Belstaff (Q3860)
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| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Belstaff |
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Wheeling back to Belstaff’s presentation during menswear Milan Fashion Week in January, the brand today dropped images of the womenswear collection that was also presented there. “I think there is a nice harmony,” Sean Lehnhardt-Moore had said back then of the relationship between the genders within his offer. “They come from the same place. A lot of the ideas, detailing, and finishing, in a lot of cases, cross over.”Here that happened via the three main moto-flavored moods of the collection, which were the same gears we’d run through at menswear. The first was a sort of vintage moto-hero look—think James Hunt—that in womenswear was expressed via fully finished biker pants and boots worn against oversized knit sweaters, hybrid biker jackets matched with a worn finish leather skirt, and a star-flash biker jacket Lehnhardt-Moore said conformed to the “10-foot rule: You see it, and it draws you in.” There were some attractive shearlings here also.Next we freewheeled into a fleeting military-flavored phase—nice combat pants, nice double-layered olive outerwear—before settling into a Black-Watch-tartan-meets-buffalo-check section that also featured green-accented leathers worn against black tailored pants and white shirting. And then we screeched to a close.
19 February 2020
Sean Lehnhardt-Moore’s kickstand touched tarmac in Milan today at his latest collection for biker brand Belstaff, entitled Heroes of The Road. Its first gear was built around a custom jacket with a red body and black shoulders and elbow patches ordered by a Minneapolis motorcycle store in the 1950s, an example of which Lehnhardt-Moore discovered in the archive. This was reproduced, via adaptation and upgrade, into a version of its battered and lived-in vintage form and morphed into a fresh scarlet Trialmaster incarnation. This section also featured a handsome pre-distressed leather moto-jacket and a new Trialmaster pocketed pant.Second gear—at least in the order I circuited the showroom—was a garage inspired group that featured Blackwatch tartan hybrid outerwear pieces and another distressed Trialmaster, this one green.Up to third and this onlooker found his speed in a military inspired section commanded by a great olive and black blanket duffle coat, also featuring plenty of fine pseudo-martial fleeces and a super-cool ripstock vs. canvas multi-pocketed parka. Lehnhardt-Moore is delivering thoughtful, attractive and true-to-brand product here.
11 January 2020
At a presentation entitled “Travelogue” (British English for “travelog”) Sean Lehnhardt-Moore’s sophomore outing for Belstaff was, without question, full of fly-looking outerwear. His revival of a 1950s-through-to-1990s Belstaff produced a fishing vest—chest-thumpingly named the Castmaster, in sidewalk-appropriate orange and riverbank-appropriate khaki—that had this punter hooked (I’ve since snagged a vintage example on eBay). It also included arms to make a very fine jacket.A corduroy collared Trialmaster in weathered patches of variously shaded khaki and olive cotton looked manly on its mannequin. A jacket with roughened metal fastenings in a nylon British Army woodland camo looked very fine as well, as did the beautifully treated green T-shirt worn layered under a shirt. Another four-pocket coat came in a thick olive canvas duck-piped in washed bridle leather. Freshly cooked and served on that mannequin, it looked like it has already enjoyed several eventful tours of duty—an impression also given by Lehnhardt-Moore’s super-attractive leather and waxed-cotton courier and overnight bags, respectively. Yet another revived jacket, named the XL 500, originally built for Belstaff’s motorsport of trial racing, was the inspiration for some pieces, which were delivered in waxed nylon. This offered the lightness and versatility of the synthetic fabric with the potential to, in time, acquire a pleasing patina offered by the waxing process.There was womenswear, too. This included a sort ofgaragistejumpsuit, skirts, and shirts with hand-drawn doodles illustrating the ephemera seen and acquired on the customer’s idealized journey, and lots of versions of the men’s jackets. By this point, however, I was basically just fantasy personal shopping—and not for womenswear. The presentation format of items on mannequins, plus the lack of much of a thesis beyond very finely observed heritage-led product for a broad demographic, meant this felt more like a super-privileged browse in which the logic behind a new logo and T-shirt graphic was laid out by the brain behind it rather than a sales assistant. (It was inspired, by the way, by a late ’40sAdventurer’s Editioncatalog, but also referred to Belstaff’s 1924 birth year.) Lehnhardt-Moore said: “It is not just the fit or the function, but also the finish of things that is really important to me.”
13 September 2019
At a presentation entitled “Travelogue” (British English for “travelog”) Sean Lehnhardt-Moore’s sophomore outing for Belstaff was, without question, full of fly-looking outerwear. His revival of a 1950s-through-to-1990s Belstaff produced a fishing vest—chest-thumpingly named the Castmaster, in sidewalk-appropriate orange and riverbank-appropriate khaki—that had this punter hooked (I’ve since snagged a vintage example on eBay). It also included arms to make a very fine jacket.A corduroy collared Trialmaster in weathered patches of variously shaded khaki and olive cotton looked manly on its mannequin. A jacket with roughened metal fastenings in a nylon British Army woodland camo looked very fine as well, as did the beautifully treated green T-shirt worn layered under a shirt. Another four-pocket coat came in a thick olive canvas duck-piped in washed bridle leather. Freshly cooked and served on that mannequin, it looked like it has already enjoyed several eventful tours of duty—an impression also given by Lehnhardt-Moore’s super-attractive leather and waxed-cotton courier and overnight bags, respectively. Yet another revived jacket, named the XL 500, originally built for Belstaff’s motorsport of trial racing, was the inspiration for some pieces, which were delivered in waxed nylon. This offered the lightness and versatility of the synthetic fabric with the potential to, in time, acquire a pleasing patina offered by the waxing process.There was womenswear, too. This included a sort ofgaragistejumpsuit, skirts, and shirts with hand-drawn doodles illustrating the ephemera seen and acquired on the customer’s idealized journey, and lots of versions of the men’s jackets. By this point, however, I was basically just fantasy personal shopping—and not for womenswear. The presentation format of items on mannequins, plus the lack of much of a thesis beyond very finely observed heritage-led product for a broad demographic, meant this felt more like a super-privileged browse in which the logic behind a new logo and T-shirt graphic was laid out by the brain behind it rather than a sales assistant. (It was inspired, by the way, by a late ’40sAdventurer’s Editioncatalog, but also referred to Belstaff’s 1924 birth year.) Lehnhardt-Moore said: “It is not just the fit or the function, but also the finish of things that is really important to me.”
10 June 2019
Sean Lehnhardt-Moore has been creative director at Belstaff for seven months, but today was the first time he put his head above the parapet. The former Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein man also worked for a while at low-key Brit brand Bamford, where he crossed paths with Helen Wright, the executive appointed by Belstaff’s newish owner Jim Ratcliffe to run this business under his watch. Wright promptly appointed Lehnhardt-Moore, who said today that he is a longtime fan of the brand. “I’ve always been a Belstaff guy; it is absolutely a blessing for me to be creative director here because it is a lifelong dream.” Although not a biker himself, Lehnhardt-Moore said his vintage collection has long featured plenty of Belstaff.At this static collection, the garments were shown on mannequins grouped in four corners of the top-floor studio at Belstaff’s New Bond Street HQ. It was a crush—more about the schmooze than the clothes, a speed date with the new crew in charge—but the mostly leather outerwear selection certainly looked Belstaff-ian. Shearling bikers whose pocket styles were mirrored in men’s and women’s iterations, an enveloping shearling car coat, an indigo denim Trialmaster, a knit cape in checkered-flag double-faced wool, chunkily strapped biker boots, and a suede women’s flight jacket all looked good in the gloom. Lehnhardt-Moore described the gig thusly: “The feeling of taking something apart and putting it back again . . . deciding which pieces I want to keep and polish up, and which I wish to put aside.”It would be great to see Belstaff’s clothes being worn in whatever presentation format Lehnhardt-Moore decides to polish up going forward. For now, as Belstaff tentatively revs its way into the latest installment of its many-chaptered story, it would be rash to rush to judgment: Let’s see where it goes.
