The Armani Six: The Unexpected Journey to collect them all

I am often contacted by readers who either want advise on tracking down more screen accurate costumes, or want to show off their latest purchases that are worth sharing with my wider readership.

Over the past couple of months I have been chatting to a client of mine who has been an avid (no obsessive!) seeker of a screen accurate Giorgio Armani tie. 

His quest had recently come to fruition - something to give all with a similar goal good reason to keep pursuing their dream.

It cam out in conversation that he now had amassed SIX different versions of the tie, so I invited him to put his collection in writing and below is a breakdown of his impressive collection.

by John Tennant Smith

A few months ago, I became a very happy collector and cosplayer: My dream of owning an original brown Armani tie, came true. My journey didn’t start there, though. Along the journey that would take years to complete, several versions of this beautiful tie would come my way...

First came the reproductions, then the originals trickled in, until I struck gold. Originals are always fun, so I'll start there and work my way back:

Giorgio Armani original ties

First in the group of originals is the black colourway variant of the Armani tie. To admit, when I first laid eyes on the auction and purchased it late last year, I thought I had found the brown version.



When the package arrived, I was disappointed to see it was the black variant.
The mistake is due to the colour the tie can take on when photographed. The seller had only taken a few close pictures. In some shots it takes on an almost brown quality! Still beautiful, and would look sharp with many dress styles.


My next original would come in the form of the blue variant, which also hit eBay late last year. After some debate on whether to bid or not, I figured what the heck. I won, and I opened it on Christmas.



Let me just say, this tie is BLUE! It’s almost obnoxious. That's part of the fun of it, though. I haven’t seen what could be worn with it yet, although I suspect it might look okay with Tennant's blue suit. Still have to see...


My third original, which I have searched day and night for, over the last two years - my personal Holy Grail of Doctor Who: The brown Armani tie! After watching a new episode of The Walking Dead, it was time to do my usual eBay searches. This time, I would hit gold.



After a week of nail biting, and going back-and-forth with the seller to find out what she planned to do with the tie (yes, many were offering sums of money), the Sunday night finally came. With seconds to spare, I placed my bid and felt my heart jump for joy when I saw the note saying I was the winner.. My wallet hated me. Apparently I wasn't the only one willing to give my all.

Editor’s note
This auction was featured on my blog in March 2016. A reader had alerted me to it after he had missed out (one of those willing to give their all). I was later contacted by John Tennant Smith who said he was the buyer of the tie! The result of our discussions is the article you are reading.

Giorgio Armani dark brown tie

Even after the auction ended, I was still nervous until I finally got the notification of my tie shipping. From the time the auction had ended, until it was shipped, the seller was still getting offers on the tie had I chosen to back out. Not a chance, though! When it arrived, it was the feeling of Christmas all over again. This egg tie is so beautiful, that I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. While the repros are nice, they certainly aren't able to catch the spirit of the real deal. Seeing that Steve had posted about the auction, and being a buyer of his for one of his beautiful coats, I had to throw everything together for a quick picture and message him about who the winner was. Excuse the Kilgrave scruff ;)

Magnoli Clothiers replicas

Onto the reproductions: over the years, Indy from Magnoli Clothiers has produced this tie in three different versions (with a fourth red version on the way).

My first version of the Armani is the first one he produced. I bought this tie a couple years ago when he had made the switch to his current Armani.



I was new at cosplay and collecting, saw this on eBay for about half the price of his new version, and figured it was good enough. As I wore it with both my Baron brown suit and Magnoli brown suit, I became unhappy with how bright the tie was compared to the original..

Cue the second Magnoli tie produced: his alternative colourway. At the mistake of his factory, the colours messed up, taking on the look of the Armani when shot at an angle, appearing dusty blue.



I figured it’d look cool to wear, so I picked it up. It’s a nice tie for the Doomsday look.


Things come in threes: Magnoli Clothier’s third, current iteration of the Armani tie. I love the Armani, and having become unhappy wearing my two reproductions that I own...  I bit the bullet, and bought his new version some months after he released it.



Upon opening it, I loved it! It really is a great alternative to the original.

While buying the repro ties, I never gave up looking for an original, knowing that was my end goal. It took a great while, but I did it. Thoughts of what to do with the others have crossed my mind. Maybe one day the collection will split, but for now I like the family of Armani's, as it tells my story.

How do the reproductions stack to the original? In my opinion, each iteration has its qualities to the original, that the other ones lack.

The first tie Magnoli produced had captured the embroidery of the blue boxes almost perfectly, that his future iterations went away from. Magnoli's second tie (blue colourway) used a more accurate silk base that his 1st and 3rd lack. Magnoli's current iteration lined up the egg pattern perfectly. If all three of those qualities mixed, and a base colour tweak, I bet the results would be stunning.

