The new Sunspel x Iffley Road collection combines technical excellence with a classic British aesthetic.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the conjunction of performance and style is a fairly recent phenomenon, something that occurred around about the time that Prada debuted its sport range in the 1990s, or outdoor brand Arc’teryx launched Arc’Teryx Veilance in 2010. But the truth is, happy marriages between the two disciplines go back way further than that. To take one example, the British brand Sunspel, founded in 1860, has been doing it since the 1940s and 1950s. However back then, says Sunspel’s creative director Ms Pascale Pinxt, it had a different, and rather charming name: “healthwear”. “A lot of the fabrics and constructions that Sunspel developed were based on functional garments that were comfortable and would perform when worn for sport, or as undergarments,” says Ms Pinxt. “The idea of functionality and comfort remain core values of our designs today.”

Given this heritage, Sunspel’s latest collaboration, with the impeccably stylish running brand Iffley Road, makes perfect sense. As Iffley Road founders Ms Claire Kent and Mr Bill Byrne put it, it’s “the perfect way of combining a ‘made in England’ aesthetic with our technical fabrics and performance.” To create the six-piece collection, which comprises a small but focused range of technical T-shirts, polo shirts and shorts, Ms Kent and Mr Bill travelled to Sunspel’s factory in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, to rifle through the archive and take inspiration from some of the brand’s mid-century underclothing pieces, many of which incorporated piqué and meshes – “to keep them breathable and lightweight”, says Ms Pinxt. “It’s interesting to reflect that these needs have been constant, and fabric technology evolves to find improved ways to deliver these properties,” says Ms Pinxt, who has incorporated Iffley Road’s drirelease® piqué in the collection “to bring a modern update to the natural cotton piqués we have been using in our range for decades”.

Despite the deceptively minimal design, the Sunspel X Iffley Road collection is very much a collection for running enthusiasts. Ms Kent and Mr Byrne suggest wearing the Langley T-shirt as an all-purpose running top, “suitable for gentle jogging up to ultra-marathon”. The Stanton polo shirt, meanwhile, “offers great temperature regulation for warmer weather and doubles up as a smart-casual tee”.

In fact, the entire range has been designed to be as wearable off the track as useful on it, says Ms Pinxt. “For example, we extended the length of the shorts so that they sit on the knee… removed the mesh lining, and added a zip fly, so that when worn they feel like a more regular short.” The tops, meanwhile, were cut upon the classic Sunspel block. “These are tried and tested shapes that work perfectly,” says Ms Pinxt. “We wanted to deliver this fit experience but in a performance fabric.” The result is a collection that is good at multitasking – whether you intend to wear it to achieve your next personal best, or merely to spruce up your weekend wardrobe, these are pieces that will most certainly do the job.

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