Behind the Sun and Clouds Logo
With over 150 years of history to draw on, our Sunspel archives can be a treasure trove of ideas. We’ve archived 2,000 letters, photographs, and original garments, some of which we reference when we design our collections. During another trip to the Sunspel archive, we came across a charming collection of stamps and plates featuring different types of Sunspel branding used over decades. One stamp to catch our eye was the Sun and Clouds Logo.
ABOUT THE LOGO
The archive logo dates back to the 1930s. The logo became a visual
interpretation of our company name, we assume this was a play on the words “Sunny” and “Spell”.
The link to the sun came from the company’s reputation for the use of Sea Island yarns across our undershirts and underwear by the early 20th Century. The cotton, also known as the Gossypium Barbadense plant is native to South America, with a domestication that dates back thousands of years. It had also been grown in the West Indies since the 15th century, with it taking until 1786 for planting to begin in the part of the world that now gives the cotton its most popular name: The Sea Islands.
The name Sunspel refers to the almost magical balance of sun, humidity, and rain in the Sea Islands that ensured this rare high-quality yarn thrived. It has come to define the Sea Island cotton era of Sunspel.
Over the years, the logo has made appearances on letterheads, printed advertising, and on clothing labels, where it came in various colours related to different fabrics i.e., sea island, wool, and cotton.
In an effort to modernise the branding, the logo was retired by the 60s & 70s, however in celebration of our iconic logo we’ve reissued the motif for our late Summer T-Shirts. The limited-edition T-Shirts are available in white, archive white, navy, and grey marl crafted in England using our classic super soft Long Staple cotton. Each T-shirt is produced using traditional methods by a printing house local to our Nottingham factory. Available across our stores and online.
