F ashion and men’s style on the screen have had a long and fruitful relationship. For 1974’s The Great Gatsby , Ralph Lauren designed costumes worn by Robert Redford (including, notably, a pink suit). This partnership was arguably the designer’s big break.
It was also brilliantly meta, as Lauren is a boy from the Bronx who created his own society myth, in much the same way as Gatsby does in F Scott Fitzgerald’s totemic novel. In 1977’s Annie Hall , Lauren menswear also played a significant part, this time worn by a woman, and Diane Keaton’s boyish outfits became a cultural phenomenon. Then we have Steve McQueen turning up on the set of The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) in his brown Persol 714s, a folding pair of sunglasses with blue lenses.
They made it into the movie. McQueen also wore 714s (possibly the same pair) in Bullitt , also in 1968, and The Getaway , 1972, and the model has become a firm style favourite that is still on sale from the Italian firm today. McQueen also rescued the Monaco, an underperforming square watch by Heuer, when he sported it in the 1971 motor racing film Le Mans .
The watch is now a cornerstone of TAG Heuer’s range..