To close out, I'm proud of this accomplishment. The Armani is over 10 years old! Many may have been produced, but with how many have likely ended up in attics to rot, dumps, shipped to far away lands, or are just sitting in some hole in the wall thrift shoppe... very few have ever surfaced on eBay; who knows when the next one will pop up. However, if you want something, and can stay determined and wait it out, then there is always the chance to accomplish your personal goal.

UPDATE

Recognition has come for John’s quest, in the form of a comment posted by none other than Louise Page herself.

Who would have thought a tie I bought would have made people search high & low even 10 years later to search one out!

Giorgio Amazing

A reader sent me a link to a recently closed eBay auction.

Sadly they missed out on it - but it was clearly hotly fought over!

Giorgio Armani dark brown tie

The opening price was a mere US$15.99, but it finally sold for US$515 (GB£360), when the winner bidder sniped it with seconds to spare.

The tie is from an eBay seller who's got dozens of random ties for sale, and there is no mention on the listing of its Doctor Who connection, so I can only guess that the three competing bidders were all eagle-eyed fans who locked in mortal combat to get it!

It’s a bit of a heads-up that when you spot something like this online, keep it to yourself if you are serious to buy it, otherwise you might find the price hiked on you by predatory collectors!

St George by Next

Last year I showed you a tie being sold at Matalan, which was the right colour combination and a similar design to the St George by Duffer as worn by David in The Day Of The Doctor.



The following month I also came across a tie being sold by Scott Allen which used the exact same loom-weave as the Thomas Nash from The Idiot’s Lantern, but again in a radically different colour way. It was thread-for-thread the same, just in an uninspiring grey and silver.

Well today, almost a year the the day later, one of my readers was out shopping and came across something quite surprising.

Next are currently stocking a tie which is a dead ringer for The Day Of the Doctor St George by Duffer, but in a striking pink colour scheme!

This was spotted in the Portsmouth branch. It’s only £8 (compared to the £14 of the original St George tie) with the flowers in pink and lilac on a navy blue background.

Looking at it closer, the flowers are really reminiscent of the St George tie.

I wondered if they did another colour that was closer to, or fingers crossed, the same as screen-worn.

So I went into my own local branch and found the tie - in a second colour choice, but still not the dark brown and sky blue. Damn.

Once I got it how I put it alongside my St George tie and realised it IS the exact same loom-weave.

As you can see from these photos, the flowers are IDENTICAL, it is purely the colour choice that differentiates them.

This, along with the Scott Allen version of the Thomas Nash tie, makes me think that manufactures in the Far East have designs on their books which they sell to retailers who then choose what colours they want them in.

Having now seen two versions, I’m wondering if there are further colour ways. Can you help?

Do you have a branch of Next near you? Does your branch stock a tie in a closer colour match? If so, drop me a line at tennantcoat@me.com 
and share what you have found.

As an aside, I also spotted a rather creepy tea-light holder in the form of a cherub which reminded me of those in The Angels Take Manhattan.

Don’t blink!!

Rocha John Rocha - grab a bargain while you can!

Today I’ve got a little gem for you - if you’re a completist when it comes to the Tennant ties!

A reader has highlighted an eBay listing from a seller who trades in surplus stock.

They are selling a range of Rocha John Rocha ties, among them is the tie bought by costume designer Louise Page, but which ultimately went unused.
The unused tie then sold as part of a job lot at the Bonhams 2010 Doctor Who auction.

The tie was initially selling for £9.99 - an absolute bargain!

Mens Rocha John Rocha by Debenhams Tie - Pure Silk NEW RRP £22 - Bargain

They had a few for sale, and after being told of the Doctor Who connection, restocked with over a dozen of the ties - at the higher price of £17.99!

You can buy the tie through the original listing (above) or a new dedicated listing (below).

Mens Rocha John Rocha by Debenhams Tie - as worn by David Tennant

Giorgio Armani - secured!

I’ve just secured myself a screen accurate Giorgio Armani tie!
But to get it I used some tactics that aren’t my usual style.

Genuine Giorgio Armani Tie

This gorgeous White Label Giorgio Armani tie is 100% silk and made in Italy. The background is a subtle two-tone weave of chocolate brown and sky blue, featuring chocolate brown ovals with sky blue squares offset inside them. The two-tone weave allows the background to catch the light differently based on which way it is turned, making it appear either dusty blue or dark brown. It is lined with a chartreuse woven lining with the words GIORGIO ARMANI patterned throughout.

