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Outerwear

Belstaff

1924

Wax cotton wasn’t invented for fashion—it was bolted onto jackets to keep riders dry while leaning into corners.

Worth your time?4.5/5Yes.Wear the whole thing.What works, what does not, who it is for ↓
9:03in productionCh. 1 · Longton, 1924/ 9:03 · ceiling 15 min
4 chapters · 9:03Ceiling 15:00

The brief is written and checked. The video joins this page when it is cut.4 chapters · 2 min read · 9:03 planned

Read the brief

Belstaff is a British outerwear house founded in 1924 in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, by Eli Belovitch and Harry Grosberg. It pioneered wax-cotton waterproofing for motorcycling apparel.

OuterwearAviationBritainEngineeringAviation across the network →
Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 0:49
    Longton, 1924

    Belstaff began not in London or Milan, but in a pottery town where cloth met industry.

  2. 1:58
    The First Waterproof That Moved

    Wax cotton replaced rubberised fabrics because it breathed—and stayed put—on a rider’s back.

  3. 3:16
    Built for Lean, Not Look

    It was made for motorcycling, not motoring, not leisure, not posing.

  4. 5:18
    Founders, Not Fashionistas

    Two men—Eli Belovitch and Harry Grosberg—chose function over flourish from day one.

1 more chapterFewer chapters
Worth your time?

Yes. Wear the whole thing.

4.5/ 5
What works
  • It sheds rain.
  • It resists wind.
  • It holds its shape on a moving body.
  • It anchors the shoulder seam for stability at speed.
What does not
  • It does not drape softly.
  • It does not conceal movement.
  • It does not prioritise quiet elegance over function.
Wear it if
  • Riders who need protection first.
  • Not office workers.
  • Not collectors of heritage branding.
Skip it if
  • office workers
  • collectors of heritage branding
Who should wear it, and who should skipHide who it is for
The written brief2 min read

What the garment is and where it came from

A wax-cotton motorcycle jacket, born in 1924 in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.

The name is a portmanteau of Belovitch and Staffordshire. Eli Belovitch founded the company with his son-in-law Harry Grosberg. In 1948 Belstaff became a subsidiary of James Halstead. The textile crisis of the 1990s led to the closure of the Longton factory, after the Silverdale site had already shut.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

It sheds rain. It resists wind. It holds its shape on a moving body.

What it gets right

It anchors the shoulder seam for stability at speed. It uses taped seams where stress concentrates. It leaves no flap unsecured.

What it does not

It does not drape softly. It does not conceal movement. It does not prioritise quiet elegance over function.

What it changed

It moved waterproofing from oilskin and rubber into waxed cotton, making it lighter and more breathable for motorcycling.

James Halstead kept the brand and sold the Belstaff motorcycle range and helmet brands until 2004, while also promoting the fashion side across Europe, Australia and the US. In 2004 the brand was sold to Franco Malenotti of Sponsor SA Italy. In June 2011 Harry Slatkin and The Labelux Group bought it, planning to reposition Belstaff as an English heritage brand centred on luxury sportswear, with Martin Cooper as Chief Creative Officer. Stores followed in 2012 on Via Della Spiga in Milan, New Bond Street in London and Madison Avenue in New York. Ownership then passed to JAB Holdings in 2014 and to Ineos in 2017, and on 28 August 2025 Belstaff was sold to the UK clothing brand Castore.

Who it is for, and who it is not

Riders who need protection first. Not office workers. Not collectors of heritage branding.

Kate Moss was paid £1,000,000 to appear in Belstaff advertising. In 2015 the company produced a 17-minute commercial, Outlaws, with David Beckham, Harvey Keitel, Katherine Waterston and Cathy Moriarty, and in 2016 a three-minute film, Falling Up, in which Liv Tyler retraces the footsteps of the 1920s aviator Amelia Earhart.

Is it worth your time

Yes—if you need weatherproof outerwear built for motion, not display.

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