Spotlight on: Belstaff AW21 with Creative Director Sean Lehnhardt-Moore

Belstaff is upping its focus on desirable womenswear pieces for AW21 with a more tightly edited but striking collection, to add to the men’s line that includes a new collaboration on outerwear pieces with breathable and waterproof fabric specialist Gore-Tex, revisiting a partnership first forged in the 1970’s.

Belstaff Creative Director Sean Lehnhardt-Moore gives a snapshot of what to expect across both men’s and women’s this autumn when a new campaign will be a major focus.

How would you best describe the new AW21 collection?

AW21 is all about quality pieces that marry functional integrity with considered style. There are three chapters for the season, each with their own fabrication focus – Gore-Tex, down and shearling. We really wanted to hone in on these outerwear fabrications with our new jacket and coat silhouettes, as they ground the collection and highlight our evolved direction. Besides outerwear, the men’s collection is all about modern pieces that make sense for each and every day. The women’s collection mirrors this but has a stronger focus on pieces that are stylish, timeless, and covetable.

Does this mark a new direction for Belstaff's womenswear?

For AW21 we wanted to re-establish our womenswear customer and speak to who she is today. The Belstaff woman is worldly, curious and uncompromising and we wanted to give her a range to suit her varied lifestyle. We believe this collection offers great, every day, stylish pieces that will work in your wardrobe season after season. We have edited the collection to keep the focus clear, so each piece has a defined purpose and place in the contemporary wardrobe. Belstaff is sustainable through design, and we believe offering beautifully crafted, premium pieces that will get better with age and stay relevant for years to come, reflects the attitude of our female customers today.

What were the design inspirations behind it?

The customer is really the inspiration behind this collection. We looked at where and how they will be wearing these pieces. The Belstaff customer has an independent spirit and we wanted to celebrate this. Knowing that they live busy lifestyles and wear many hats, this means our pieces need to balance style and substance and work in all settings. I also looked to the great outdoors, and its textures and colours of natural forms – as seen in the introduction of the colour palette including salvia and harvest gold. This is contrasted by a more technical story in the collection, which has an urban feel and is primarily monochromatic.

What are the real key pieces across the men's and women’s collections? 

Key pieces include our new down offering and for men we are launching the "Peak Jacket", "Pathmaster Down", and "Dome Jacket". In the shearling category we have beautiful hand-waxed leather pieces including the updated "Trialmaster Panther" and the new "Astell" jacket. For women, down takes centre stage in the duvet "Whistler Coat", "Cecilia Gilet" and "Cloud Parka", and shearling steps things up with the statement "Leah" and "Lila" trenches and the "Romy" jacket.

Why have you collaborated with Gore-Tex in the new collection? 

The Gore-Tex collaboration launches two new styles for men – the "Techmaster Jacket" and the "Terrain Parka". Both utilise Gore Performance Technology, which comprises a recycled stress-tested three-layer fabrication that’s waterproof, windproof and breathable. Belstaff has been a fabric innovator since 1924 and Gore-Tex produce some of the best performance fabrics in the world, so we wanted to explore this partnership with all-weather protection for AW21.

Belstaff first worked with Gore-Tex back in the 1970’s. It was for a range for mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington when he reached the Ogre summit, a previously unclimbed peak in the Karakoram in Pakistan on a now world-famous expedition. Belstaff then went onto to produce a commercial range of cagoules and waterproof trousers off the back of that. This “Ogre” collection used taped seams and was cut from a breathable fabric. Today, we wanted to continue to push the boundaries of fabric innovation, while keeping the styles wearable and practical for city living and travelling.

Is that a new partnership set to continue for future collections? 

Yes, we believe Gore-Tex is a great partner for us, allowing Belstaff to develop technical garments that truly perform. We will continue to develop our range with them for SS22.