Earlier this year I was invited to the Land Rover factory in Solihull for the launch of a 'Defender' range of outdoor clothing by Barbour in collaboration with Land Rover. The collection was launched with the help of H166 HUE, the very last Land Rover Defender off the assembly line earlier this year. From shirts, through knitwear to very practical country style coats, the range is available only at John Lewis (link below).
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| The new collection is launched (and Grey Fox muscles in on the photoshoot) with the very last Defender |
My favourite piece was the Land Rover Defender Hales waxed jacket (which I wear above and see images below). A clever mix of tweed and waxed cotton, this coat has its origins in the traditional field coat. The front is waxed, but the tweed back is designed to prevent your car seats (the Defender of course) from being covered with wax. The tweed is proofed to keep it weatherproof, although I've yet to test it in heavy rain. It's partly lined with tweed, making it very comfortable and also very warm - this is a coat for colder days. The sleeves are very long, although they can be turned up to reveal the tweed lining and I felt a lack of decent inside pockets was a disadvatnage. Other jackets, gilets and knitwear carry on the robust countrywear theme and many are far less pure countrywear than the Hales jacket.
The collection takes its inspiration from that very outdoor/sporting/countrywear heritage that has inspired both the best of British clothing and the best of go-anywhere 4x4 vehicles. As a nation we love our Land Rovers, our battered Barbours and our country and dog walks. This collections taps into those passions.
We had a tour around the factory. It's fascinating to see how the modern assembly line enables different cars to be assembled at the same time, each with different specifications and indeed with Land Rovers alongside Jaguars. We were also treated to a drive, in Range Rover Vogues, on the factory's own off-road course - through ponds, rivers, streams and over steep humps and hills. Great fun.
We were guests of Barbour, John Lewis and Land Rover. I was sent the Hales jacket for review. All views are mine alone.
