Nigel Cabourn AW15 at London Collections:Men - 60th anniversary of crossing Antarctica

Nigel Cabourn's AW15 collection, exhibited at London Collections:Men, celebrates the 60th anniversary of Sir Vivian Fuchs/Sir Edmund Hillary's epic crossing of Antarctica. 

(All images Grey Fox Blog)

As ever, Cabourn takes the original clothing, fabrics and accessories and recreates them in a way that makes them almost reproductions of the originals; robust, fit-for-purpose and designed for a serious utilitarian role in a harsh, life-threatening environment. 

And, of course, they're made in the UK from materials the same as (such as Ventile) or similar to the originals. No Gore-Tex here, these are natural materials, cotton or wool, manufactured to protect against cold and moisture.

See the Nigel Cabourn website.

Wayside Flower - traditional British-made menswear

Two unrelated memories. Firstly, when I was studying for my professional law exams one of my flatmates was a girl who was knitting a traditional Guernsey jumper. Secondly, until the seventies I wore a traditional cotton over-the head cagoule when mountaineering.

These memories were recently revived when I came across Wayside Flower's collection of hand-knitted ganseys, with their complex, varied and intricate patterns, and their traditional cagoule/anoraks, as worn by mountaineers before the seventies. All made in Britain. Links below.

Cagoule made from British Millerain waxed cotton (colours - black and mustard)

See the outstanding limited-run products including jackets, knitwear, shirts and accessories at East Yorkshire-based Wayside Flower here.

Panama canvas from a Lancashire mill (colours - sage and navy)

Traditional gansey available in different patterns - looking good with tartan neckerchief

Anoraks - The return of the mountain smock

A man's tastes in clothes are undoubtedly shaped by the pleasant experiences of life. As a schoolboy I loved mountains (and still do). In those days, kit was in transition between cotton Gaberdine and Ventile on the one hand and Nylon and Gore-Tex on the other.

My favourite jacket was a cotton climbing smock - I've no idea what make, but Belstaff, Selrig and others made similar. It was khaki with bright yellow lining, large chest pocket and a leg strap and I'm on the look-out for another. I just missed something similar on eBay recently. If anyone has one going spare, please let me know.

Edmund Hillary and friend

Belstaff sales brochure

These vintage jackets are being reproduced, inspired by the mountaineering anoraks and smocks of the mid-twentieth century - here are a few

Fjallraven

Merrow

Merrow

Norsea Rudda

Vintage smock - image eBay

Vintage Belstaff Dalesman