The last time Bond came to Cairo he was dodging bullets in Giza. Since then it seems that Bond, along with his impeccable fashion sense, has retreated back to the English countryside. Looking at Cairo’s fashion trends, it’s pretty clear that his smooth style and smart suits haven t really rubbed off on the male population.
Two weeks ago, however, this iconic Brit’s own fashion gurus set up shop in Cairo’s CityStars. Following in the footsteps of Mr Bond, they’re making a comeback and having already opened six boutiques in the Middle East so far, intend to prove Britain’s worth on the Egyptian fashion scene.
Being a Brit myself, and with a boyfriend who refuses to wear brands around for less than one century, I was eager to meet Nader Elmir, the regional branch manager of Dunhill. It was only after striding through the doors of the intercontinental hotel in CityStars that I realized I’d made the most heinous fashion err in the textbook: white socks with black trousers.
Elmir assured me that although he had never made this fashion faux pas, it was by working in the industry that he developed his flawless fashion sense.
Working his way up the fashion ranks of Ralph Lauren, Elmir landed himself an envied position at Dunhill. That Elmir is Lebanese is irrelevant: his fashion sense is anchored on what it means to be British.
Alfred Dunhill set up his modest clothing store in 1893 after he took over his father’s saddlery business on London’s Euston Road. He made a few alterations and changed the name to Dunhill’s Motorities, offering a luxury line of car accessories under the slogan “Everything for the Car but the Motor. Then they slid into the back seat of the fashion world.
Dunhill sped at a merry pace through the 20th century, making inroads into the perfume business and causing a stir in men’s fashion. Now, however, in the days where your uncle no longer rides Blackpool’s famous circle of death on a motorcycle with nothing more than a wink and a smile, classic Gent has become an endangered species.
In the past couple of years, a plethora of cheap and cheerful fashion brands has flooded the Egyptian market. Gentlemanly attire, that understated, classic and unmistakably Bondesque look enshrined in Dunhill now marks out genuine style in a sea of banal brand names offering snazzy suits and hip ripped jeans. In other words, its chav (that word penned by the Cheltenham Ladies College and meaning “of low class’) versus gent.
As Elmir explains to me, the British gentleman is funny, witty, smooth and stylish. An air of confidence without cockiness, and charm without sleaze, “Dunhill’s values are British to the core, his says, sitting back in his chair, “adventurous and masculine, and part of that is the connection to the motor. Judging by some of the speed junkies I’ve met in Cairo, it seems that Cairene and British men have a lot in common.
But in the Middle East, Brits are stereotyped as cold and conservative creatures. Although boosted slightly by heartthrobs and actors such as Daniel Craig, Hugh Grant and Jude Law (the face of Dunhill itself), the true sense of being British might have been mislaid in the Cairo post, along with that batch of postcards I sent to Aunty Rita last year.
It is true, however, that the British climate is closer to Antarctica than the Middle East. Dunhill, having experience in this part of the world (business is booming in the Emirates), adapt their collection to suit warmer climes. Currently, the boutique in CityStars is sticking to accessories, but if they prove a hit, adding a clothing section is the next step.
Yet to Dunhill wearers, and indeed, to any would-be man of fashion, the style is all in the detail, a fact which renders accessories just as important as the attire itself. In fact, all of the accessories, right down to the pens, have a story behind them.
The Bobby Finder is a classic example. In 1904, while racing his motor along a country lane, Mr Alfred Dunhill was caught speeding by the police and given a whopping fine. Appalled by this, Dunhill invented the Bobby Finder, a pair of strap on binoculars which help motorists spot bobbies (a rather archaic British colloquialism for policemen) lurking behind bushes from half a mile away.
Although there are no longer strap-on binoculars or motor goggles on offer at Dunhill, it still very much captures the essence of what it means to be a quintessential Gent. So tally ho, put your cap on, and, if you’ve got a fair bit of cash to burn, it’s worth taking the old girl for a spin down to their boutique.