After Doctor Who costume designer Louise Page purchased several of these ties, it became one of the most popular and iconic of David Tennant's ties during his run as the Tenth Doctor. It was first seen in the episode Love and Monsters and was later featured in Army of Ghosts, Doomsday, Smith and Jones, The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Fires of Pompeii, The Family of Blood, Turn Left, The Stolen Earth, Journey’s End, and Planet of the Dead.

This tie is in MINT CONDITION! It has no flaws, snags, rips, burns, stains, or fraying. It is 57" long and is 3⅝" wide at the widest point. It has had extremely good care taken of it in non-smoking home.

This tie is EXTREMELY RARE and highly sought after by cosplayers and collectors. It may be a very long time before another one appears. If you were looking for a special detail to bring that unique authenticity to your Tenth Doctor cosplay, this is it!




SECURING THE TIE
The tie has been listed by a friend of mine who amazingly has tracked down two such ties in as many months.

He then planned to sell the spare to get some pocket money for Gallifrey One next month.

I know the seller is a collector of the Tennant ties, so I offered him a unique swap for one of my screen accurate replica Eleventh Hour Christian Lacroix ties.

He wasn’t too sure, but when I told him the full story behind how I made the tie he was convinced and we had a deal!

He closed the eBay listing and when I get to Gallifrey One we’ll do the exchange.
Suffice to say he’s very excited to get his hands on one of my ties - and I’ve added another tie to my collection.

The murder of St George

In June last year I highlighted that Dara O’Briain was was seen sporting Tennant’s 50th Anniversary St George by Duffer tie during an edition of The Apprentice - You’re Fired!

Well one of my readers has spied the same tie in this week’s edition of Midsomer Murders.
Titled Let Us Prey, the episode was first screened on 8th January 2014.

It is worn by lead star Neil Dudgeon as Detective Chief Inspector John Barnaby.
He puts the tie on around mid-episode and wears it pretty much to the end of the investigation.

As an aside the episode stars Michael Jayston, who played the Valeyard during the Trial Of A Time Lord season in 1986.

Doctor Who Celebration - wardrobe trailer

Fans of the costumes on Doctor Who had a treat in store with the extensive exhibition, as well as the Wardrobe Workshop where you could meet members of the costume department.

But one little gem tucked away in a corner of the main hall was an original wardrobe trailer used by the costume department.

This was one of the big green buses you see loitering around when location filming is taking place.

Its plain exterior hid the treasure trove of costuming contained inside, and once you did get inside - there was only space for a dozen people at any one time - there was not restrictions to rifling through the racks and having a good nose at the contents of the hangers.

Just inside the door is a sort of office area, with benches on each side where sewing machines could be set up for use.

On the walls were a variety of continuity photos from the filming. Beyond this area were the costume rails. They roughly went in season order down one side, and back up the other.

Above the rails are tags, which once you looked closely didn’t always relate to what was below.

Amongst all the monster and supporting players costumes, there were some choice items for die hard Doctor fans.

Most of the costumes were pretty standard off the peg clothes used during the Tenth Doctor’s era.

But the Eleventh Doctor items proved to be the real treasure trove.

A total of three Donegal tweed jackets were on show.

One was on a display mannequin at the far end, along side an ironing board.

One the rails was another plain Donegal, plus the heavily distressed, burnt and torn version seen in The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang.

On the final rack was a small, but not insignificant collection of Tenth Doctor costumes.
Three pairs of the GAP trousers were hanging up, one pair somewhat torn and distressed, as seen in The Eleventh Hour, or possibly The End Of Time.

Also here was yet another brown Tenth Doctor suit. It has you wondering how many suit were actually made!

The final gem was a whole fist full of Tenth Doctor ties!

You could rummage through and see Tie 3, the YSL used in School Reunion.

Tie 5, the Thomas Nash tie from The Idiot’s Lantern.





Tie 11, the Massimo Dutti from The Next Doctor. (missing its label on the reverse).

Tie 12, the Massimo Dutti from The Doctor’s Daughter.

There was also the Rocha John Rocha tie, which was bought but went unused, as well as an unlabelled red and black floral tie, also unused.

But the prize was the replica Christian Lacroix ties made for The Eleventh Hour.

These have the blue swirls embroidered on with the reddish patches.

Two were here, one in pristine condition, the other torn and distressed.


It was jaw-dropping to discover the red patches on the tie are just fabric painted on by hand. I’m sure we all thought there were sections of red fabric appliquéd on, but as is often with film and tv work, the simplest solution is often the best.

It was quite inspiring to see the ties first-hand.
I might even have a go at making my own. Hummmm.