21 February 2019
Sean Lehnhardt-Moore has been creative director at Belstaff for seven months, but today was the first time he put his head above the parapet. The former Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein man also worked for a while at low-key Brit brand Bamford, where he crossed paths with Helen Wright, the executive appointed by Belstaff’s newish owner Jim Ratcliffe to run this business under his watch. Wright promptly appointed Lehnhardt-Moore, who said today that he is a longtime fan of the brand. “I’ve always been a Belstaff guy; it is absolutely a blessing for me to be creative director here because it is a lifelong dream.” Although not a biker himself, Lehnhardt-Moore said his vintage collection has long featured plenty of Belstaff.At this static collection, the garments were shown on mannequins grouped in four corners of the top-floor studio at Belstaff’s New Bond Street HQ. It was a crush—more about the schmooze than the clothes, a speed date with the new crew in charge—but the mostly leather outerwear selection certainly looked Belstaff-ian. Shearling bikers whose pocket styles were mirrored in men’s and women’s iterations, an enveloping shearling car coat, an indigo denim Trialmaster, a knit cape in checkered-flag double-faced wool, chunkily strapped biker boots, and a suede women’s flight jacket all looked good in the gloom. Lehnhardt-Moore described the gig thusly: “The feeling of taking something apart and putting it back again . . . deciding which pieces I want to keep and polish up, and which I wish to put aside.”It would be great to see Belstaff’s clothes being worn in whatever presentation format Lehnhardt-Moore decides to polish up going forward. For now, as Belstaff tentatively revs its way into the latest installment of its many-chaptered story, it would be rash to rush to judgment: Let’s see where it goes.
7 January 2019
Delphine Ninous has taken her last road trip for Belstaff. In May the heritage motorcycle jacket brand whose design (initially womenswear, then men’s too) she has led since 2014, announced (although not to us) that she was leaving to “pursue new opportunities.” Was Ninous thrown from the saddle on the sharp bend of a change of ownership or did she dismount of her own accord? That depends on who you listen to.What we do know is Ninous has hopped back on the Eurostar to Paris for good and that Sean Lehnhardt-Moore, a designer with a spectacularly small online footprint, was simultaneously appointed in her place. The change comes a few months after Belstaff’s acquisition from JAB by Ineos, whose CEO Jim Ratcliffe is currently Britain’s richest person.Due to some post-Ninous confusion about whether Belstaff wanted to draw the veil or be reviewed this season, we only got to glimpse her last menswear collection, or at least some of it, in the suite of a Milan hotel behind Armani, where the brand was holding its sales appointments. There was no Resort on the rails. Brand-language headlines were that the Roadmaster jacket name had been terminated in favor of the Trialmaster, and that a McLaren collaboration revealed (although not to us) at Pitti looks really excellent.Ninous had rustled up yet more of the excellent variations on the moto jacket that is Belstaff’s bread and butter, especially some silky-but-nylon lightweight versions—a bit military—and some safari-suity variations in linen-cotton. There were also some pleasantly artificially sun-faded iterations of the Trialmaster in red and blue. Going on past evidence, this will be reflected in her Resort, which will also feature attractive standalone womenswear pieces (and great shoes) for which her Marant-honed natural instinct always felt a little suppressed under this label.Following a series of eccentric stewardships, Belstaff was doing rather well under JAB. Now JAB has all but exited from prêt-à-porter in favor of Pret A Manger, it will be interesting to watch what Ratcliffe and Lehnhardt-Moore do with the brand. There are signs that this is a business deal based on passion: Ratcliffe is apparently hatching plans to revive Land Rover’s Defender, among the most beautiful vehicles in the world.
If he’s a Landy head with an eye for heritage then it follows that he’s got a thing for Belstaff (whose original Longton HQ under founder Eli Belovitch is only 50 miles from its new owner’s birthplace just outside of Manchester)—so let’s see!
5 September 2018
Delphine Ninous has taken her last road trip for Belstaff. At the end of last month the heritage motorcycle jacket brand whose design (initially womenswear, then men’s too) she has led since 2014, announced (although not to us) that she was leaving to “pursue new opportunities.” Was Ninous thrown from the saddle on the sharp bend of a change of ownership or did she dismount of her own accord? That depends on who you listen to.What we do know is Ninous has hopped back on the Eurostar to Paris for good and that Sean Lehnhardt-Moore, a designer with a spectacularly small online footprint, was simultaneously appointed in her place. The change comes a few months after Belstaff’s acquisition from JAB by Ineos, whose CEO Jim Ratcliffe is currently Britain’s richest person.Due to some post-Ninous confusion about whether Belstaff wanted to draw the veil or be reviewed this season, we only got to glimpse her last menswear collection, or at least some of it, in the suite of a Milan hotel behind Armani, where the brand was holding its sales appointments. There was no Resort on the rails. Brand-language headlines were that the Roadmaster jacket name had been terminated in favor of the Trialmaster, and that a McLaren collaboration revealed (although not to us) at Pitti looks really excellent.Ninous had rustled up yet more of the excellent variations on the moto jacket that is Belstaff’s bread and butter, especially some silky-but-nylon lightweight versions—a bit military—and some safari-suity variations in linen-cotton. There were also some pleasantly artificially sun-faded iterations of the Trialmaster in red and blue. Going on past evidence, this will be reflected in her Resort, which will also feature attractive standalone womenswear pieces (and great shoes) for which her Marant-honed natural instinct always felt a little suppressed under this label.Following a series of eccentric stewardships, Belstaff was doing rather well under JAB. Now JAB has all but exited from prêt-à-porter in favor of Pret A Manger, it will be interesting to watch what Ratcliffe and Lehnhardt-Moore do with the brand. There are signs that this is a business deal based on passion: Ratcliffe is apparently hatching plans to revive Land Rover’s Defender, among the most beautiful vehicles in the world.
If he’s a Landy head with an eye for heritage then it follows that he’s got a thing for Belstaff (whose original Longton HQ under founder Eli Belovitch is only 50 miles from its new owner’s birthplace just outside of Manchester)—so let’s see!
20 June 2018
Delphine Ninous has proved a highly able creative courier of Belstaff’s heritage-biker message, and this season, gifted the 70th anniversary of the brand’s defining garment, she delivered again.As previously reported in the reviews for Pre-Fall and menswear, the invention of the Trialmaster jacket in 1948 was this brand’s greatest eureka moment: the Belstaff equivalent of the Burberry trench or the Max Mara camel coat. Naturally, Ninous traveled deep into the house archive to research a collection meant to reflect that. She returned with an insight into just how differently her company’s garments have been adopted and adapted by various youth movements over the years. “We found a beautiful Trailmaster peppered with biker badges, and a fantastic perfecto-style jacket with a mod-style Harrington-check lining, and all these pictures of mods, punks, rockers, skins—so many different youth movements—wearing our jackets customized to reflect their groups.”In this spirit, Ninous chopped and changed and cut and pasted the fabrication and detail of many of her key pieces in this collection. The “Rider” coat came in a soft olive, vegetable-tanned leather and a desert-camo technical cotton and nylon blend. The Trialmaster was both pared down and luxed up in black bonded, raw-cut leather and an oil-sheened green suede. There was an interesting green wool overcoat with an MA1-touched inner liner, and a biker patched with panels of animal-print cowhide, vinyl, painted leather, and velvet.This season, Belstaff is reestablishing the manufacture of some of its key pieces in U.K. factories. Ninous and her team shot this lookbook in a dilapidated East London industrial site, using a vintage ’80s Ford Escort as a prop: so very English. Ninous, however, is so very French. When she says “Ford Escort,” it sounds written by Rimbaud. That accent was expressed here via red-on-blue Breton sweaters with kinks of leather at the neck, some beautifully articulated wide velvet pants—especially fine in red—and some killer boots with animal print–panel uppers.
