The fashion industry often celebrates timelessness and heritage, but to convert these ideals into lasting success is to maintain defined good taste over decades; timelessness demands the expertise and flexibility to remain relevant while honouring the past. Many heritage brands stray from their roots, but Sunspel, Britain’s menswear icon since 1860, remains steadfast, crafting elegance with the finest fabrics, a feat perfectly executed in its new Riviera 1955 collection.

‘We approach every garment with the same philosophy: it must be crafted from the finest fibres,’ says design director David Telfer. ‘Our archive is a testament to this commitment – home to some of the world’s most exceptional materials, including rare Sea Island Cotton, luxurious wools and exquisite silks. With our roots in underwear, softness and comfort are at the core of everything we create.’ 

The collection, defined by mid-century silhouettes, relaxed tailoring and neutral hues, places linen, that most ancient of fabrics, at its core, which posed something of a challenge to Sunspel’s design team, given the fibre’s dry handle. Provenance is key – grown in cool, loamy soils of Flanders, these fibres are stronger and finer than your average linen. Retting (the process by which the fibres are separated from the stalks) in the Lys River and hand-harvesting yield sustainable, hypoallergenic linen, cool as a Riviera breeze. ‘Linen is dry and coarse by nature,’ Telfer explains, ‘so we use wet spinning to select the longest, finest flax fibres, twisting them while wet into smoother yarn for a refined, soft linen. Through careful washing and finishing techniques, we’ve developed a cloth that is noticeably softer yet retains all the natural qualities that make the fabric so beloved: its freshness, breathability and timeless character.’ 

Sunspel’s meticulous approach to fabric perfection doesn’t stop there. The shirting cloth is sent to specialist weavers in Lake Como where it is double-washed for a gently worn-in feel, while the suiting goes to Florence to be garment-washed. The result is impossibly silky linen with a wonderfully natural drape.

As the name of the collection would have you believe, the inspiration can be traced back to the Riviera of the 1950s, a golden age of European menswear. ‘It all began with the Riviera Polo, originally designed in the ’50s by Peter Hill, the founder’s great-grandson, as a breathable solution for the Riviera heat and later became iconic when worn by Daniel Craig’s James Bond,’ explains Telfer. This timeless influence runs throughout the collection, seen in new camp-collar necklines, textured knitted polos and striped shirts – each capturing that effortless ’50s charm. 

The aesthetic was further informed by Telfer’s love of iconic Magnum photographer Herbert List, whose stunning black-and-white Mediterranean imagery has a soft, dreamlike quality which has been translated into the clean and unstructured lines of the linen tailoring, ‘inviting an elegant approach to styling linen that references that era,’ adds Telfer. ‘A classic shirt still offers a smart, elevated look, but pairing a linen suit with a knitted polo or camp collar shirt introduces that relaxed summer aesthetic that is ideal for holidays.’

Sunspel’s Riviera 1955 collection is menswear viewed through List’s magical lens, with linen as the conduit to a bygone era that lauded simplicity, quality and elegance above all else. 

sunspel.com