In 1948 Belstaff released a new jacket designed for competitors in the Scottish Six Day Trial, an all-terrain motorcycle race founded in 1909 that continues to this day. Called the Trialmaster for obvious reasons, this waxed cotton jacket featured four pockets angled for easy on-bike access, articulated sleeves to best accommodate the rider’s arms, and armholes that allowed for smooth shoulder movements.
Today in a trendy Soho studio you had to walk through a record store to get to, Belstaff’s creative director Delphine Ninous showed a collection for men and women that majored on the Trialmaster, still going strong 70 years later. One wall was lined with historical examples that included Trialmasters dating from ’48, one owned by Steve McQueen, and others specially adapted for police forces, the military, and riders both male and female down the years. Against the other wall, idling on a scaffold, were the models wearing Ninous’s luxified iterations of Belstaff’s four-pocketed golden goose. There was a fine camel example featuring high-visibility silver stripes and surplus-style government commission labels, a flight-of-fancy shearling interpretation that looked lovely, and a minimalist women’s version in black leather that looked fine too. Around these core pieces Ninous referenced other Belstaff archive pieces. Wartime dispatch rider’s coats (long, copious, and cozy) were recast in black shearling or an off-olive calf, while high-cut bikers in black leather were remixed via panels of leopard and black velvet, or speckled with a fine white paint-spatter effect. Sideline pieces included especially strong women’s footwear and sweetly cut velvet pants. The main attraction here though was the outerwear, with the Trialmaster top of the bill. Ninous said: “In menswear what I love is that when a piece really does become iconic, it can last forever.” Don’t count your chickens, but the Trialmaster—as steered by Ninous—seems set for a long and healthy life.
