For those of you who’d been wondering whether Henri Lloyd had got lost at sea, you’ll be glad to know that the heritage sailing brand with Mancunian roots is back with a boom (pun fully intended there). Yes HL have gone back to doing what they do best and are making high quality outerwear designed for sailing around the world in. A taste of what’s to come the Fremantle range is a capsule collection inspired by the unearthing of a sailing jacket in Henri Lloyd’s archive that was worn by Dennis Conner who won the America’s Cup in Fremantle in 1987.
A whilst this was a clearly big deal for Dennis he is perhaps unaware of the sartorial impact this jacket had on those of us living in Manchester around that time. Though neither myself nor my mates were particularly interested in traversing the oceans back then, we were very interested in emulating European rich kids and Chris Lowe from the Pet Shop Boys. Which is perhaps why HL became such a coveted brand in Manchester around this time and why we all looked like we should have been hanging out at Cowes rather than the Hacienda.
This new iteration of the Fremantle jacket is made from Gore-Tex Pro fabric, making it highly breathable yet totally wind and waterproof with the handy addition of rigging-friendly raglan sleeves and a detachable hood. Combined with some super strong coloured stripes and OG logo action this is one very special jacket and very encouraging sign of what’s to come from this legendary brand.
Buy a HenriLloyd Fremantle Stripes Hood Jacket from Oi Polloi here.
