmed that he’s ordered cream lining for the back of the Rubyeon, blue for the Copper Hamburg, and navy blue for the Bilbao & London Flight ties. All will be T&A embroidered, unless they have none of that tipping left. Hence, hopefully they’ll all be as close to the originals as possible. We've requested them to have the T&A tipping like the originals, provided they've still got some left in the factory, otherwise it will be paisley design in those colours.
The road is long, but, I'm sure you'll agree, the ties are worth the wait.
Cheers,
Blair
The Bond Vivant - Twitter
The Bond Vivant - Facebook
The Bond Vivant - YouTube
Blair - shouldn't the Bilbao tie have either a cream or white lining? Pretty sure the screen version was not navy, unless the colors are just being arbitrarily chosen by T&A based on their preference. (there's a few pics/stills where you can see it when the tie is whipping in the wind when he's jumping from the building)
Edit: https://natedsanders.com/ItemImages/000030/48527n_lg.jpeg
Cheers,
Blair
The Bond Vivant - Twitter
The Bond Vivant - Facebook
The Bond Vivant - YouTube
Just out of curiosity, do you know if Lindy Hemming has been involved or contacted about this project by T&A for any assistance, given her first-hand knowledge on much of this?
Keep up the good work, we're all excited -{
I don't mean to sound ungrateful or be that guy, but what are the chances of getting the TWINE Pipeline Tie?
In the meantime, here is a picture which neatly summarises what we’re trying to achieve in phase 1.
The Bond Vivant - Twitter
The Bond Vivant - Facebook
The Bond Vivant - YouTube
Apologies for the long delay in updates for this. Currently the 'T&A Bond Project' is on hold due to the desperately sad outbreak of the worldwide Covid-19 virus. All of their offices, stores, factories and supply chains have been closed over the last few weeks due to this recent unexpected event.
The good news is that the 'Bond Project Will Return' but only once it is 100% safe for everyone concerned; customers, staff, contributors, researchers, producers and suppliers (everyone who makes T&A so special).
In the meantime a personal thanks want to go out to the Bond Community and also to the individual Tie owners, who have shown the patience of a saint over the past year. All we can say at this time is that progress was viewed in early 2020, and was spectacular. So exciting times ahead when the project does eventually resume.
At the moment I believe the T&A website is still running for your sartorial needs, but we will keep you updated on the Bond Project side as future news arrives.
Until that time, please stay safe everyone, stay at home, and look after your family & loved ones.
Kindest wishes,
Blair & the Bond Project Team
The Bond Vivant - Twitter
The Bond Vivant - Facebook
The Bond Vivant - YouTube
I saw that T&A actually just reopened their Gloucester factory to make scrubs for NHS, so kudos to them.
I'm curious, is your sense that their is broad support within T&A to see this project through, or are you primarily working with a small contingent of Bond fans within the company who are pushing for this to happen? I know James Cook who now manages the Jermyn St branch is a bit of a Bond fan (he had a small role in DAD too), but I don't think I've ever seen anyone in the company talk much Bond apart from the former bespoke manager in the NY store.
Cheers,
Blair
The Bond Vivant - Twitter
The Bond Vivant - Facebook
The Bond Vivant - YouTube
@welshboy78 - Sorry to revive this thread but just to clarify: are you saying that our former AJB member David Schofield has died? If so, that's very sad news. I always enjoyed his contributions to literary Bond threads here and we shared a few PMs on Bond topics over the years.
This is what I was told a few years ago by another AJB member who was in contact with his wife.
Ah, I see. That's really sad. I got on well with him here as we had similar interests in the literary Bond field. I had no idea he'd passed away. Thanks for letting us know.
Indeed. No problem!