La Perla stretch swim boxer trunks 2006
Date2006
Object number00026013
NameSwimsuit
MediumLycra
DimensionsOverall: 300 x 500 mm
ClassificationsClothing and personal items
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionThis is the same style of swim boxer trunks worn by Daniel Craig as James Bond in Casino Royale (2006).HistorySwimwear in particular the bikini, became a feature of James Bond films from the early 1960s.Ursula Andress (born 1936) was the original Bond Girl, who as Honey Ryder in Dr No (1961) redefined the power of the swimsuit by wearing a white bikini with a knife belted to her hip. She was athletic, dangerous and predatory – a glamazon whose screen image contrasted with the more passive blonde bombshells and wholesome teenagers portrayed in the 1950s and early 1960s. The role and the bikini brought her career success and the Bond Girl became a feature of subsequent films with Halle Berry wearing an Andress-inspired bikini in Die Another Day (2002).
Not to be out done in the swimsuit stakes Daniel Craig (born 1968), in the role of James Bond, made his own impact when he strode out of the sea at Nassau in the Bahamas, displaying his muscular body in tight fitting powder-blue La Perla swimming trunks in Casino Royale (2006). A memorable photograph by Simon Bridger was seen around the world boosting sales of the the swimming trunks.
La Perla (The Pearl) was founded in Bologna in 1954 by corsetry maker Ada Masotti. Swimwear design and manufacturing required similar skills, to that of corsetry and lingeries and La Perla branched in swimwear in 1971.
SignificanceThis style of men's boxer swimming trunks took on a cult status after Daniel Craig wore a pair in the role of James Bond in the 2006 film 'Casinoe Royale'. It continues the prominent place of the swimsuit in Bond iconography first popularised by Ursula Andress as the inaugural Bond Girl. It also representative of men's swimwear in the early 21st century.
c 1950
