Tom Cruises’ eighth Mission Impossible film The Final Reckoning hits theatres tomorrow! In preparation, we rewatched all of the films in the past few weeks! The ladies of the series have worn some beautiful gowns over the years and the men are always impeccably dressed in tailored suits for key scenes of each film. Interestingly, there has been a new costume designer brought on board for each film (except for the very last one in which Jill Taylor returned, as it was filmed back to back with the 7th). The costumes of Mission Impossible evoke both a traditional James Bond style spy look and a more modern, edgy style with leather jackets and tactical gear. Ethan wears a series of suede and leather jackets in each film, which have become an iconic look for the character, alluding to his toughness and rebellious streak. Let’s take a look at each film and it’s many great leather jackets below!
Mission Impossible 1 (1996)
Costume Designer: Penny Rose (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Tailor: Timothy Everest
It was Everest’s first time working for film and he made Cruises’ suits, telling “From Tailors With Love” that because Tom had been working out his body since his initial fitting, the Prada or Donna Karan clothes he was supposed to wear wouldn’t fit him anymore. Everest made traditionally British three button suits as a nod to the original Mission Impossible television series. He went on to work with Tom again in Eyes Wide Shut (1999) and also dressed him for the Oscars that year when Tom was nominated for Magnolia. Everest cut Tom’s suits in a particular way to make him appear taller and also work around his musculature.
For Ethan's Jim Phelps disguise on the train (below), he wears a grey pinstripe suit jacket made by Everest with a pants made by Keith Watson and a shirt by Dometakis. This costume was sold on PropStore in 2019.
The first leather jacket we see Ethan wear is a black blazer with notched lapel (below). This was the height of style in 1996. I don’t know what brand Penny Rose used but in any case, the leather jacket became a staple in Ethan’s wardrobe going forward, as did all-black outfits.
Mission Impossible 2 (2000)
Costume Designer: Lizzy Gardiner (The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert).
Timothy Everest again made Tom’s suits.
Not anyone’s favourite MI movie but Ethan’s climbing outfit at the beginning can today be seen parading down the streets of your city, 25 years on; Y2K cargo pants and tank top combos are all the rage. So, this aged well and the tan pair were only the first of many colours to appear throughout the film.
We break out an all-black outfit for that overlong motorcycle chase near the end. It was topped with a leather jacket and it was on point! The jacket was made by Australian leather goods company Bisonte.
Tom also wears a beige suede zip-up jacket in another scene, so we’re firmly establishing his love for cow hides here.
We can’t forget Ving Rhames’ Luther, who always brings the style, and came out with the memorable line “That punk put a hole in my Versace”. But I cannot verify if his jacket was actually Versace...
Mission Impossible 3 (2006)
Costume Designer: Colleen Atwood (no bracket required).
Tom wore a deer suede racer jacket (below) from motorcycle clothing brand Belstaff in this film. It was featured heavily in the first half and has been copied by numerous different companies wanting to cash in on the fan frenzy surrounding this cool style!
Belstaff also made another jacket for the film; the Delta Force M Blouson tactical jacket (below).
The stand out costume in this movie was worn by Maggie Q as Zhen in a red Roberto Cavalli dress from the label’s 2005 collection. Bella Hadid wore this same dress to Cannes in 2019.
4- Ghost Protocol (2011)
Costume Designer: Michael Kaplan (Blade Runner, Star Wars sequels).
By movie 4, they were getting the formula for success closer to a fine art. The costumes started to become much more functional and practical by this film, reflecting the need for mobility and protection during dangerous missions. But, of course, still included formal wear for those undercover scenes. It is certainly the most stylish film up to that point with many commenting on the suits, particularly the custom-made blue one Ethan wears in Dubai. “Tailor on Ten” said that this blue mohair suit was their best selling movie reproduction suit ever! Kaplan has said that he paid homage to the 60s with his costumes as a nod to the original series he grew up with. Dennis Kim was the tailor this time and produced all of the main characters’ suits.
One of the pieces that I have to mention is the Russian General's jacket which reverses seamlessly into a casual nylon bomber that Ethan wears over a Bruce Springsteen t shirt- a disguise which has been making the rounds in internet memes in the last number of years. The t-shirt was actually Kaplan’s own. This is possibly a reference to Roger Moore’s disguise costume in Octopussy (1983). But who makes these clothing rigs for the IMF???
