Henri Lloyd
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Henri Lloyd is a British clothing brand that specialised in
sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
apparel and fashion for men and women. Established in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
in 1963, the company had 40 stores spanning the UK, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe. In June 2018, the brand, stock and 5 stores were acquired by Swedish investment firm, Aligro Group, and subsequently, the brand underwent a redesign and refocused on European sailors. In 2022 was acquired again by Monte Rosa Capital


History

Henri-Lloyd Limited was founded in 1963 in Manchester by Henri Strzelecki, a Polish soldier who moved to Manchester to study textiles during the war, alongside his partner Angus Lloyd. A soldier in the
Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Strzelecki was awarded both Polish and British military medals in 1946. He settled in Manchester at war's end and studied textiles and design before working with local clothing companies there. In time known as "Mr Henri" or "Waterproof Henry", Strzelecki was given the
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
in 1985. Two Queen's Awards for Export Achievement followed in 1986 and 1987.


Innovation

Henri Lloyd pioneered the use of new technologies and fabrics such as Bri-Nylon (a
nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
fabric that didn't fade - remaining bright) in its early clothing lines. Among its innovations were the first non-corrosive
zipper A zipper (N. America), zip, zip fastener (UK), formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding together two edges of textile, fabric or other flexible material. Used in clothing (e.g. jackets and jeans), luggage and oth ...
made of nylon, the introduction of
Velcro Velcro IP Holdings LLC, trading as Velcro Companies and commonly referred to as Velcro (pronounced ), is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of ho ...
closures in waterproof garments, the hand taping of seams as an alternative to varnishing, and the incorporation of
Gore-Tex Gore-Tex is W. L. Gore & Associates's trade name for waterproof, breathable fabric membrane. It was invented in 1969. Gore-Tex blocks liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through and is designed to be a lightweight, waterproof fabri ...
waterproofing. The use of
Gore-Tex Gore-Tex is W. L. Gore & Associates's trade name for waterproof, breathable fabric membrane. It was invented in 1969. Gore-Tex blocks liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through and is designed to be a lightweight, waterproof fabri ...
alone went through over 22,000 hours of round the world testing at sea before it was first sold to customers in Henri Lloyd high performance breathable foul weather gear 1994. In 2001 the company's TP3 Reflex Jacket and Hi-Fit Trouser won The DAME Design Award at the Marine Equipment Trade Show in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
.


Pioneers

A Henri Lloyd Consort Jacket was worn by Sir Francis Chichester when he became the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the
clipper route The clipper route was derived from the Brouwer Route and was sailed by clipper, clipper ships between Europe and the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. The route, devised by the Dutch navigator Hendrik Brouwer in 1611, reduced the time of a ...
, and the fastest
circumnavigator Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magellan Exped ...
, in nine months and one day overall in 1966–67. Henri Lloyd oilskins were worn by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston when he became the first man to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe in 1969. Sir Ranulph Fiennes and his crew wore Henri Lloyd foul weather gear on their Transglobe Expedition. Chay Blyth and Naomi Jones both wore Henri Lloyd sailing clothing for their circumnavigations.


Corporate partnership

In 2009, Henri Lloyd became the "Official Supplier of Clothing and Footwear Technology" of the Brawn GP Formula One Team as part of a commercial partnership. Henri Lloyd have sponsored Sir Ben Ainslie since 1996 and were his first commercial sponsor. It has also supported Shirley Robertson. It has been the technical clothing supplier for the
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is a biennial sailing race that takes paying amateur crews on one or more legs of a circumnavigation of the globe in 11 specially designed identical yachts owned by Clipper Ventures. Professional skippers ...
since 2002 and for Land Rover BAR’s 2017 America’s Cup bid. The sailing kit was developed in close collaboration with the Land Rover BAR team and featured a neoprene wetsuit long john and top. In 2017 the brand announced a 3-year sponsorship deal with the FAST40+ Class, providing bespoke sailing kit for the crew and a perpetual trophy for the FAST40+ Race Circuit. Henri Lloyd were one of the sponsors of Cowes Classics Week 2017, which includes a Henri Lloyd race day and trophy. In September 2018 Henri Lloyd continued its partnership with Sir Ben by announcing a partnership with Ineos Team UK in the pursuit of the 36th challenge of the
America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...
in 2021. Henri Lloyd is the current official Performance Clothing Partner of the Americas Cup team, Ineos Britannia. The brand also actively has a purpose led partnership with the
Emirates Emirates may refer to: * United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective ...
Great Britain
SailGP The Rolex SailGP Championship is an international sailing (sport), sailing competition that features high-performance F50 (catamaran), F50 Sailing hydrofoil, foiling catamarans, where teams compete across a season of multiple grands prix (GP) a ...
Team.


Fashion

Henri Lloyd first became known for fashion in 1984 when the Milan Scooter Society or ‘
Paninaro ''Paninaro'' () was a social phenomenon in northern Italy during the 1980s that was characterized by an obsession with designer clothing and adherence to a lifestyle based on luxury consumption. It began in the Milanese metropolitan area, l ...
' scene adopted the Henri Lloyd Consort Jacket as part of their uniform along with Levi 501 jeans and Timberland boots. Additionally, the brand was profoundly popular within the
Madchester Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that emerged in the English city of Manchester during the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance movement. Indie dance (also referred to as indie rave) blended indie rock with elements o ...
scene. The mid-1990s saw the launch of Henri Lloyd Black Label, This Massimo Goggi designed collection linked Italian-inspired sportswear with technically innovative fabrics, helping the firm earn the Fashion Brand of the Year in the UK award in 1997. The Consort Jacket, first designed by Henri Strzelecki in 1965 has been redesigned for 2017 in a collection of 21 different editions. In 2023 the brand announced the appointment of Scottish Menswear Designer Kestin Hare as Creative Director.


Change of Ownership

Facing severe financial difficulties in early 2018 Henri Lloyd reduced costs and divested assets. In March 2018 they sold the Henri Lloyd brand and trademarks to Aligro Group, a Swedish investment firm. On 8 June 2018 it was announced that the company had been put into
administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...
. Three days later it was announced that the company was purchased by Aligro Group. Altogether 128 jobs were lost, the company's Manchester office shuttered and the brand moved to be based in Sweden. In September 2018 the firm announced a relaunch of all lines in 2019 with "25 styles for men and women. The products are adapted for one design sailing, keelboats and super yachts, with a focus on Northern European and Mediterranean sailors." In 2022 the brand was acquired by Monte Rosa Capital.


References


External links

* {{- British brands Clothing brands of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies based in Manchester Clothing companies established in 1963 Outdoor clothing brands Sailing equipment manufacturers