Spectre features two seriously badass ladies in more-than-sidekick roles. At 51, Monica Bellucci is playing the most mature James Bond woman to date, a mysterious mafia widow, and Léa Seydoux, a 30-year-old French starlet, is playing a feisty, high-powered psychologist whose father was previously Bond’s nemesis. So, says Temime, they need much more than just languid evening dresses and sexy bathing suits.

We asked Temime to give us a sneak peek at the new Bond women. Ahead, see what she had to say.

What's the first thing you do when dressing a character?

"I speak a lot with the director. I was so lucky to work with Sam Mendes, who is extremely interested in the psychology of his characters. When you understand a character, it's easier to design for them because you know what the character is and, by extension, what she will wear for each situation. From that point, you can start designing and then taking into consideration the color, the situation, the decor — all the things that make up the costume."

How did you decide what Monica Bellucci's character would wear?

"Monica plays an Italian widow at the funeral of her husband. So of course, the style was a little bit defined before we started: I had to design something demure but still oozing of sexiness. To do that, I decided to add some mystery to the traditional black. The most important thing in the costume is the veil attached to the hat. I wanted Bond to look at her and not immediately know who she was, because it's a surprise for him like it is for us, and it creates a moment of suspense where you slowly discover her."