Sunspel x Casely-Hayford – Perfecting modern tailoring

What is tailoring today and what is the suit’s place in the modern day? The suit’s role in society has changed over the last few years but exactly what it’s changed to is the question at the heart of our capsule with Casely Hayford. Following the success of our first collaboration two years ago, it continues to explore what a suit can be today - aesthetically, technically and conceptually.

“Despite all the headlines in the tailoring and fashion world, a lot of guys do want to wear suits,” Charlie Casely Hayford explains, “They’re just wearing them in a different way. The suit doesn’t need to be this separate thing in the wardrobe that you only wear for special occasions. It can be integrated into it.”

That may sound simple but it’s not. It requires a considered approach to ensure that each part of the suit is versatile enough to wear independently while still being comfortable, elegantand suited to modern tastes. Fortunately, Charlie Casely Hayford has been playing with these ideas since 2009 when he and his late father Joe founded their eponymous brand.

Sunspel, meanwhile, has been developing luxury fabrics for the last 160 years and comfort is hardwired into our DNA. “Charlie’s take on tailoring fits perfectly with our ethos,” Creative Director David Telfer says, “We wanted to make a capsule that people could wear effortlesslybetween many different situations, and comfort is a really important part of that.” To do so, we developed a super-soft Italian boiled wool jersey, directly inspired by fabrics in our archive, which gives the pieces an incredibly lightweight, easy-to-wear feel.  

“It doesn’t feel like suiting at all when you’re wearing it,” Charlie explains, “but visually, itlooks smart enough that it can be dressed up.” The five pieces in the capsule have a deconstructed look with visible raw edge hems. The trouser has a wide elegant fit while the suit jacket is unstructured with a relaxed silhouette and is interchangeable with the waistcoat.Made from a heavier more textured boiled wool jersey is a more casual cropped body jacket and an oversized, yet elegant coat which rounds off the capsule.

“I like how you can wear the different pieces with sneakers or a Tee,” Charlie observes, “but if you wanted to go to a formal event you could put on formal shoes. It moves seamlessly between those worlds. By combining Sunspel’s knowledge of fabrics with our tailoring expertise, we’ve created something really unique.”