Crockett & Jones Unveils Limited-Edition James Bond Collection

For months, one question has hung over the film industry like the last card in a high-stakes hand: who will be the next James Bond? The search is reportedly on for a young, relatively unknown British actor and speculation has run wild, with Jack Lowden, Josh O’Connor and Callum Turner among the names in the frame. For whoever steps into the role, a few things are certain. There will be a martini, there will be a tuxedo and there will be a pair of impeccably made British shoes.

It’s fitting then that this year marks two decades since Casino Royale introduced Daniel Craig’s 007. To celebrate, Crockett & Jones has released limited editions of HIGHBURY and ALEX, two styles Craig wore in the later Bond films, but now reimagined for black tie. Equally at home at a society wedding or a showdown at the card table, they’re a fitting tribute to the film that reinvented Bond for a new generation.

The Best-Dressed Man in the Room

Before Bond says a word, his clothes have already done the talking. His look is tailored and never flashy, with every detail expertly considered. It is an image built on restraint and elegance, subtly warning anyone across the table not to underestimate him. That eye for quality runs through the character, from his cufflinks all the way to the soles of his shoes, and nobody understands this better than Crockett & Jones. The Northampton shoemaker has been crafting footwear since 1879 and is still a family-run operation, now in its fourth generation. As an official footwear partner to the franchise, it has dressed Bond’s since Skyfall in 2012.

The HIGHBURY

The HIGHBURY is no stranger to the spotlight. It is the only Crockett & Jones shoe to appear in Skyfall, Spectre and No Time to Die. For the Goldfinger anniversary, celebrated in 2024, it came in suede, but this time it has been finished in black patent, taking the Derby shoe from its usual smart-casual and strictly into formal wear. Cut from glossy calf patent leather, the plain-fronted, three-eyelet design has the same clean lines as Bond himself. Its Hand Grade channelled sole hides the stitching from view, so nothing interrupts the polish.

And that sleekness runs right through to the shoe’s structure itself. Built around Crockett & Jones’ iconic shoe mould, the Last 348, the HIGHBURY has the chiselled toe and elongated profile that have become a house signature. Last 348 revolutionised British shoemaking by bringing a look once owned by Italian makers to English craftsmanship, and neither Crockett & Jones nor James Bond has looked back since.

The ALEX

If the HIGHBURY brings the shine, the ALEX brings the texture. The shoe first appeared in Skyfall, paired with Bond’s infamous tuxedo as he battled his way through Macau’s Floating Dragon casino. It then returned in Spectre for the train journey through Morocco, and in doing so, cemented ALEX as one of Crockett & Jones’ most recognisable Bond styles. While more than a decade on screen has made the ALEX a modern icon, the shoe’s origins go back even further to what some may say are the very beginnings of formal dress. 

The shoe is a classic Oxford, a style long synonymous with formal wear. Being the designated gentleman’s shoe of choice for over two centuries, the Oxford is said to take its name from the students of Oxford University, though the style itself is likely even older. What sets the shoe apart from the rest is its closed lacing: the panels holding the laces are stitched beneath the front of the shoe, so they sit neatly together for a closer, more refined fit than a Derby-like HIGHBURY.

The ALEX takes that formality a step further. As a wholecut, it is shaped from a single piece of leather, leaving an uninterrupted silhouette. It’s one of the most demanding styles to make, with no seams to disguise a flaw. So, across the 200 steps that go into each Goodyear-welted pair, there’s absolutely no room for error. For this iteration, the leather is black calf suede from European skins, chosen specifically for its fine nap and soft feel. With the same Hand Grade channelled sole as HIGHBURY, it is every bit as refined as the tuxedo it is made for.

A Nod to Vesper

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The finest details are often the ones no one else sees. If you slip a hand inside either shoe, you’ll find a lining of purple calf leather, paying homage to Vesper Lynd. During Casino Royale’s climactic game of Texas Hold’em, Vesper turns heads in a dramatic purple gown while Bond plays for everything at the table. 20 years on, that moment lives on in the lining, a secret kept between the shoe and its wearer, and perhaps the occasional double agent.

The rest of the finish is just as considered. The Crockett & Jones and 007 logos are embossed in silver foil, a signature of every Bond style the brand has made. Like any good Bond entrance, the HIGHBURY and ALEX always arrive in style. Each pair comes in exclusive 007 packaging, together with hand-made shoe trees that are shaped to the same last as the shoes and stamped with the famous 007 emblem. The result is a collector’s piece in every sense, but one that refuses to stay in its box. True to its maker, it is made to be worn, and built to last.

While the next 007 may still be a mystery, his wardrobe already has a head start. Whoever is handed the licence to kill, HIGHBURY and ALEX are ready and waiting, two shoes that capture everything Bond has stood for over the past twenty years. 

Each priced at £895, they are available now from Crockett & Jones, for those ready to step into the role themselves.

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