Sunspel in the movies: an association with stage and screen

For some people, it may be enough that Sunspel (http://www.sunspel.com/us) simply designs and manufactures some of the very finest British menswear and womenswear on the market, particularly targeting those who like to wear the most comfortable clothing against the skin. However, it isn't just real life bystanders who have long appreciated the English heritage firm's luxury basics, with many fictional characters in the world of stage and screen having also donned such well-engineered clothing.

Among the most sought-after clothing to bear the Sunspel name is its mens underwear, which exudes a certain timelessness that makes its appeal to the National Theatre and RSC at Strafford in England, years ago, rather unsurprising. It was at the National Theatre that Sunspel first collaborated with the Oscar winning costume designer Lindy Hemming, who has often turned to the brand's vests, T-shirts and underwear with which to dress her characters on account of their classic feel and high standard of craftsmanship.

But for all of Sunspel's long history, given that it was established in 1860 by Thomas Hill in the English industrial city of Nottingham, it was a relative latecomer to the silver screen, even making its name on the small screen first. That was thanks to a certain notorious Levi's Launderette advert in 1985, in which model Nick Kamen stripped down to a crisp, white pair of Sunspel boxer shorts. That campaign alone helped to make Sunspel truly iconic, and two years later, the brand's luxury clothing appeared in the British-American drama film 84 Charing Cross Road, starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.

Other flicks in which Sunspel's quality clothing went on to star included the mainly World War II period piece The Man Who Cried - not the most commercially successful of films, but a coup for the company, given that Johnny Depp was the wearer. Sunspel clothing had a slightly steamier role to play in another period piece, 2001's Gosford Park, in a scene in which a half-undressed brooding valet (played by Clive Owen), wearing nothing more above the waist than a handsome vest, discusses a murder with an admiring maid played by Kelly Macdonald.

Numerous Sunspel clothes also appeared in the 2011 Cold War espionage film based on the 1974 novel by John le Carre, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. However, the brand's most prestigious association - as well as one of the most recent - remains James Bond. Daniel Craig wore several of Sunspel's classic polo shirts in his outings as Bond in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

In 2011, the company even recreated Sean Connery's memorable swim shorts from his turn as Bond in Thunderball, for the 'Designing 007: Fifty years of Bond Style' exhibition at the Barbican in London. This adventure into the world of James Bond clothing, in turn, helped to inspire Sunspel's (http://www.sunspel.com/us) first ever swim short, which soon went out of stock - further testifying to the enduring appeal of cinematically influenced Sunspel garments.