The Interview
with Dom Hazlehurst

Tell us a bit about Sunspel and how they came to be in underwear.

Sunspel's factory in Long Eaton

Sunspel designs and makes the world’s finest English t-shirts, sleepwear and underwear, and we’ve been doing it for over 150 years. We’re experts in clothing that’s worn close to the skin.

We combine exceptionally soft cottons with unique fabric structures to create clothing with unparalleled comfort and style. We think of it as clothing that completes you, so that whatever else you wear, you know your day is built on solid foundations.

Our ethos is built on our heritage, and it’s all about timeless English designs made with the finest fabrics and highest levels of workmanship. It’s a real heritage we have here. We don’t have to invent one.

Sunspel is a family business. It was originally called Thomas A Hill & Co, and it’s always been based in Long Eaton. The company started out by exporting Sea Island cotton t-shirts to China and Japan, before China got up to speed and started to reverse the trend. Sunspel is now described as a ‘cult heritage brand’. That’s fine by us, although we’re not just about the past. Our clothes are as relevant now as they ever have been.

What sets Sunspel underwear apart from other pants?

It’s largely fabric and cut. First of all, our styles are classics, developed by people who are specialists and who know what they are doing, but also a large part of our product development has been around fabric qualities. Our core cottons are all specially treated long staple Egyptian cottons which means you get a really soft, lightweight feel that’s cool, soft and fine yet strong. The longer the staple – that’s the bud – the smoother the yarn.

Which is your best selling line?

Our best selling t-shirt is our crew neck that Daniel Craig wore alongside the polo in ‘Casino Royale’. The polo, for example, is based on a fabrication and shape sold in the 50s on the Italian Riviera – it’s unusual but beautifully soft. Equally our underwear features a two-button superfine cotton short that was also developed for the film.

Daniel Craig wears the polo in ‘Casino Royale’

Sunspel pants have graced some fairly famous bottoms. How did Sunspel come to be in the iconic Levi’s laundrette ad, and connected to ‘Casino Royale’?

Yep – royalty, Johnny Depp, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Craig – even Cyril Smith, to name a few. Sunspel’s remained the most popular boxer into the 80s, so much so that it was a pair of white Sunspels that graced Nick Kamen in the laundrette.

As regards ‘Casino Royale’, this is the latest in a long list of occasions our ranges have been used both in film and theatre. There’s ‘Gosford Park’, ‘The Man That Was’, ‘84 Charing Cross Road’ and ‘The Dark Knight’, to name a few. It’s by virtue of being able to do custom made work here, our unique Sunspel fabric qualities and shapes, together with a hugely loyal list of customers and costume designers that use us – and before you ask, money did not change hands, as suggested in the press.

I think it’s the loyalty of those who know and love the brand, what we do and why we do it, that has contributed to the company’s longevity. We like to think that we are celebrated for all the right reasons in this crazy, noisy world.

Levis advert, Nick Kamen - 1985

I was surprised to learn that the boxer short had been around since 1947. Do you know how the company came to design and launch these?

One of the previous owners, John Hill, visited the US shortly after the war and returned with a US prototype – he then set about making them in the Long Eaton factory. They were the only boxer available in this country for some time into the 80s, we believe. The classic panel seat and flat feld lock, hidden seam are still the original classic design and in our view the best. This has been much copied ever since, but we regard imitation as praise. We now add a seasonal colour story to the basic and continuity patterns, as well as offering a full and long cut shape for different global markets.

What do you think of Jeremy Paxman’s pant problems? Do you think his complaints are common ones these days?

Men don’t notice their underwear unless it becomes irritating. By and large they’ll have no idea how their underwear draw got filled and tend not to focus on this as important. However once men find an underwear brand they like they’ll stick with it and periodically buy it in armfuls. Equally, in life you tend to get what you pay for and I would urge anyone to pay a little more and get something seriously comfortable and well built. Any clothing next to the skin needs to be as comfortable as possible – hence the attraction of your oldest, most favourite T. By the same token, any well dressed man needs to start with solid foundations to build on – that means starting with underwear and t-shirts. We believe strongly in creating clothing that completes you by virtue of comfort and fit.

What should men, and women, consider when buying men’s pants? When choosing the style, is it personal preference or does body shape come into it?

The latter quite often leads to the former. As does climate and activity levels. There are very few people today who wear different underwear at different times of year. The few that do are known as seasonal switchers. The ranges out there are daunting – plenty are about fashion and brand rather than comfort. Our suggestion would be to find something comfortable and stick with it – Sunspel would be a good place to start, as comfort is paramount and one of our guiding principles is comfort.

Are there any new trends in men’s underwear we should be looking out for?

Boxer shorts seem to be all the rage again and we have seen rises in numbers sold of late. The options around colour and seasonality are wide. Equally, in knitted cotton, there is a move back to some basic boxy shapes rather than the challenging array of more technical options viewed out there in the last couple of years.

Christian Bale wearing Sunspel in 'Batman - The Dark Knight'

Other than great underpinnings, what other things would you say are essential to a stylish man’s wardrobe?

In our world, we believe strongly in solid foundations – which will afford the wearer real comfort and thus quiet confidence. You have to be wearing something comfortable next to your skin for the upper layers to really work, so t-shirts in beautiful fabrics are an essential alongside our underwear. Once you’ve got the foundations right you can build from there. We like simple, beautifully made clothes and would obviously recommend our Merino wool jerseys. Beyond that we think it’s all about finding things that are stylish in an understated way.

How did you get to be connected with pants?

I and my business partner, Nick Brooke, knew Sunspel as a boxer short brand from school. I have to say nothing at that stage suggested I would end up buying the company. As it was I was in the music business for several years and then a founder of lastminute.com. Three years ago, Nick, who had a family connection with the previous owner, approached me. I think he probably thought I was mad enough to take a punt on an old English brand.

After initial wry smiles, we thought the business looked to have some great fundamentals and huge potential for growth as a cult heritage brand. It had all the hallmarks of an exciting premium brand: wonderful unique fabrics and archive collection dating through the 20th century, a family business with extraordinary levels of customer loyalty, a unique sense of identity, UK manufacturing (its greatest asset or downside, depending on your point of view), genuine heritage and expertise combined with a fabulous workforce. This is all very rare these days. We shall see what happens next.

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Tags: Anthony Hopkins, Bond Polo, Boxer Shorts, Casino Royale, Christian Bale, Daniel Craig, Dom Hazlehurst, Johnny Depp, Levis, Long Eaton Factory, Nick Brooke, Nick Kamen, Thomas A Hill & Co