Belstaff is a clothing brand owned by

Ineos Ineos Group Limited is a British multinational conglomerate headquartered and registered in London. it was the fourth largest chemical company in the world, with additional operations in fuel, packaging and food, construction, automotive, ph ...

. The company was founded in 1924 by Eli Belovitch and his son-in-law Harry Grosberg in Longton,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. The name Belstaff is a combination of Eli's surname and his Staffordshire home. Belstaff was the first company to use wax cotton in the manufacturing of waterproof apparel for motorcycling.

History

Belstaff was founded in 1924 by Eli Belovitch and his son-in-law Harry Grosberg in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. In 1948, Belstaff became a subsidiary of James Halstead. The company was affected by the textile crisis of the 1990s, precipitating the closure of the Longton factory after previously closing its Silverdale site. James Halstead continued to own the brand selling the Belstaff motorcycle range and helmet brands until 2004. Alongside this, they promoted the fashion side across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and the US. The brand was sold in 2004 to Franco Malenotti of Sponsor SA Italy. Kate Moss was paid £1,000,000 to appear in Belstaff ads. In June 2011, Harry Slatkin and The Labelux Group bought Belstaff. Slatkin assumed the CEO role and appointed Martin Cooper as Chief Creative Officer, and together, they planned to reposition Belstaff as an English heritage brand centred on luxury

sportswear Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical spor ...

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...

was brought in as a business consultant. In 2012, the company opened stores in Via Della Spiga Milan, New Bond Street,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and Madison Avenue,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In July 2014, along with

Jimmy Choo Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat (born 15 November 1948) is a Malaysian fashion designer based in the United Kingdom. He co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd, which became known for its handmade women's shoes. Early life Choo was born in 1948 in the Crown Colony ...

and Bally, Belstaff was acquired by JAB Luxury. In 2015, Belstaff produced a 17-minute commercial, ''Outlaws'', with appearances by

David Beckham Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham ( ; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Primarily a right winger and known for his range of passing, cross ...

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...

Katherine Waterston Katherine Boyer Waterston (born March 3, 1980) is an English-born American actress. She made her feature film debut in ''Michael Clayton (film), Michael Clayton'' (2007). She had supporting roles in films including ''Robot & Frank,'' ''Being Fl ...

and

Cathy Moriarty Cathy Moriarty (born November 29, 1960) is an American actress whose career spans five decades. Born and raised in New York City, she made her acting debut opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's ''Raging Bull'' (1980), for which she recei ...

. In early 2016, Belstaff made a 3-minute commercial, ''Falling Up'', in which

Liv Tyler Liv Rundgren Tyler (born Liv Rundgren; July 1, 1977) is an American actress. She began her career as a model before making her film debut in '' Silent Fall'' (1994). She went on to receive critical recognition and attention after her starring ...

retraces the footsteps of 1920s aviator

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...

. Delphine Ninous became Creative Director in July 2016. In 2017, Belstaff opened a store in Ginza Six,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. The same year it was bought by

, owned by

Jim Ratcliffe Sir James Arthur Ratcliffe (born 18 October 1952) is a British billionaire, chemical engineer, and businessman. Ratcliffe is the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the INEOS chemicals group, which he founded in 1998. In May 2018, Rat ...

. In January 2018, Helen Wright was appointed CEO of the company, and in May the change also involved the creative direction with Sean Lehnhardt-Moore taking over from Delphine Ninous. Fran Millar was appointed CEO in 2020, leaving her position at the

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ranking system based upon perfor ...

cycling team, the

Ineos Grenadiers Ineos Grenadiers () (stylised as INEOS Grenadiers) (formerly Team Sky from 2010 to 2019, and Team Ineos from 2019 to 2020) is a British professional cycling team that competes at the UCI WorldTeam level. The team is based at the Manchester Velo ...

. In 2019, Belstaff exited its Madison Avenue, NYC store. In 2020 Belstaff opened its eleventh store globally, a store in the Meatpacking District.

References

Notes

External links

* Textile manufacturers of England Motorcycle safety gear manufacturers Motorcycling retailers British companies established in 1924 Manufacturing companies established in 1924