Doctor Who: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Eleventh Doctor
7. He Increased Bow Tie Sales By Over 90%
Few Doctor Who costumes are regarded as genuinely fashionable, and few Doctor Who costume designers can be described as genuine trendsetters. But the bow tie and tweed ensemble devised by Ray Holman for Matt Smith’s Doctor made waves in a way that nobody could have predicted.
Matt Smith’s debut series began at the start of April 2010, with "Bow ties are cool!" quickly becoming one of his trademark lines. Plenty of people agreed with him too – by the end of the month, The Telegraph was reporting that the bow tie had enjoyed a “surge in popularity” thanks to the Eleventh Doctor, with UK retailer Topman citing an insane 94% increase in sales.
It’s an even more impressive feat when you consider that by this point, only four episodes of Series 5 had aired. We can only imagine how many bow ties were sold over the following weeks, and beyond.
It also makes you wonder what the Doctor’s next viral fashion accessory might be. Will the fedora hat experience a resurgence following Ncuti Gatwa's full debut this Christmas? Only time will tell!