19 February 2018
In 1948 Belstaff released a new jacket designed for competitors in the Scottish Six Day Trial, an all-terrain motorcycle race founded in 1909 that continues to this day. Called the Trialmaster for obvious reasons, this waxed cotton jacket featured four pockets angled for easy on-bike access, articulated sleeves to best accommodate the rider’s arms, and armholes that allowed for smooth shoulder movements.Today in a trendy Soho studio you had to walk through a record store to get to, Belstaff’s creative director Delphine Ninous showed a collection for men and women that majored on the Trialmaster, still going strong 70 years later. One wall was lined with historical examples that included Trialmasters dating from ’48, one owned by Steve McQueen, and others specially adapted for police forces, the military, and riders both male and female down the years. Against the other wall, idling on a scaffold, were the models wearing Ninous’s luxified iterations of Belstaff’s four-pocketed golden goose. There was a fine camel example featuring high-visibility silver stripes and surplus-style government commission labels, a flight-of-fancy shearling interpretation that looked lovely, and a minimalist women’s version in black leather that looked fine too. Around these core pieces Ninous referenced other Belstaff archive pieces. Wartime dispatch rider’s coats (long, copious, and cozy) were recast in black shearling or an off-olive calf, while high-cut bikers in black leather were remixed via panels of leopard and black velvet, or speckled with a fine white paint-spatter effect. Sideline pieces included especially strong women’s footwear and sweetly cut velvet pants. The main attraction here though was the outerwear, with the Trialmaster top of the bill. Ninous said: “In menswear what I love is that when a piece really does become iconic, it can last forever.” Don’t count your chickens, but the Trialmaster—as steered by Ninous—seems set for a long and healthy life.
8 January 2018
In 1948 Belstaff released a new jacket designed for competitors in the Scottish Six Day Trial, an all-terrain motorcycle race founded in 1909 that continues to this day. Called the Trialmaster for obvious reasons, this waxed cotton jacket featured four pockets angled for easy on-bike access, articulated sleeves to best accommodate the rider’s arms, and armholes that allowed for smooth shoulder movements.Today in a trendy Soho studio you had to walk through a record store to get to, Belstaff’s creative director Delphine Ninous showed a collection for men and women that majored on the Trialmaster, still going strong 70 years later. One wall was lined with historical examples that included Trialmasters dating from ’48, one owned by Steve McQueen, and others specially adapted for police forces, the military, and riders both male and female down the years. Against the other wall, idling on a scaffold, were the models wearing Ninous’s luxified iterations of Belstaff’s four-pocketed golden goose. There was a fine camel example featuring high-visibility silver stripes and surplus-style government commission labels, a flight-of-fancy shearling interpretation that looked lovely, and a minimalist women’s version in black leather that looked fine too. Around these core pieces Ninous referenced other Belstaff archive pieces. Wartime dispatch rider’s coats (long, copious, and cozy) were recast in black shearling or an off-olive calf, while high-cut bikers in black leather were remixed via panels of leopard and black velvet, or speckled with a fine white paint-spatter effect. Sideline pieces included especially strong women’s footwear and sweetly cut velvet pants. The main attraction here though was the outerwear, with the Trialmaster top of the bill. Ninous said: “In menswear what I love is that when a piece really does become iconic, it can last forever.” Don’t count your chickens, but the Trialmaster—as steered by Ninous—seems set for a long and healthy life.
8 January 2018
This womenswear half of Delphine Ninous’s Belstaff collection for next Spring was consciously uncoupled from the men’s, alongside which we saw it presented back in June. That men’s was all about the Paris–Dakar Rally, hence the graphics, the house-relevant moto pieces, the ’80s topstitching, and the violent color. Today, Ninous was far less literal in her different-lane journey from the same starting point, concentrating instead on the colors of the northern African landscape, and drawing inspiration from the impulse for contrast and mix in the photography of Malick Sidibé.This is Belstaff, so there were some obligatory motorcycle jackets inspired by the house archive. They came in a patched cocktail of materials whose composite flavors ranged from roughened and raw (python print, gabardine, and linen) to sleekly striped (more python, white mock-croc, and red suede on black leather). This second recipe ran through the collection, served in full skirts and mid-heel strapped sandals. A pretty, mixed-up dress in patches of unaligned stripe and slashed sections of gingham reflected Ninous’s exposure to Sidibé. A light, long, desert-dirt red crepe dress with one shoulder strap secured by shining grommet reflected her childhood passion for the now-relocated motorsport scramble from Europe to Africa. Diversions worth exploring included a suit in fine-check nylon of full skirt and a pratique blazer in the same material abutted with a black nylon hood, as well as a black cable-knit sweater racily encircled by a slanted ruffle of black leather. Ninous’s Belstaff continues to tick over.
15 September 2017
When she was a child, Delphine Ninous recalls being transfixed by the annual hoopla of the Paris-Dakar rally. This epic off-road race from France to Senegal—relocated to South America since 2009 for security reasons—featured both motorbikes and cars and was one of the most romantic and grueling motorsports competitions in the world. For this season, Ninous looked at the earlier days of the competition to conjure a collection that drove richly arid desert tones through a landscape of ’80s painted moto-wear. There were plenty of pieces that incorporated the graphic brashness of the time—tracksuit stripes ran through the collection—and a mix of sportswear and leather or nylon moto-outerwear.The house standard Trialmaster was recast in double-layered, top-stitched nylon; a Prince of Wales check was rendered in nylon in a pared down topcoat, and a mac came in lacquered nylon, too. Cotton long-sleeved tees with mesh inserts and leather moto jackets were emblazoned with oversize Belstaff phoenix logos in the spirit of rally branding. Really fine was ableu de travailcombination of work jacket and pants in indigo cotton that could have walked straight out ofLe Salaire de la Peur.To her credit, Ninous did not look solely in the rearview mirror. A future-facing new sub-brand called Origins focused on producing cutting-edge, summer-ready technical pieces—light as anything, bonded, waterproof yet breathable—that incorporated the visual language of Belstaff in pocket detailing and articulated panels at knee and elbow. For both men and women (there was a smattering of Resort here too), it looked good, plus served as a reminder that Belstaff’s own origins are rooted in the manufacture of clothes that do a job—and do it well.
12 June 2017
Now the sole captain charged with steering design direction at Belstaff, Delphine Ninous has an embarrassment of riches at her disposal when it comes to archival material to mine. Case in point: Today, from its New Bond Street store, the 93-year-old outerwear specialist will begin to reveal the fruits of a nearly three-year project to buy back around 150 vintage pieces that run the hardy Belstaff gamut, from a 1930s flying suit to Steve McQueen–era biker leathers and beyond. This collection, already partly revealed at the joint presentation with menswear back in January, contained plenty of reimagined-for-2017 nods to that history, specifically Belstaff’s lesser-known incarnation as a provider of naval attire. Hence the duffle-coat-meets-parka hybrid, delicately oversize, in crackled-finish vinyl; the foul-weather cape, an interestingly pared-down, longer-cut version of the classic Belstaff waxed biker in a dark marine teal; vinyl wax parkas; and more.Knowing your house’s heritage is important, of course. Yet being overly defined by it can be dangerous. Ninous deftly navigated these reefs by mixing in plenty of her own ebulliently gamine-y sensibility. It wasn’t just the styling and the setting that contributed to these images’ chicly re-shot On the Town–meets–On the Waterfront vibe: From the patent shoes and work boots via sailor-wide pants or slouchily fitted leather ones, up to the soft shirting and Bretons under all that shipshape outerwear, Ninous is placing her own identity within that of her brand—to the benefit of them both. The Jolly Roger ensign that provided the name and part of the theme for this collection was not, by the way, an invitation to pirate it.
22 February 2017
Now the sole captain charged with steering design direction at Belstaff, Delphine Ninous has an embarrassment of riches at her disposal when it comes to archival material to mine. Case in point: Today, from its New Bond Street store, the 93-year-old outerwear specialist will begin to reveal the fruits of a nearly three-year project to buy back around 150 vintage pieces that run the hardy Belstaff gamut, from a 1930s flying suit to Steve McQueen–era biker leathers and beyond. This collection, already partly revealed at the joint presentation with menswear back in January, contained plenty of reimagined-for-2017 nods to that history, specifically Belstaff’s lesser-known incarnation as a provider of naval attire. Hence the duffle-coat-meets-parka hybrid, delicately oversize, in crackled-finish vinyl; the foul-weather cape, an interestingly pared-down, longer-cut version of the classic Belstaff waxed biker in a dark marine teal; vinyl wax parkas; and more.Knowing your house’s heritage is important, of course. Yet being overly defined by it can be dangerous. Ninous deftly navigated these reefs by mixing in plenty of her own ebulliently gamine-y sensibility. It wasn’t just the styling and the setting that contributed to these images’ chicly re-shotOn the Town–meets–On the Waterfrontvibe: From the patent shoes and work boots via sailor-wide pants or slouchily fitted leather ones, up to the soft shirting and Bretons under all that shipshape outerwear, Ninous is placing her own identity within that of her brand—to the benefit of them both. The Jolly Roger ensign that provided the name and part of the theme for this collection was not, by the way, an invitation to pirate it.
