Since its relaunch in 2012, Belstaff has been dredging up its past, but a few apples-to-apples references have yet to have their day. Until now. Belstaff's bread and butter was once its waxed cotton jackets, but eager to reposition the brand as a luxury property, creative director Martin Cooper was hesitant to put waxed cotton front and center. His takes on the classic Trialmaster jacket have come in cost-ineffective skins. A few seasons in and with his motoring legs beneath him, though, Cooper decided to take the plunge. "This is a big moment for me, to put a house icon on the runway," he said backstage before the show. His updated versions of the waxed Trialmaster, in a variety of lengths, styles, and colors—including a gorgeous regimental blue—finally hit the scene. They offered a welcome return to form.
But this wasn't diffusion Belstaff such as should worry any of the label's blue-chip fans, if only because luxe so clearly still reigned. Each look piled expense on expense, from the ever-present leather "biker trouser" to the high, stomping leather boots to a few down-filled leather parkas. Arguably, there was even some room to pare. The show was a shopper's paradise for the well-heeled rogue with a kickstand and cash to burn, but leather bar cloakrooms have seen less skin.
