Dunhill continues cinematic pursuit with ‘The Phoenician Scheme’

May 27, 2025

The brand is linking up with Academy Award-winning talent to help elevate its cultural footprint. Image courtesy of Dunhill/Focus Features

By Zach James

British menswear label Dunhill is deepening its connections to Hollywood with its latest endeavor.

The company’s latest action will see it provide a prominent prop for acclaimed American filmmaker Wes Anderson’s next project, The Phoenician Scheme, due out theatrically nationwide on June 6. In particular, the maison created an ornate, bejeweled smoking pipe, saluting its founder while furthering its prevalence in the global film scene.

Celluloid classics
Mr. Anderson’s hotly anticipated follow-up to 2023’s critically lauded Asteroid City will see the director tackle the espionage genre with his trademark comedic, offbeat style.

The new film follows a wealthy businessman, played by Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro, as he attempts to thwart assassinations, attacks and other schemes by powerful individuals following the appointment of his daughter as his will’s sole beneficiary. The Phoenician Scheme also stars American actors Michael Cera, Tom Hanks and Bryan Cranston, as well as English actress Mia Threapleton, who portrays Mr. del Toro’s next of kin.

Focus Features presents The Phoenician Scheme

On-screen, Dunhill’s bespoke pipe is passed on from father to daughter, serving as a symbol of the succession-themed plot of the film, while also saluting the label’s heritage as a pipemaker. In the early 20th century, maison founder Alfred Dunhill crafted smoking pipes under the name of The White Spot, a division the brand maintains to this day.

The featured piece is inspired in its design by the American corn cob pipe, a popular pick in the 1800s that has been transformed with hand-cut and polished stone embellishments around the bowl, placed in a pattern to resemble kernels of corn; its frame is forged from 18-karat gold. Dunhill’s cinematic contribution was created in collaboration between two in-house talents, a jewelry stone setter and a pipe specialist from The White Spot.

With the maison’s contribution to The Phonecian Scheme, it is expanding its presence in adult-oriented cinema even further, previously providing outfits for another 2025 film distributed by Focus Features, March’s spy thriller Black Bag (see story). More cinematic creative partnerships between Dunhill and Hollywood powerhouses are expected in the coming months.

Gold, precious stones and carved wood make up the pipe, which is downsized from other smoking instruments of the time. Image courtesy of Dunhill/Focus Features

The Phonecian Scheme is now playing in the United Kingdom, with a limited domestic release planned for Los Angeles and New York City on May 30 before expanding nationally.

Tale of the tape
Dunhill is one of many maisons looking to enrich its cultural connections through the lucrative film industry.

French luxury conglomerate Kering continues to support the Cannes Film Festival and female industry talents through its Women in Motion awards, recently recognizing American-Australian actress Nicole Kidman (see story). Meanwhile, French fashion house Chanel is maintaining its partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival (see story).

Luxury is catering to film-loving adults rather than general audiences with their chosen creative collaborators. Image courtesy of Dunhill/Focus Features

French fashion house Saint Laurent is perhaps at the forefront of the conversation, operating its own film production company under creative director Anthony Vaccarello (see story). The operation has proved successful so far, with three of its projects screening at the Cannes Film Festival last year, with one of the movies, Emilia Pérez, going on to receive several Academy Award nominations and wins for both Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song.

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