Kaplan shared an image of Paula Patton as Jane Carter wearing an all-white snow suit for a scene which didn’t make into the final cut, but it was sick! Patton did, however, wear a dramatic green evening dress with a seductive leg split- the most memorable costume in the film. Ethan wears an Armani midnight blue tuxedo in the same sequence, which also went with Tom to the film’s premiere.
One other female costume I would like to mention is Lea Seydoux’s grey wool trench coat. Assassin chic! And feels very film noir.
The hooded leather jacket Cruise wears on the movies’ poster is a silhouette which is repeated at the end of the film with a simple hoodie, alluding to his ever increasing need for secrecy (hiding in the shadows) to protect himself and those he loves.
5- Rogue Nation (2015)
Costume Designer: Joanna Johnston (Indiana Jones 3 and 5, Forrest Gump, Lincoln).
Rebecca Ferguson’s not-to-be-trifled-with and stylish Ilsa Faust is introduced to us in this film. She wears a slick leather jacket by Belstaff, a brand who have already been established within the franchise.
Equally iconic is Ilsa’s chartreuse satin evening gown which she manages to manoeuvre around in while being chased and engaging in martial arts! What fans may not realize is that she wears a total of 8 versions of the dress to accommodate the different forms of action required in her scenes.
Later, Ilsa wears a trench coat from quintessentially British label Burberry, hinting at her political affiliations. The jacket has been coveted and replicated by fans.
Michael Sloan made Tom’s suits for this film. All of his seams were overlocked and bound to ensure they stayed together while Tom was scaling an airplane in flight! The style of the suit was a nod to that worn by Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959).
Joanna worked with the brand John Varvatos in creating the costumes for this film. Ethan’s leather jacket this time is from Varvatos.
6- Fallout (2018)
Costume Designer: Jeffrey Kurland (Inception, Dunkirk).
Continuing the parade of cool guy jackets, this time Tom wears a Hugo Boss charcoal canvas trucker jacket, a reversible Hugo Boss bomber jacket and a John Varvatos blue leather jacket. Ethan's signature look is down to a science by now and it's highly unlikely that we'll be thrown any check shirt curveballs at this point!
We are introduced to another stylish woman; The White Widow/ Alanna Mitsopolis, played by Vanessa Kirby. Her primary colour is white as you might have guessed! She wears a floral printed halter top and flowing skirt set complete with a white spider (widow) brooch when we first meet her, and it's quite divine. She then changes into a pearl encrusted robe, and later a white wool trench coat. I can only guess that Kurland designed and built these from scratch, with no other information available.
Ilsa again in a very slick look, keeping in step with her established wardrobe.
Toronto’s own Jitterbug Boy made some of the film’s shoes.
7- Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
Costume Designer: Jill Taylor (Johnny English, My Week with Marilyn).
Speaking with the Designing Hollywood podcast, Taylor admitted that she was initially very reluctant to join the production but that the producers hounded her to take the job!
Tom and Hayley Atwell (playing Grace) had suits made by Chris Kerr in London.
Hayley wears a suede jacket similar to Tom’s famous Belstaff one from the third movie, which may hint at her true origins.
We are introduced to Pom Klementieff’s character Paris. Taylor wanted her to come across as very rock ’n’ roll and put her in a tartan mini skirt, leather jacket, military jacket and then an all-black outfit for the train sequence. She referenced the 1968 film The Charge of The Light Brigade when talking about the military jacket. If you’re not familiar, the real life charge of the light brigade was an event in the Crimean war which came to symbolize military misjudgement due to the resulting heavy casualties. Applying this to Paris, the jacket could be a foreshadowing of her misjudgement of her own situation.
Ilsa is back in a tried and true outfit formula for her. She has perfected and simplified her work outfits in the same way Ethan has to make getting dressed easy in the morning! Though she isn't as afraid of colour as he is...
Tom spends a lot of time wearing his motorcycle outfit in this film and he has a lot of different types of action to perform in it. The cargo pants were built from dyed fabric (a nightmare operation apparently) and multiples were made in a range of lengths and widths to accommodate sitting and standing scenes. He joked with Taylor that the black sweater he wears as part of this costume would be extremely important as it was going to save his life during the stunt! He was concerned about being comfortable and protected from the elements while jumping off a cliff and wanted to prioritize the sweater in early costume fittings. The sweater held up well!
Tom of course wore a black leather jacket, brand unknown.
8- The Final Reckoning (2025)
Costume Designer: Jill Taylor returns. We've already seen Tom in some Ralph by Ralph Lauren gear in the trailer and we can’t wait to see what else the team has conjured up! To be continued…