17 February 2017
Paging Baz Luhrmann, Ron Howard, or even the big S.S.—why oh why are none of you developing a picture dedicated to the incredible Van Buren sisters? This seasonBelstaff’screative director, Delphine Ninous, went where Hollywood’s finest have failed to, by taking inspiration from the heroic story of two society gals who crossed America for equality. In 1916 two descendants of President Martin Van Buren, Augusta and Adeline, refused to accept the U.S. government’s refusal to recruit women as military dispatch riders in World War I: To prove their worth, they would ride their Indian motorcycles across the nation. Leaving in July and arriving in September they crossed from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, and were detained several times along the way by local police who held them for wearing masculine clothes.The military remained unswayed, and the Van Buren girls went on to other exploits. But their ride was delicious context for Ninous to counterpoint buffalo plaid biker against cream pleat shift. The Van Burens’ leather riding coats were stripped and lightened into tobacco bonded macs, or shaved leather Trialmasters peppered with patch. The silver finished pieces and starry leathers were a bit of a stretch from the source material but still worked. This was a solid Belstaff collection with by far the most interesting backstory of the week so far. Make that movie, someone!
18 September 2016
This season(s), the motorcycling heritage brand Belstaff sped into broader fashion consensus by aligning the theme and presentation of its Resort and Pre-Spring menswear collections. Yet it was careful to retain the authorial independence of its two gender-specific design chiefs. That theme, as menswear’s Fred Dyhr put it, “starts with the 1971 documentaryOn Any Sunday, which featured Steve McQueen. And we were also looking at what was happening in England in riding and motorcycle culture at the same time. And it was about customization: A lot of riders were taking stars, stripes and customizing their own jackets.”This was a safe-ish theme for Belstaff—after all, McQueen was one of its best-known champions andOn Any Sundayis all about motorcycle culture—but the customization angle gave each designer room to articulate their own creative urges while staying in broad alignment. So let’s shift gears, and veer over to womenswear designer Delphine Ninous: “Of course there is moto inspiration in the clothes: That is us. But there is also something a little bit less first degree and literal. I have worked to bring a little bit of softness in it.”Standout womenswear pieces included soft and fluid suede Perfectos in green and tan, some great denim spattered with starry fruits of that customization theme, and animal-camp fringed dresses and shirts. The menswear was harder but no less consideredly sophisticated: Here the to-be-expected moves included enduro jackets in richly burnished leather patches, moto-leather pants, and jumpsuits. The Millerain camo parkas with house diamond-stitch detail were less obvious but no less lovely.“We share an office,” said Fred of Delphine, “and we talk all the time.” There is harmony here, but each rider chooses their own course.
12 June 2016
This season(s), the motorcycling heritage brand Belstaff sped into broader fashion consensus by aligning the theme and presentation of its Resort and Pre-Spring menswear collections. Yet it was careful to retain the authorial independence of its two gender-specific design chiefs. That theme, as menswear’s Fred Dyhr put it, “starts with the 1971 documentaryOn Any Sunday, which featured Steve McQueen. And we were also looking at what was happening in England in riding and motorcycle culture at the same time. And it was about customization: A lot of riders were taking stars, stripes and customizing their own jackets.”This was a safe-ish theme for Belstaff—after all, McQueen was one of its best-known champions andOn Any Sundayis all about motorcycle culture—but the customization angle gave each designer room to articulate their own creative urges while staying in broad alignment. So let’s shift gears, and veer over to womenswear designer Delphine Ninous: “Of course there is moto inspiration in the clothes: That is us. But there is also something a little bit less first degree and literal. I have worked to bring a little bit of softness in it.”Standout womenswear pieces included soft and fluid suede Perfectos in green and tan, some great denim spattered with starry fruits of that customization theme, and animal-camp fringed dresses and shirts. The menswear was harder but no less consideredly sophisticated: Here the to-be-expected moves included enduro jackets in richly burnished leather patches, moto-leather pants, and jumpsuits. The Millerain camo parkas with house diamond-stitch detail were less obvious but no less lovely.“We share an office,” said Fred of Delphine, “and we talk all the time.” There is harmony here, but each rider chooses their own course.
12 June 2016
There must be something in the water atBelstaff. Upstairs at today’s presentation, Liv Tyler was holding court about a forthcoming capsule collection—photos are embargoed but think Benedict Cumberbatch’sSherlock“Milford” coat cinched for women, plus delicate variations. She was absolutely charming, and very pregnant. Downstairs in the crypt (this was a deconsecrated church), Tyler’s co-designer—and head of womenswear at Belstaff—Delphine Ninous was also cradling a precious protuberance as we toured the mainline collection.The mother-to-be—whose Spring 2016 collection is reportedly doing fertile business at retail—was on song again here. There were basically two sections: one dark, one light. The dark featured souvenir jackets, plus a great (and new) souvenir jumpsuit, both featuring the furling feathers of the house phoenix. There was a camel cashmere ribbed faux-underwear jumpsuit, too. And black leather bikers as soft, thin, and lustrous as any cosmetically committed petrolhead could wish for. Ninous softened the hardness of biker with pleated organza skirts in both sides of monochrome. The white side was icily opaque and reflected the leftover of the last collection’s extreme North theme, here further explored via faux-roughened sheepskins and mélange cable knits looped with strips of coyote and shearling. Belstaff’s recasting of itself as a tough-luxe go-to is bearing fruit.
21 February 2016
Held in a railway arch carpeted with scree and lined with snow–topped foam boulders, this presentation was meant to transport us to an unspecified North, where we would hearThe Call of the Wild. Wherever it was, the staging suggested a remote and hostile freezing wilderness. Ha! We hardy menswear explorers barely blinked at the crush, the nosebleed techno, the photographers, the Chinese celebrities, or theZoolander 2–partnered Blue Steel vodka cocktail. Meanwhile, the one genuine outdoorsman in the room—Levison Wood, who had just returned from a six-month, four-million-step walk across the Himalayas during which he fell 150 meters off a cliff (his Belstaff was undamaged, but he broke his leg)—confessed with a twitch that he was suddenly deep in uncharted territory.As with Pre—becauseBelstaffsynergises its collections across the genders—this was an expedition into cold terrain. The equipment (it seems a belittlement to call them clothes) was husky and hearty but not as heavy as it looked. Japanese-sourced layered technical nylon in subtle-in-the-snow white was applied to active parkas with Roadmaster shoulders and other moto Belstaff tics. Pod backpacks looked element-immune. The knitwear was Fair Isle touched. That opening ski-appropriate section of Perfectopiuminigave way to reverse shearling variations of the Belstaff canon—including the shortened, more fitted Speedmaster. Later there were opaque silicon jackets both long and short to wear above them and repel unsightly rain-stains. The intarsia nylon camo pieces were well worth getting cold for.Such a barrage of high-design, heavy-spec outerwear can become a little much, though. Which is why the ingenious mittens with fold-backable finger pouch garnered plenty of admiring examination. These were ideal items for maximizing the Arctic Instagram man’s touchscreen access, and, like much else in this collection, they were simultaneously very cool and very warm.
