Roger Moore as James Bond in A View to a Kill (1985). Photo by Keith Hamshere, sourced from Thunderballs archive.
Vitals
Roger Moore as James Bond, British government agent
Siberia, Winter 1985
Film: A View to a Kill
Release Date: May 22, 1985
Director: John Glen
Costume Designer: Emma Porteous
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On this snowy 00-7th of January, let’s hit the slopes with Roger Moore—and his stunt doubles John Eaves and Martin Grace—in Sir Roger’s swan song as James Bond, A View to a Kill, celebrating its 40th anniversary this May.
Though the title originated from one of Ian Fleming’s short stories, the movie demonstrates how far the franchise had drifted from the source material, exemplified by this pre-credits sequence, which introduces a cringe-worthy “California Girls” needle drop as Moore’s stuntman skis through the mountains of Siberia—though actually filmed at Piz Palü in Switzerland and Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon in Iceland.
After completing his mission to recover a microchip from the corpse of his colleague 003, Bond escapes a group of skiing gunmen and finds refuge in a waiting underwater submarine stocked with his three vices—vodka, caviar, and a stunning blonde half his age (Mary Stävin).
What’d He Wear?
James Bond’s “white hooded ski suit and back pack” described in Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson’s screenplay was provided by Willy Bogner Jr., the former alpine ski racer who inherited his father’s eponymous sportswear brand in 1977, the same year that Sir Roger first appeared in Bogner ski gear in The Spy Who Loved Me. This would become something of a tradition, with Moore’s Bond sporting Bogner every four years—again in For Your Eyes Only and finally in A View to a Kill. In all of these films—as well as George Lazenby’s sole 007 film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service—Bogner himself operated the camera to capture the thrilling ski sequences.
Moore’s stuntman John Eves with Willy Bogner Jr. on location in Switzerland filming A View to a Kill. Photo sourced from the thunderballs.org archive.
The nature of Bond’s secret mission in A View to a Kill likely influenced his decision to wear all-white ski apparel that would camouflage him against the snow, unlike the yellow and blue ski suits he wore when skiing recreationally in The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only, respectively.
Matt Spaiser’s comprehensive look at Bond’s white Bogner ski clothing for Bond Suits was a valuable source for the following analysis, as well as auction listings for Sir Roger’s screen-worn ski parkas from Christie’s (in 2001) and Prop Store (in 2014).
Bond’s hip-length Bogner ski parka is made from layers of water-resistant white nylon, insulated with down feathers. The parka is lined in a pink-and-gray-on-cream tartan plaid cotton flannel, most clearly seen as Bond unzips to get comfortable aboard MI6’s well-stocked arctic submarine.
A storm fly with four darkened metal snap buttons covers the straight-zip, which extends up to the standing collar and features Bogner’s silver-toned “B” logo on the zip pull. A narrow self-belted sash pulls through wide loops around the waist between the lowest two buttons, where Bond keeps it knotted. “Bi-swing” pleats behind the shoulders allow for a greater range of movement, which would be a particularly helpful asset for quick getaway on skis. The shoulders also have adjustable narrow epaulet straps.
A removable fur-trimmed hood attaches outside the standing collar, with a white drawstring adjusting the fit. The set-in sleeves are reinforced with elbow patches and feature Velcro-fastened belted cuffs which adjust the tightness over the wrists. The Bogner logo is embroidered in silver over the upper left sleeve. Of the four bellows pockets, the two chest pocket flaps are reinforced with buckled straps while the two hip pocket flaps close onto a Velcro patch in each corner.
What the hell kind of spy submarine is that? Looks more like an underwater motel room.
Bond’s Bogner ski pants are made from the same white nylon as the parka. They appear to have zip-fastened side pockets, and the bottoms are elasticized over the ankles with zip-up sides.
As he is skiing, Bond wears ski boots to fit the bindings of his black Olin Racing skis. The boots are all-white to match his outfit, including the white steps over the instep.
Bond protects his eyes against the blinding snow—and allows the franchise yet another opportunity for product placement—by sporting the unique Bogner 7003 9141 sunglasses. Developed in the early 1980s in collaboration with Austrian eyewear manufacturer Eschenbach, these sporty pilot-style glasses are built with white acetate frames, purple gradient lenses, and adjustable black metal temples and bridge. These innovative pieces could be tooled with a micro-screwdriver included by Bogner to adjust the fit to the wearer’s comfort; for example, the bridge could be adjusted to between 15 and 21 millimeters in width.
Naturally, Bond’s ski gloves are also made by Bogner, evident by the silver “B”-logo zip pull hanging from the short zippers over each wrist. The sheepskin leather shell is a slightly warmer shade of cream than the rest of his white outfit, with padding along the tops of the hands and wide Velcro straps tightening the top of each wrist.
