Sunspel | How To Spend It
“Sunspel, founded as an underwear and textile company in 1860, has already had to shift and adapt to changing circumstances. The Great Depression of 1929 prompted the business to move from its big factory in Nottingham, shipping a wide range of garments and textiles globally, to a smaller operation in Long Eaton, where it could focus exclusively on the domestic market and premium underwear in the finest Sea Island cotton. The move “was purely to survive”. Sunspel stabilised, then war broke out and the company had to change tack again, “producing utility underwear for the RAF, and long johns under the rationing stamp, CC41”, says Brooke. It went on to introduce the boxer short to Britain in 1947 and, in the 1980s, it sent teenage hearts thumping in the wake of a Levi’s TV ad featuring Nick Kamen in a launderette, stripping down to his pristine white Sunspel undies.
Despite the quality fabrics – recognised by luxury wholesale clients such as Margaret Howell, Paul Smith, Thom Browne and Japanese stores including Isetan, Beams and United Arrows…” {link to full article}
