Sunspel Fashion Label
First published on the Last Modified on the Traditional Men’s and Women’s Clothing founded in 1860.View Sunspel fashion collections on London Fashion Review Blog
A Timeline of the Sunspel brand Since its foundation in 1860, Sunspel have been producing high quality clothing, and throughout their history, have been innovators in the manufacturing of undergarments and T-Shirts – experimenting with new styles, fabrics and knitting techniques. In 1947, Sunspel were responsible for introducing the ‘boxer short’ to the UK. Shortly after in the 1950’s, they produced the first fine mesh underwear, allowing for warmth in winter and ventilation in the summer. One individual who surely appreciates the warming properties of the quality underwear is British explorer, Ben Saunders, who undertook a solo mission to the North Pole in March, 2011. Sunspel provided Ben with custom-made merino wool thermal underwear to keep him warm at temperatures reaching as low as 50 degrees centigrade.
In today’s era where disposable cheap clothing dominates fashion high streets, Sunspel still hand makes its clothing with meticulous care and attention. Each garment is known to be extremely long lasting, as no corners are cut in the manufacturing process. Sunspel continue to develop their own custom fabrications by sourcing the finest cottons such as Long Staple Egyptian Cotton and creating unique fabric structures. In doing so, they are able to make comfort clothing that is well designed, well constructed and tailored to fit.
Famous Fashion: Sunspel’s Brushes with Fame“There have been many characters I have dressed in Sunspel vests, t-shirts and underwear because they are classic, timeless and beautifully made.” Lindy Heming, Academy Award winning costume designer. Sunspel is no stranger to fame appearing on many of the world’s biggest stars in some of the recent biggest box office hits. Their first brush with fame came in 1985 when model, Nick Kamen removed his jeans in the Levi’s ‘launderette’ advert to reveal Sunspel boxer shorts. A move to the big screen came with the release of the movie Quantum of Solace in which a classic Sunspel polo is worn by James Bond (Daniel Craig) himself. This was followed by a showing in Batman in The Dark Knight, with the bespoke t-shirts made for Christian Bale. Additionally, Sunspel provided long-johns and t-shirts for Tom Cruise in the World War II movie Valkyrie. Sunspel have also been involved with the music industry working with Charlie Watts’ stylist to provide bespoke, tailored t-shirts for Rolling Stones European tour. T-shirts on each leg of the tour referenced the colours of the national football team. Sunspel have also made t-shirts, polo shirts for Pretty Green, Liam Gallagher’s new label. Future of the Sunspel labelIn the future for Sunspel, expect considerable growth, with expansion of new and innovative fabrics for basics. Quality British basics are synonymous with Sunspel and the brand is continuing to expand into new product categories such as chinos, shirting and shoes. There are also plans for new stand alone stores and stockists to make Sunspel recognisable to a wider audience. To read more about the Sunspel fashion label, visit the official website here.
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Please be aware that this fashion article was last modified on the 12th November, 2011. Although London Fashion Blog endeavours to keep the fashion information as timely and as relevant as possible, we may not be 100% up to date. |  |
