Belstaff shows motorcycle-inspired menswear line at LC:M

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Jun 13, 2016

Belstaff, the British heritage brand, just showed its latest collection, for SS17, at London Collections: Men.

The collection took inspiration from Bruce Brown's 1971 motorcycle film, On Any Sunday, which stars Steve McQueen, who used to wear Belstaff when biking. Belstaff's VP Men's Design, Frederik Dyhr, said: "The early 70s was a defining time for Belstaff, when leather manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic really embraced colour and used it as personalisation for the first time."

But the collection wasn't just for guys looking to emulate McQueen's cool - Belstaff also showed five looks from its women spring 17 pre-collection, which looked to the same early 70s carefree biker inspiration.

Gavin Haig, Belstaff CEO said: "Belstaff has always been a dual-gender brand throughout its 90 year+ history, from its earliest female adopters the pioneering aviatrixes Amelia Earhart and Amy Johnson to more recent ambassadors Kate Moss and Liv Tyler. We have always shown men's and women's together in our campaigns and have been working towards showing them together in our presentations. This season felt like the right time to start."

The brand also launched a new accessories line inspired by adventure travel together with Magnum Photos, the iconic photo agency. It includes a Magnum X Belstaff camera bag, which can double as a Weekender bag.

Earlier this year, Belstaff announced that it was returning its trademark and finance operations to the UK from Switzerland and the brand is focusing on promoting its British heritage.