Bond gets comfortable inside the submarine after removing his glasses and gloves and unzipping his parka to reveal his base layer, a white jersey-knit half-zip pullover shirt. This long-sleeved shirt has a widely spread collar and yet another silver “B” dangling from the zip pull that identifies this as more Bogner gear. (This is the 1980s equivalent of Bogner’s current “Harry” first layer made from a stretchy “performance” blend of polyamide/elastane technical fibers.)
A View to a Kill would be the final film to prominently feature the SEIKO watches that had dressed Roger Moore’s wrist as Bond since The Spy Who Loved Me. He cycles through a trio of SEIKOs in A View to a Kill, beginning with the SEIKO 7A38-7060 quartz chronograph shining from his left wrist as he settles in with Kimberley Jones (Mary Stävin).
According to James Bond Lifestyle, 007’s chronograph was long thought to be the cosmetically similar 7A28-7020 model until @rexworthywatches identified it as the 7A38-7060 by the small day-date windows within the 3 o’clock sub-register. The 15-jewel 7A28 was the world’s first mass-produced analog quartz chronograph when SEIKO introduced it in 1983, followed the next year by the 7A38 that introduced a day-date complication.
Moore’s screen-worn SEIKO chronograph features a stainless steel 36mm case on a three-piece steel bracelet. The relatively rare white dial nicely coordinates with the rest of his polar attire, boasting three sub-registers at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions.
A subtle watch-related continuity error appears earlier when Bond discovers 003’s corpse, dressed similarly to himself in a white Bogner parka. Removing his gloves for better dexterity when digging out 003 and searching his clothing for the microchip, a blackened watch with silver-toned pushers flashes from 007’s left wrist—likely the SEIKO H558-5000 that he canonically wears later in the film.
I suppose it’s possible—though not probable or practical—that Bond wore the H558-5000 diver for his mission and then quickly swapped it out for the 7A38-7060 chronograph that would look more dashing for romancing Kimberley on the submarine?
Known among collectors as the “Arnie diver” after Arnold Schwarzenegger also wore it the same year in Commando, the rugged H558-5000 may have been a better fit for the action-packed context of this sequence. Curiously, Bond would later canonically wear the H558-5000 with his tuxedo in Paris… a situation where the dressier 7A38-7060 chronograph would have been considerably more appropriate!
What to Imbibe
Bond confirms that his mission has been accomplished by revealing his haul: “best caviar… vodka, rather shaken… and one microchip.” The vodka in question is a bottle of Stolichnaya, specifically the standard 80-proof “Red Label” variety.
The vodka can trace its origins to 1901, when the Russian government opened Moscow State Wine Warehouse No. 1 to ensure consistently high quality of vodka production. However, the Stolichnaya brand itself didn’t emerge until sometime around World War II, between the 1938 trademark registration and V. G. Svirida’s 1944 label design.
The vodka received a gold medal upon its 1953 introduction at the Bern international trade show but would remain exclusively available within the Soviet Union for nearly twenty years, until the 1972 agreement that granted PepsiCo the rights to market and export Stoli in Western nations in exchange for Soviet importation of Pepsi—the first American consumer product to be produced, marketed, and sold within the USSR. From this period until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Stolichnaya intended for export was manufactured in Ukraine.
In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the current owner SPI Group has officially marketed the vodka by its nickname “Stoli” since March 2022.
How to Get the Look
Roger Moore with Mary Stävin and Carole Ashby during production of A View to a Kill (1985). Photo sourced from Thunderballs archive.
Secret agent or snow bunny? 007’s all-white ski outfit through the pre-credits sequence in A View to a Kill helps him blend in against the snow while dodging the Soviet gunmen on his trail, while also helping EON Productions make good on whatever product placement promises were made to Willy Bogner Jr.
- White nylon hip-length Bogner ski parka with fur-trimmed removable hood, straight-zip/four-snap front closure, full waist belt sash, two bellows chest pockets with buckle-strapped flaps, two bellows hip pockets with Velcro-fastened flaps, belted cuffs, and bi-swing shoulder pleats
- White nylon Bogner ski pants with zip-up side pockets and elasticized ankles with zip-up sides
- White jersey-knit Bogner long-sleeved “first layer” pullover shirt with spread collar and half-zip top
- White ski boots with white instep straps
- Bogner 7003 9141 sunglasses with white acetate frames, purple gradient lenses, and adjustable black metal bridge and temples
- Cream-white padded leather Bogner ski gloves with zip-back cuffs and wrist-straps
- SEIKO 7A38-7070 quartz chronograph watch with stainless steel 36mm case, round white dial (with 3 sub-registers, including day-date window at 3 o’clock), and stainless steel three-piece link bracelet
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie… perhaps following Matt Singer’s positive reassessment, published in 2012 for Indiewire.
The Quote
Call me James.
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