Established in England in 1924 as an outerwear company with Sportswear at the forefront of their designs, Belstaff has recently been re-booted as a contemporary luxury brand, steeped with the thirst for adventure. Belstaff have yet again came up trumps with their superior range of premium leather and wax coated cotton jackets, this season.
With some of their recent pieces Belstaff have started to slightly meander from their Motor-sports history, but the brand still lives and bleeds rebellious thoughts. As the King Of Cool Steve McQueen once said “Racing if life, anything before or after is just waiting”. And who are we to argue with the king?
Belstaff was put firmly on the map due to its high-performance waterproof outerwear; which made it the clothing of choice for motorcyclists and aviators throughout the 20th century. It is clear to see this heritage in the Mentmore Blouson jacket’s classic aviator silhouette. The Mentmore jacket has been crafted from a weighty chocolate leather, making it an essential piece for dreary weather conditions. One of key features to this timeless piece is the detachable shearling collar, giving the jacket Charles Lindbergh vibes.
The Roadmaster may look like it has been plucked straight from the pit lane in the 1960s but in fact it wasn’t formally introduced to the collection until 1981. Its blueprints come from the original four-pocket design of the legendary Trialmaster, but this modernised edition has a closer, more streamlined fit. This jacket has been constructed from cotton sourced from an historical British mill, and to give it the well needed protection against the British elements it has been given a high shine wax, which also intimates buttery soft leather biker look.
Most men are drawn to Belstaff due to its rough rugged appeal, and its rich history in the fast lane in both sports and Hollywood. This jacket will certainly give you pole position in the style stakes, due to its belted staple and versatile faded olive colourway, making it so easy to style up or down.
Belstaff have been pushing their boundaries and adding new equally as innovative styles to their collection, like the Fullarton jacket. A lightweight style that is sure to provide the well needed comfort and warmth without having a bulkier silhouette, resulting in a slicker contemporary jacket. This high density nylon has 790 fill power down, which is 95% down and 5% feather.
With the ‘puffer’ jacket no longer being seen as an 80s reject, and without the Michelin man connotations, it really is a piece that wouldn’t look out of the place in sat outside a café in a European cosmopolitan city.
The Belstaff AW17 collection is available now at Aphrodite1994.com.
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