10 January 2016
Pre-Fallalready? Golly, that was fast. Belstaff’sSpring ’16 collectionshowed barely two months ago. Even for a label whose heritage lies in making rugged outerwear for motorcyclists, that’s some serious inter-seasonal acceleration.The reason, said VP of women’s design Delphine Ninous, is that Belstaff is aligning the release of menswear and womenswear collections (show seasons apart), which makes good logistical sense for buyers. And as menswear drops earlier than womenswear, this collection has been brought forward to establish the synchronization.Creatively, too, there are obvious intra-gender affinities running between Belstaff women’s and men’s: In this collection, every piece from the all-important outerwear category—biker leathers; upsized MA-1s; cinched-in M-65s; and Belstaff’s own Rider, Pathmaster, and Roadmaster jackets, as well as an interesting hybrid of alpine down and Donkey jacket, plus a trucker—was drawn from the masculine canon. Ninous’s focus is on recasting these standards for a female consumer. This she does by refining their fabrication, finessing their silhouettes, then finally modifying their motifs and hardware. The angled breast pocket—originally a pragmatic innovation to provide ergonomic access for bikers on the go—was demoted to a decorative tic on Rider jackets in waterproof, superlight wool. Bikers strafed with the house corrugations came weathered, “tumbled,” and light enough to work as under-layers below a statement double-breasted great coat with a detachable coyote pelt collar. High-volume, low-weight knits featured fringing patterned to evoke the bikers’ lines. The palette was classically seasonal—all mellow fruitfulness.Beneath the looks-hard-but-feels-soft arsenal of rebooted Belstaff go-tos and sensitized military gear, Ninous’s own tastes—unmediated by the exigencies of brand message—peeked through. There was a forgivingly pretty, asymmetrically hemmed silk dress tracked with pleat and pattern, as well as a fine pair of wide wool pants with a bonded-leather side stripe. For Belstaff, though, it’s what’s outside that counts most. Which is why this collection’s outerwear was so very finely tuned.
19 November 2015
How better to purge any lingering associational residue ofBelstaff’s first luxury womenswear iteration—which was just too hard, uptight, and uptown to be consistent with this free-wheeling biker brand’s identity—than with a vigorous salt wash?Delphine Ninousdappled this collection with a seascape print that featured on jacquard turtlenecks, reversible double-layer organza and shiny nylon bombers, and the opening asymmetrical silk dress. She had been thinking of the ocean and the elements and so forth, she said. This set the tone for a concerted exercise in softening through gentle erosion. Field jackets bore the utilitarian hoo-ha of military taping and poacher’s pockets but on treated linen or a silky, featherlight technical material worn over an earthy oatmeal Guernsey. The biker was recast in jersey-bonded stretch suede, a really impressive fabrication, with shoulder guards and small-of-the-back corrugations in lightly crackled leather. Matching pants, too.There was a sleeveless hybrid of dress and coat decorated with the neckline, quilting, hardware, and leather strapping of Ninous’s materials—which made for quite a muster of references. The designer confessed that a significant part of her role is to investigate “this amazing archive of DNA from Belstaff and think, Okay, how can I tweak it?,” but she is also empowered sometimes to roam off-road. After all, there was nothing biker in her wide lace-paneled white cotton pants, or in the fine entwined peep-toe sandals, or—strapping apart—in the loose linen striped overcoats. And that’s all for the good: Incorporating house codes makes a fine starting point, but from there on it’s time to take off.
21 September 2015
Easy Rider? The Belstaff woman used to look more like shehada rider—but one whose demands would be far from easy to accommodate. Under Delphine Ninous, though, the British brand appears to be accelerating toward a more convincing solution to the intrinsic conundrum of its feminine offer: how to pitch womenswear that services Belstaff's ambitions to high luxury but doesn't gag by glossiness the grease-stained romance of its motorcycling heritage? Ninous' answer—which is actually a pretty great answer to many thorny life questions—is make it French-er.Call it serendipity or call it a search engine, but as she researched this Resort collection something led Ninous to a wonderful sounding Biarritz festival called Wheels and Waves. This potent mix of pre-1975 motorcycles, surfing, and cool-as-hell (French) women gave her license to drive Belstaff into 2.0 territory. Outerwear, the key brand commodity, remains central but has—like all of Wheels and Waves' bikes—been subject to loving modification. The Rider coat (basically a mid-length trench with biker-friendly angled pockets at the breast and leather accents) has been cinched, given chrome snaps, and generally va-va-voomed. A waxed cotton parka came in an oversized camo print and had a silky-feel nylon sister, while a new shorter jacket called the Pathmaster pleasingly combined the military and the technical. There was a great pared-down, bicolor jacket the brand used to make for on-a-budget scooter riders in rubber, but here rebooted in leather. Belstaff's application of ribbed articulation patches on denim has already proved highly successful for both genders, but Ninous broadened the idea by playing with quilting on washed boyfriend jeans and a rib-stitched biker blouson. The surf elements were as vague as fashion surf/scuba elements tend to be—as if neoprene somehow makes you Kelly Slater—but the liberally draw-stringed crepe culottes, blousons, and minidresses did have an athleisurely attraction. The knitwear sometimes verged on the prosaic—in pastels too—but when subject to playful reimagining (notably in a knit bomber whose Aran body was coated in white painted leather), it took off.No one is ever going to go to Belstaff for ball gowns. That would be like going to Oscar for a field jacket. But Ninous certainly has the chops—Comptoir des Cotonniers, Isabel Marant, Paul & Joe, Christian Lacroix—to reimagine Stoke's greatest gift to the world (Robbie Williams apart) as a moto-boho proposition.
24 June 2015
"We wanted to expand the lens of the brand a little bit," said Belstaff's vice president of men's design, Fred Dyhr. "We want to keep our motor heritage, but we want to venture, too. And make sure we have that elevated feel." In terms of fabrication and elevation, there was nothing to argue with in this collection. It was a series of luxurious takes on the Desert Rats, the much-honored British Army forces that battled Rommel's troops in the sandy eternity of North Africa 70-ish years ago. Dry-layer cotton knits sat under patched leather gilets and bonded flyweight leather racing jackets. A suede cape—originally for protection upon emergence from a tank turret—was reimagined as a bold option for shoulder-robing enthusiasts. Desert-map prints were applied to cracking wax field jackets, and the foam-soled waxed suede footwear was, to this eye, a deeply desirable amalgam of bike and desert boot. Lightweight cotton silk waffle-stitch Henleys, reversible bonded-seam nylon bombers, an interesting coated linen parka-peacoat hybrid—peacra? parkoat?—and even a tank suit/jumpsuit worked well. The bonded-seam, terrain-print outerwear styles that followed were perhaps the most directional, trophy pieces here.Dyhr is sincerely a charming fellow who has clearly focused hard on his brief. And this was most certainly a finely executed collection of summer-relevant masculine luxury. Yet Belstaff appears set on defining itself as a label beyond its motorcycling DNA. Given that most of the fashion industry's brands would kill for even a speck of genuine "DNA"—let alone an identity as shaped by history and the genuine love felt for it by generations of bikers—that idea comes across as a little perverse. This was a strong collection whose positioning seemed dubious.
14 June 2015
There were airplanes on Dan Lywood's soundtrack for the Belstaff presentation. Amelia Earhart was a reference, and accents of blue and off-white suggested sky and clouds, but newly appointed women's creative director Delphine Ninous was insistent that this wasn't another one of those "daredevils ♥ Belstaff" collections. Instead, she wanted to convey the freedom and independence of the pioneer spirit. "What the modern woman is," Ninous said definitively.But for that definition, she'd closed in on the Belstaff man, he who would be Brando or McQueen in his biker, bomber, or peacoat. "The heritage is strong for men, but a woman's journey is different, more personal," Ninous insisted. So, for all the hand-waxed leathers, aviator jumpsuits, and iconic Roadmasters, there was something gentle inside: maybe a silk blouse, a cosseting shearling, or a fur collar. Combat-booted strength was definitely Ninous' priority—even the knitwear had attitude—but then she used bouclé for coats because it was lighter, easier for a woman's body. And the coats were reassuringly wrapped, almost like kimonos. It was that kind of touch that spoke to Ninous' track record—most recently at Paul & Joe, but before that at Isabel Marant, where masculine and feminine have synthesized into one of the most successful fashion statements of recent years.
