Friday, 26th March 2010
In 1967’s The Graduate there are two moments when you can see Benjamin Braddock, played by a young Dustin Hoffman, making the decisions that serve to turn him from a goofy, awkward, suburban weirdo of a boy, into a still goofy, still awkward, but heroic and magnificent weirdo of a man.
Tuesday, 23rd March 2010
Ben on the edge of the Arctic Ocean – 22 March 2010
On 22 March Ben Saunders stepped off Cape Discovery on the northern Canadian coast and onto the treacherous, ever-shifting plates of ice that form the surface of the Arctic Ocean. His goal is to break the world speed record for the fastest man to walk to the North Pole. He’s doing it all alone.
Monday, 22nd March 2010
If you’re ever looking for the iconic biker’s jacket, the pure essential biker’s jacket, this is where to go. Walk up Tottenham Court Road, central London, and turn left at the Rising Sun pub. Then keep your eyes peeled for a black fronted shop – a cool looking little shop with a lot of leather in the window.
We dropped in there the other day to have a look around. The shop’s only been open a short while but it’s already looking as though it’s been there for ever, its walls lined with an assortment of the coolest leather jackets you’ve ever seen, plus the odd vintage poster advertising the same jackets.
Tuesday, 16th March 2010
The excellent Tom Hollander has been quietly working away as one of our finest actors for decades. He’s often the one you remember from a scene or an episode even if you aren’t quite sure who he is. That’s a great ability in an actor.
His role as Secretary of State for International Development Simon Foster MP in In The Loop is probably his most visible to date. But he was the weedy-but-slimy Mister Collins in Pride and Prejudice, petty Lord Cutler Beckett in Pirates of the Caribbean, Saffy’s fiance in Absolutely Fabulous – and many other roles which he inhabited with exceptional ease and skill.
Anyway, he’s ace and we were delighted to learn recently that he’s a fan of Sunspel. He’s even wearing a Sunspel t-shirt in this photoshoot from the Sunday Telegraph Magazine. You just can’t see it. Which seems somehow fitting.
Thursday, 11th March 2010
We dropped in on Merci in Paris the other day. What a great place to wander around.
It’s only been open about a year, and the idea is you can shop with a good conscience. The store donates all profits to a women’s charity in Madagascar, but it’s hardly your normal charity shop.
Monday, 8th March 2010
We’ve been working to produce a set of t-shirts for Joseph. The tees are all white and, of course, made of the finest two-fold Egyptian cotton and finished to our usual high standards. There’s a crew neck short sleeve, a v-neck short sleeve, and a crew neck long sleeve.
Thursday, 4th March 2010
Jonathan Anderson is one of the most interesting young designers working out of London. His signature approach is taking classic/old-fashioned fabrics, often with a distinct air of of mustiness about them, and giving them a new lease of life. He likes adding a touch of the sinister or the urban.
We watched him present his fourth collection at London Fashion Week recently. Sunspel were involved in making a number of his pieces and we love his approach. He came to us because we’re British experts in cut-and-sew jersey fabrics, and we certainly had to do some unusual things for him. For example, we made a zip-up bomber jacket for him – out of wool.
Thursday, 4th March 2010
The London restaurant chain Canteen is, as the name suggests, not a pretentious institution. It likes its food traditional and tasty. Bangers and mash, for instance. This is everyday British grub, but because they do it so damn well, it’s also exceptional cuisine. Which makes us want to cheer. We love basics done beautifully.
Now the chaps at Canteen have come up with a cookbook, their first, and what a beauty it is too. The design manages to be ultra contemporary and nostalgic. The cover resembles a 40s rationing book – but look at the font. It’s a classic modernist sans serif. The photography inside is rich and stunning and not the least bit old fashioned.
Thursday, 25th February 2010
We have just heard that Ben Saunders, who we featured on this site recently, has had the go-ahead to make his attempt to break the North Pole Speed Record.
He’s attempting to be the fastest human to reach the pole solo and unsupported. That means facing some extraordinary challenges and walking over an awful lot of ice.
We’re very pleased that he’ll be wearing Sunspel long johns and tops when he makes his record-breaking attempt.
We’ll be keeping track of Ben’s progress here as the story develops.
Wednesday, 24th February 2010
How did a jeans ad become the most famous boxer ad ever? Robert Elms, style journalist, author and broadcaster, looks back at that iconic launderette moment.
Before the boy in the launderette nobody wore boxers. Back in the 1980s, baggy Y-fronts and skimpy briefs, probably in inflammable manmade fibres, were the male underwear order of the day. Then one day this fabulous ad appeared on our TVs and changed all that.
Levi’s were famous for making iconic commercials, but the one which really captured the public imagination, when it appeared back in 1985, not only gave a great boost to classic denim but also changed forever what guys wore beneath their jeans. The scenario was simple: a great looking young male model with a brooding early Elvis/James Dean style wanders into a 50s washateria and then proceeds to sensually but casually disrobe down to his underwear, to the dismay of some and the excitement of others, before washing his new Levi’s and watching them spin round in just his shorts.
