Bill Nighy’s Modernist View On A Suit
Words by our cofounder Buzz Tang
It was three and a half years ago as I was writing this.
You may know him as Davy Jones, the octopus-like pirate with tentacle facial features in 'Pirates of the Caribbean', the quirky rocker (a person who performs, dances to, or enjoys rock music) in ‘Love Actually’. He is also a BAFTA winner in real life. But of all things, Mr. Bill Nighy is a personal friend. I am truly grateful for a genuine and supporting friend who has long appreciated the weights and beauty of bespoke tailoring and The Anthology, and has kindly lent us his unique perspectives on dressing in tailoring.
‘A suit is a suit. People like skinny suits because they see it as sportswear, and that’s just wrong.’
‘I was originally a Mod, but have transcended beyond over time. I’m a modernist and I’m against all those bollocks like dandy and dapper et cetera.
I’m now at a sweet spot where I’m in between Mod and fine modern classic.’ — Bill Nighy
I never liked ‘pompous’ menswear; I never see menswear as a costume, definitely not an ego boost. The connotation of dandy and dapper are keywords we never want to be associated with. As a senior who has lived well in good suits, his words encouraged us to continue pursuing our beliefs in traditional tailoring that carries hints of modernity and updated values.
‘Mods buttoned a John Sxxxxxx polo all the way up because Sxxxxxx without buttoning looks unspeakingly awful and disastrous.’ — Bill Nighy
Not only did he give me a good laugh, but ultimately inspired us to create the ultimate polo shirts, in both long and short sleeves — It’s all about the collar!
Bill and I decided to document this series as he was overjoyed by the outcome of his bespoke garment. Waving his arms as if he was doing karate, when I asked what his signature poses were all about, he just said, ‘there’s no specific reason to it. I just like doing it in a bespoke suit. It feels very mismatched.’. Gosh, that’s so Bill. His quirkiness has never left him, despite his age and the many hats he wears. Bill had a couple of things made with us. This was one of the pieces I would like to highlight as it is rare to The Anthology — a subtly striped wool worsted suit, iridescent and surprising yet traditional in every angle. The expression he gave when he first wore our finished garment was priceless. I still remembered how much he enjoyed the soft aesthetic our house proposed, as it differs drastically from most of his traditional English bespoke suits.
As young purveyors who spend almost every resource we have on refining design and craft, we don’t get budgets like fashion giants to advertise with famous actors or celebrities. I am thankful to Bill for his friendship and support. In return, by the time this gets published, Bill’s movie ‘Living’ will be showing in cinemas. It has been spoken very highly by movie critics and had its premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. It was also rumoured that Bill is bound to be nominated in this year’s Oscars, but let’s not jinx it. I hope fellow Anthologists get the chance to watch his movie to support him.
I have also written a short passage about how the two suit lovers (us) met. It was something I never quite expected, hence found it interesting.
It all began on a Sunday afternoon in Mayfair, London. My girlfriend and I were checking out the fascinating visual merchandising of No.155 New Bond Street, the beautiful Hermes flagship store. Fixated on the lively motion, I anchored my static self at the point next to the gigantic glass window for a good few minutes.
Situated opposite No.155 was the No. 150, segregated by hectic traffic, fuelled by no shortage of the fanciest automobiles in the area. A mature gentleman walked past, unbothered by the lavish opulence of London’s most prestigious neighbourhood. Sweeping past was a familiar face, but it was not due to a long-lived sentiment, but a face that seemed to have shown up on the silver screen quite often. Dressed in an English-tailored suit, sharply cut and sleekly shaped, carrying some structure around the shoulders and a few wrinkles on the face. He looked as if he was one of those West End men who only cared about their own business. Instinctively, I could feel a mutual connection just by the way we dressed and the way we gazed. But being a self-proclaimed observant yet courteous person, I could recognise who he was, but not a single moment I would've thought of walking up to intrude on someone's downtime, let alone to introduce myself and my field of expertise.
I took a deeper glance, as I genuinely admired the way he dressed — navy suit with a sky blue shirt, neat and no fuss. It was eye-catching especially because it was a Sunday. A full suit was a rare sight. Just when I was about to turn and walk away, he looked back, gave me a nod, and tacitly paused my steps. He then walked up and greeted. I was caught completely off-guard. 'How lovely to see a young man in an impeccably made suit. Would I be right to assume this is a bespoke suit?' He asked. I still remembered clearly I wore an olive wool suit that most people mistakenly thought that was cotton. I stuttered, but we conversed a little. Being an introvert at heart and a refused hard-seller, my rule of thumb was to never promote what I do throughout conversations. I gently took the compliment, and with a lack of better things to say, I muttered with absolute unconfidence, 'It would be great to connect with you and talk about suits...' It was true to my heart. Although the things he wore were not something I envisioned myself wearing, I could certainly appreciate them from a third-person perspective, and an exchange would always be enlightening. He asked me to hand him my phone, typed in his number and said, 'Let's meet when I'm back.'.
Several weeks later, we had a morning coffee at The Royal Academy of Arts amid a rare pouring day with brollies covered in heavy droplets and half a calf soaked. Whimsically, I did think it was a bad omen, but that thankfully never seemed to have gotten in the way of our friendship. Leading up to this day, Bill is now a good friend and also a proud customer of The Anthology. We thank him like we thank every Anthologist of ours.
Bill wears The Anthology’s bespoke suit in a Standeven worsted wool fabric, with mixtures of faint herringbone and tan stripes. The dominant navy colour is a natural choice as Bill usually only wears blue. He also wears Crockett & Jones’ black cap-toe oxfords, the foolproof classics.
‘Stay modern.’ — Bill Nighy
Bill commissioned this suit with us from our London Trunk Show. Our team will return to London for another trunk show from November 21-28, with New York Trunk Show right before from November 14-17. Contact info@theanthology.net or visit our events page to secure the final available slots.
Photography by Buzz Tang at Bill’s residence. Special thanks to Bill for advocating for The Anthology. Bill’s latest movie ‘Living’ is now showing in cinemas. Wishing him the very best of luck.