23 February 2015
Since Belstaff's acquisition by Labelux, first Martin Cooper and now Fred Dyhr, vice president of men's design, have been charged with producing collections that will rev up this venerable Stoke-founded manufacturer of waxed biker jackets and propel it into pole position (or at least a prominent spot) within the seasonal fashion cycle. Cooper did pretty well design-wise, yet he rode off into the sunset last year. Today Dyhr accelerated smoothly into his new spot, building the collection around Ton-Up, a Brando-inspired British biker subculture that competed to hit 100 miles an hour on their motorbikes. (FYI: 100 equals "a ton" as 1,000 equals "a grand" in British slang.)This was a buzzy presentation, with a packed bar, the Propellers playing, and product-swept models lolling louchely about in a manner slightly reminiscent of the Fonz at Arnold's. Highlights included some magnificent shearling pieces that were more bomber command than biker—one teal and short, one white and long, one reversed and mixed with black waxed cotton and worn over a cherry red under-jacket. Blousons and a mohair knit came checkered with a finish-line print, and, in one strong example, paneled with a blown-up relief of the house's phoenix logo. There was a donkey jacket at the cafe too, and spilt-oil print versions of Belstaff's canonic "master" waxed-cotton jackets. Either absent at the show or hidden by the throng (although tucked in at the very end of the press release) was a new version of the "Milford" coat popularized by Benedict Cumberbatch in his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. According to Belstaff it will be available in a plain cashmere-wool mix and a "membrane-backed" same-blend dogtooth.Dyhr and his team's collection was extremely fine. Yet whether your taste runs to the traditional, the technical, or something in between, outerwear is a category that is currently full of excellent labels making wonderful product. Burberry, Brunello Cucinelli, and Barbour are just a few of the top-tier B's that Belstaff is competing with. So it's surprising they didn't make more of a noise about Sherlock.
12 January 2015
Fortunately for Belstaff, motorcycle culture from just about any era in any part of the world is eternally cool. For Spring, design director Frederik Dyhr opened the brand's archive and arrived at England in the sixties—specifically the rockers and café racers from the scenes at the Ace Cafe and 59 Club. Since its beginnings in Staffordshire, England, in 1924, Belstaff has been crafting high-quality, waterproof motorcycle gear, so the back catalog is deep and rich for mining.For this season, Dyhr created intricate, historical reproductions of customized Belstaff jackets from that era, covered in pins and patches, carefully treated (or mistreated) to look like the originals. Of course, even the best replica can't beat customizing your own jacket over years of riding, but if something is necessarily lost in the process of replicating an original, the finishing at Belstaff is undoubtedly impressive. The rest of the collection focused on modern pieces but had plenty more vintage treatments. Moto jeans were riveted, coated, and sandpaper finished; an oil-stained bandanna motif printed on light cotton was used for shirting and outerwear; and a cropped café racer jacket could have been part ofThe Wild Onewardrobe. You might have to buy a bike to achieve Brando levels of cool, but a jacket from this collection would be a good start.
22 June 2014
According to creative director Martin Cooper, the Belstaff business breaks down 70-30 in favor of men. The collection the label showed on Saturday was an earnest effort to shift the balance, revamping Belstaff's biker heritage to make it…well, a little morevampy. Not in a particularly sexy way, but more as a statement of female dominance. Cooper and Co. pictured their woman effortlessly mastering her hog.But it wasn't so much the company's own 90-year history on wheels that infused the collection; it was more the spirit of another, more recent period. The late seventies in the British Midlands and North was a grim, postindustrial era that shaped the sound of wildly influential bands like Joy Division, and it was that dark, utilitarian, androgynous mood that prevailed here. Picture kids using post-punk DIY ingenuity to pull looks together from army surplus stores and second-hand shops: an MA-1 jacket, old leathers and oilskins, military coats, vintage plaid jackets, kilts, as punk holdovers.Of course, that was just the initial mood, pliable, waiting to be shaped by Belstaff into a fashion ethos. Details were lifted from all those elements—the shaggy shearling collar and orange quilted lining of the MA-1, for instance—and collaged into a collection for "a woman who rides with an irreverent attitude," the press notes declared.Perhaps it was a kind of irreverence that dictated the waxed cotton that is hallowed cloth at Belstaff should be sliced into melton wool for a new take on the classic Roadmaster oilskin. Elsewhere, the iconic biker jacket appeared with short sleeves, or quilted, or artfully elongated. The favored accompaniment was a kilt-ish wrap skirt in leather or charcoal flannel. A concession to femininity was a floral print taken from the traditional patterns of the famous china made in Staffordshire, England, the home of Belstaff. And there was something unambiguously womanly about the plainest look—a black turtleneck and leather skirt—that would have suited a biker librarian.
15 February 2014
Provided you live for motorcycle arcana, the Belstaff archive is an endlessly renewable resource. For Fall, designer Martin Cooper dove in and emerged with photos from what's known in the moto world as the ISDT: International Six Days Trial. The annual event is the oldest off-road motorcycle competition in the world, and the 1965 edition, held on the Isle of Man, is, according to Cooper, widely considered to be the pinnacle of British motor sports. (Germany took the trophies that year, but never mind.)A poncho worn by one of the ISDT riders became the waxed poncho in the new collection. From there, Cooper let his imagination whir. The Roadmaster and Trialmaster jackets are waxed-cotton classics for Belstaff. To them, Cooper added the Sportmaster, a four-pocket version that came as a "modular" jacket (meaning its quilted lining is removable) in waxed cotton and hybrid cotton-tweed versions, and also as a sleeveless gilet. (The advantage being that this one shows off the Belstaff knitwear underneath.) New as well were the introduction of a cargo trouser in leather and in waxed cotton, and a selection of gorgeous woolly shearlings, hand-rubbed for a patina like a favorite chair—which, if you are the target audience, is likely a bike seat.
13 January 2014
There was an era in human history when you'd no sooner look for tweed and flounce skirts at Belstaff than you would for steel-toed boots at Chanel. That time's not this one. The current Belstaff revival continues to make a case that the broad strokes of moto-fetishism can work for womenswear as well as for menswear, and that the hard edges of aerodynamic biker jackets are strong enough to survive a little softening. Literally. The Pre-Fall collection designer Martin Cooper showed was as soft and rounded as any he's ever shown, from the relaxed trousers to the round-shouldered, chunky knits. They came in black-and-white tweeds and lacquered checks—more graphic than anything Cooper has yet attempted. Skirt lengths got shorter, boots got higher: All in all, a flirty, more gamine take on Belstaff, not too dissimilar, in this way, from Cooper's Spring '13 collection. It was sweet, with plenty—especially those knits—to keep registers ringing.The possible downside is that as Belstaff tiptoes away from its moto raison d'être it may begin to blend in to the designer crowd. Still, cross-pollination is the way fashion lives now—just ask Chanel, where some seasons you can get a work boot (admittedly sans steel toe). And Belstaff never ventures too far afield from its heritage. The latest element of its retrenchment, in fact, is repatriation: After a few seasons showing womenswear in New York, and sitting out last Spring, Cooper revealed that the Fall '14 women's show will be staged in Belstaff's native capital: London.
3 December 2013
The road Belstaff travels is somewhat rockier for women than for men. The brand, in its recent revival, is dedicated to its racing heritage, which is an easy fit for menswear. But for the fairer sex—at least the contingent that aren't Daughters of Anarchy—the path is less clear. Martin Cooper, the label's creative director, has been applying himself to the challenge. "Feminizing motor sports" is how he described his mission for Spring.He spared the runway this season, and the company's energies were focused instead on its London store opening, which matched the gargantuan flagship with an equally epic event: one that shut down New Bond Street for a motorcycle parade and the debut of David Beckham as the new campaign face. But the showroom turned out to be a fine place to see up close the way he's softening the Belstaff signatures for women. Iconic styles like the Roadmaster jacket were remade in floaty viscose, and dolled up with a peplum at the waist, or elongated into swingy summer coats. Leather, always a staple, was to be found here as well, but softened and perforated for warm-weather wear. One sweet shift was grommeted, for a motor sports touch with a light hand. That seems the right balance. There were pieces, like a tiered mesh flounce dress, that recalled Alaïa as much as any racer. Meanwhile, there are categories where moto really works, like denim, that Belstaff is continuing to capitalize upon. That should also continue to broaden its appeal—though, for the unapologetic fan of ultra-luxe, there's the relief (if that's the word) of knowing the jackets come in a full python version, too.
