Two brands unite for a capsule collection with comfort in mind
“We didn’t know if it would work,” says Sunspel’s creative director David Telfer. He’s referring to last year’s collaboration with Casely-Hayford, the menswear brand celebrated for its modernist take on Savile Row tailoring.
The four-piece Sunspel x Casely-Hayford collection reworked blazers and suits in jersey, so they felt more like cardigans than anything more traditional. Everything was done with the comfort-first mindset that comes with Sunspel’s fabrics.
“When we started chatting for the first collaboration, it felt like an unusual thing to do because it was during the sweatshirt boom,” Telfer says, referring to our post-lockdown world. “No one was really talking about tailoring then. Now everyone’s talking about it.”
Fashion has been inundated with as many collaborations as Hollywood has produced Spider-Man remakes. Sometimes it’s because of the clout that one brand can bring another. Other times it’s an opportunity for marketing departments to convince you to buy more stuff. But for Sunspel and Casely-Hayford, two brands with esteemed reputations in their fields, neither of those tactics applies.
“It was more about utilising one another’s areas of expertise to push our own individual barriers,” says Charlie Casely-Hayford.
Now, a second collection builds on the first, enlarging the “modular” selection by adding five more pieces that focus on the three-piece suit. Wide-leg trousers, a two-button blazer and a boxy waistcoat speak to classic tailoring of yore, while layers come in the form of a cropped, raw-edge jacket and a chunky overcoat. Made of a Sunspel-crafted wool jersey, they’re designed to tackle winter’s elements without compromising on comfort.
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