21 October 2013
In the past two years since its relaunch, Belstaff has rocketed—to put it in the label's preferred motor terms—from 0 to 60: menswear and womenswear, and megalith-size flagships in cities around the globe. And yet, for the customer, the label is just a year old. "We started shipping Fall '12, and now we're shipping Fall '13," creative director Martin Cooper said at his presentation today. "For many people, we're still a new brand." He took the occasion of his Spring collection to reiterate the archival history that provides the wellspring for his Belstaff, while edging it forward. Opposite models in the new collection, he arranged Belstaff outerwear from decades past, well loved but satisfyingly resilient. The correspondence between the new and the old was absolutely clear. That was the point. "For me," Cooper said, "the groove can never be deep enough."For example: The Perfecto jacket then, the Perfecto jacket now. There it was in vintage form, and there were Cooper's newer versions, not only in leather (a fairly gorgeous petrol-blue leather that, along with the rest of the collection, suggests the designer has only skimmed the surface of his skill as a colorist), but also in canvas, in neoprene-bonded leather, and in a nylon so light he called it "onionskin." A version in hand-painted camouflage threatened to start the cycle of camophilia wrenching into gear all over again, even to a crowd of editors long since past their camouflage saturation point. The extrapolation of brand history continued through the more overtly Belstaffian Trialmaster jacket (here also as a jumpsuit), the moto pants, and more.The whole collection felt more product-driven and, even within its narrow motorcycle purview, more diverse than in the past. Plus, attention must be paid to the conscious effort to drive down prices and, with new fabrications like canvas, nylon, and denim, keep them there.
23 June 2013
"Perfecting the Perfecto" is catnip as a slogan and a sales pitch. It makes perfect sense for Belstaff, which has traded heavily on its motorcycle heritage since relaunching in 2012. Having tweaked the Trialmaster and the Roadmaster jackets, creative director Martin Cooper is now applying himself to the task of finessing the best-known moto standard. Today it came in a variety of buttery bonded leathers, several lengths, and even some silky tailored versions.While some designers still hew to Resort's original cruise mentality, Cooper has adopted a more buy-now, wear-now stance, heavy on leathers: leather jackets, stretch-leather-front jersey pants, leather slouch boots. His concession to warmer climes was a perforated Perfecto and matching shorts set. That, and a group of silk shifts, polka-dotted in homage to the polka-dot racing scarves he discovered in some moto photos from the fifties and sixties.
9 June 2013
The first handful of looks gave an inkling of the direction: Belstaff was going back to its roots. The label rose to fame on the waxed cotton Trialmaster jacket, and after avoiding the fabric for several seasons, creative director Martin Cooper embraced it with a flourish. It wasn't just jackets. Now skirts and trousers came in oil-slick black waxed cotton, too. "It was really about the heritage of the brand," Cooper said backstage after the show. "It's all about embracing what is our heritage iconic cloth, which is waxed cotton. It's what is our calling card."But the inkling wasn't binding. Despite recommitting to its own heritage, this collection actually found Cooper broadening his wares in ways not tried before. The expanded knitwear program was a good example. Yes, it maintained the moto touches, like reinforced elbow panels, that are Belstaff's bread and butter (or should that be oil and petrol?), but it also suggested a newfound ease. Throw a merino sweater on over one of Belstaff's new flounce skirts and high boots and you've got a look that's bike-ready without being bike-beholden.
10 February 2013
Since its relaunch in 2012, Belstaff has been dredging up its past, but a few apples-to-apples references have yet to have their day. Until now. Belstaff's bread and butter was once its waxed cotton jackets, but eager to reposition the brand as a luxury property, creative director Martin Cooper was hesitant to put waxed cotton front and center. His takes on the classic Trialmaster jacket have come in cost-ineffective skins. A few seasons in and with his motoring legs beneath him, though, Cooper decided to take the plunge. "This is a big moment for me, to put a house icon on the runway," he said backstage before the show. His updated versions of the waxed Trialmaster, in a variety of lengths, styles, and colors—including a gorgeous regimental blue—finally hit the scene. They offered a welcome return to form.But this wasn't diffusion Belstaff such as should worry any of the label's blue-chip fans, if only because luxe so clearly still reigned. Each look piled expense on expense, from the ever-present leather "biker trouser" to the high, stomping leather boots to a few down-filled leather parkas. Arguably, there was even some room to pare. The show was a shopper's paradise for the well-heeled rogue with a kickstand and cash to burn, but leather bar cloakrooms have seen less skin.
13 January 2013
"We love our heritage," said Belstaff's Martin Cooper, "but I never want to be beholden to it." Off come the shackles, in rushes the fresh air. Belstaff, which has been cranking out motorcycling gear for the better part of a century, has, since its revival in 2011, navigated a course between its history and the demands of its new status as a high-fashion house. With the pre-fall collection, the label's first for this important sales season, it moved forward yet again. The line, Cooper said, was, "more than anything, exploring an urban feeling for the brand." The first section he dubbed city dressing, and while the racing details remained—in the form of padded leather elbow patches on a double-woven cotton car coat—the pieces here all felt more like part of a real woman's wardrobe. Leather motorcycle pants gave the old vroom-vroom feel, but they matched up with the soft, slinky silk tops Cooper uses for masculine/feminine balance. A country-mouse section was "equestrian meets biker," in the words of the designer, with high quilted-leather riding boots and quilted jackets. Fox fur vests and a gorgeous navy shearling brought us back to the city. Despite the line's skyscraper prices, details like lamination on knits and oversized zippers gave the pieces a hit of low-key cool. ("Hardware is our jewelry," Cooper explained.)As an added bonus, loosening heritage's hold on the whole gave Cooper a chance to embrace it more strongly in parts. Since relaunching the brand, he's re-created the classic Trialmaster jacket in leathers and skins, but never in its original waxed cotton. Here it was back in action, only slightly nipped and tucked.
2 December 2012
Keep the wheels, lose the grit. There's a tagline for the re-revved Belstaff. Under Martin Cooper's creative direction, the English label has kept a tight but not heavy-handed grip on its motocross heritage the last couple of seasons. Fashion lives in the specifics, and Cooper has skillfully mined the details of a few key Belstaff pieces—chief among them, the Trialmaster jacket—and spun them into the foundations of wide-ranging collections for both men and women. But while the Belstaff renaissance feels like a natural fit in menswear, it's not as straightforward a challenge on the women's side. Cooper's achievement here has been to feminize the look without sacrificing the style. It's a fine line to walk, and so far, the designer has kept the balance nicely. "I'm exploring a softer, more romantic side," he said backstage after today's show. Softer, literally, were pleated silk shirtdresses with the subtle but tough detail of reinforced elbows on the sleeves. Cooper even teased romance out of a jacquard jumpsuit in military green; it took a full turn around the track—that is, runway—before you noticed that a pit-crew roadie would wear one nearly the same. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a house built on a jacket, outerwear was a standout, from striped linen jackets inspired by vintage travel cases to an all-out luxe version of Belstaff's original Speedmaster in cardamom-colored perforated plonge.Despite the variety Cooper has eked from his source material, his remains a very specific offering at its core. His challenge will be to entice his customers to pay high-luxury prices for moto-finery they don't already know they want. Belstaff is long on heritage but short on decades of desire. But the designer's doing a bang-up job of sparking that lust, and he has the added advantage of crusading new backers behind him. As of today, the label's enormous Madison Avenue flagship is open and beckoning; its Craig McDean-shot ads are appearing far and wide. The new keepers of the Belstaff flame are basking in its glow.
9 September 2012
Motorcycle racing is at the heart of the Belstaff heritage. The company can brag about such gets as Che Guevara, who wore Belstaff on his trip through South America, the one movie magic waved its wand over to give usThe Motorcycle Diaries. Its soundtrack scored the show.Well aware of the slim segment of the populace who share a love of designer fashion and a commitment to motorcyclery, designer Martin Cooper focuses his attention on travel rather than riding, per se. In researching his collections, he found vintage travel cases and luggage and incorporated many of their leather belts into the collection's pigment-printed linen jackets and multi-strap sandals. Even the jackets that mark the beginnings of a Belstaff tailoring program have snapping safari pockets and loops waiting for a Saharienne belt.The fabrications are no laughing matter. Luxury is paramount. Che might not approve, but Belstaff's moto pant in 2012 comes in supple suede. Cooper's version of the classic Trialmaster jacket is cut in white croc. Given this richness, there's room to move forward by loosening the grip on the heritage a bit. Literalism is limiting; lifestyle you can take to the bank. Just ask Burberry, Cooper's former employer of 16 years, which spun its trench story into gold. But there's enough good stuff here to suggest that his current one, given a little goosing, could follow suit.
23 June 2012
The Belstaff renaissance continues apace. The English brand, which has been turning out motorcycle and racing jackets since 1924, had wandered into the weeds a bit over the last decades, but the backing of an American investor in 2011 (Harry Slatkin, a home fragrance magnate, who is now its CEO) and the stewarding of a new, American designer (Martin Cooper, a 16-year veteran of Burberry) is setting it to rights.The starting point is, and remains, the classic Trialmaster jacket, a camp-pocketed, belted motorcycle style. Cooper has reworked it in new fabrics (linen, trimmed in cavallo, a horsehide that's the motorcyclist's skin of choice, raffia, leather, and so on) and tweaked it right down to the knurling detail on its buckles. Knurling, for those not obsessive-compulsive about their metalworking, is the lathe etching process that creates the diamondlike crosshatch pattern that rings all of Belstaff's hardware. But look around, and you'll find it extrapolated everywhere. Cooper created a blown-up knurling print for silk dresses and a blown-up knurling weave to decorate canvas coats. The diamond pattern on bonded leather skirts references knurling, as does the knurling-printed jacquard lining of an otherwise unpatterned skirt. Even the jewel-box minaudières have the pattern picked out in crystal.If it occasionally reads a little monomaniacal—and almost fetishistic in its attention to moto detail—the ultra-luxurious fabrications go far toward carrying it off. It helps that Cooper prefers to pair his more structured jackets with soft, fluid shapes to keep the balance. And it helps, too, that the Belstaff jacket is undeniably iconic. It remains to be seen whether he'll be able to create an entire lifestyle—his stated aim—out of one piece, but his training at Burberry, where he oversaw outerwear, will undoubtedly help. From one wartime trench, an empire grew there. And though they've owned the label for barely a blip, Belstaff's new owners have ambitions scarcely less grand. A new, 26,000-square-foot flagship is opening soon on London's Bond Street, with a New York cousin to follow on Madison and 68th this September and a launch at Barneys, Bergdorf's, and Neiman Marcus for fall. Fast and furious. That's the thing about racers: They race.
5 June 2012
Sometimes it's up to the Americans to show the British where they stand with their own history—while also being just that little more reverential toward it. Belstaff is one such case in point.Belstaff was established in 1924, and capitalizing on the vogue for motorsports in the twenties and thirties, it became the pre-eminent maker of high-performance waterproof sporting garments for both men and women. In his debut collection for the brand, the American chief creative director, Martin Cooper, has infused his offering with the romance of the machine age, when the motorbike and the motorcar were very much the pursuit of the wealthy. And very accomplished it is, too—particularly as he was only appointed seven months ago.Having spent 16 years at Burberry prior to his appointment, rising to the position of design director of outerwear there, it's quite clear that Cooper knows well what it takes to fuse British heritage with contemporary desirability for both sexes. "I did rediscover the brand through the archive, those iconic garments from the twenties onwards," he says. "I wanted a holistic approach for both sexes, and 80 percent of the concepts are the same for the men's and womenswear."Perhaps this is why there's a certain toughness in the womenswear that adds to its merit, eschewing the girlish folderol that can sometimes creep in when designers approach a fundamentally masculine, utilitarian history. Saying that, some of the standout garments were the dresses, particularly a silk "oil slick" print tea dress and its sheer-backed black georgette counterpart. Reworked to often feature skyscraper heels, the boots are among the most desirable elements of the collection, alongside the reworked outerwear staples. The iconic four-pocketed Trialmaster jacket appears in many fabrics for both men and women, with a particular emphasis on the exotics, crocodile and python. The intense sense of luxury does seep through absolutely everything, and yet Cooper and his team have been clever in not dissipating a sense of practicality and performance, particularly in the menswear.For us British, this brand, with its roots in Stoke-on-Trent—hardly a town of sonorous high romance—might conjure up images of oily bikers in roadside cafés. Yet the new Swiss and American owners, Labelux and Harry Slatkin, see the more romantic, luxurious side of its heritage.
And they mean business, opening up two flagship stores on Madison Avenue, New York, and Bond Street, London, later this year. If Belstaff is anything like our luxury car industry, it is better off in outside hands—and this seems like a decidedly safe pair.
18 February 2012
Sometimes it's up to the Americans to show the British where they stand with their own history—while also being just that little more reverential toward it. Belstaff is one such case in point.Belstaff was established in 1924, and capitalizing on the vogue for motorsports in the twenties and thirties, it became the pre-eminent maker of high-performance waterproof sporting garments for both men and women. In his debut collection for the brand, the American chief creative director, Martin Cooper, has infused his offering with the romance of the machine age, when the motorbike and the motorcar were very much the pursuit of the wealthy. And very accomplished it is, too—particularly as he was only appointed seven months ago.Having spent 16 years at Burberry prior to his appointment, rising to the position of design director of outerwear there, it's quite clear that Cooper knows well what it takes to fuse British heritage with contemporary desirability for both sexes. "I did rediscover the brand through the archive, those iconic garments from the twenties onwards," he says. "I wanted a holistic approach for both sexes, and 80 percent of the concepts are the same for the men's and womenswear."Perhaps this is why there's a certain toughness in the womenswear that adds to its merit, eschewing the girlish folderol that can sometimes creep in when designers approach a fundamentally masculine, utilitarian history. Saying that, some of the standout garments were the dresses, particularly a silk "oil slick" print tea dress and its sheer-backed black georgette counterpart. Reworked to often feature skyscraper heels, the boots are among the most desirable elements of the collection, alongside the reworked outerwear staples. The iconic four-pocketed Trialmaster jacket appears in many fabrics for both men and women, with a particular emphasis on the exotics, crocodile and python. The intense sense of luxury does seep through absolutely everything, and yet Cooper and his team have been clever in not dissipating a sense of practicality and performance, particularly in the menswear.For us British, this brand, with its roots in Stoke-on-Trent—hardly a town of sonorous high romance—might conjure up images of oily bikers in roadside cafés. Yet the new Swiss and American owners, Labelux and Harry Slatkin, see the more romantic, luxurious side of its heritage.
And they mean business, opening up two flagship stores on Madison Avenue, New York, and Bond Street, London, later this year. If Belstaff is anything like our luxury car industry, it is better off in outside hands—and this seems like a decidedly safe pair.
18 February 2012
Belstaff, the 82-year-old company first known for its waterproof, waxed-cotton motorcycle gear and more recently championed by Hollywood costume designers, took a wrong turn this season. The program notes touted technological innovations, from heat-retaining transparent microfiber to a waterproof silk-and-linen blend, but in practice these were clothes designed less for leisure sports than for luring members of the opposite sex. This tough-chic line has always had a certain sex appeal, but its attraction lies in being effortless, not blatant. Here, Belstaff's traditional outerwear was deconstructed into halter dresses and skimpy, snap-covered overalls pieced together like jigsaw puzzles. Sheer nylon, meanwhile, was cut into a long-sleeved jumpsuit and a robe cover-up, and worn over fetishy swimsuits with crisscross straps. Maybe it was the late hour—the show started after 10 p.m. due to daylong rain and traffic delays—but more than one editor wondered aloud if the audience had inadvertently stepped into a strip club. However, a few sharp-looking pieces built on the brand's strengths: notably the brightly color-blocked motorcycle jackets, cropped or hip-length and belted, that closed the show.
24 September 2006