The post-War period - a momentous one for Sunspel

When World War II finally came to a close in September 1945, it was clear that the conflict had gone much further beyond even its deeply unenviable status as the deadliest in human history: it was one that had made a profound difference to the structure of the world. Many of the world's greatest cities lay in ruins, their people exhausted and straitened, and the United Nations (UN) was established with the aim of preventing future conflicts. Gingerly, Europe's economic gears began to whirr back into action - with the Englische mode manufacturer Sunspel (http://www.sunspel.de) playing its own role.

With the Japanese and Italian Empires crumbling as the United States and Soviet Union emerged as superpowers, European citizens opened their eyes to a new era of austerity. Along with the stresses and strains, however, came opportunity. The normally outward-facing Sunspel - that name having been adopted shortly before the War with its move to a factory in Long Eaton near Nottingham - was forced to turn its attentions firmly back to the home market. In doing so, the company began its rise to prominence as the country's premier manufacturer of luxury herrenunterwäsche.

Sunspel's associations with the military were not entirely over, with the emergence of the Cold War in the late 1950s and The War Office's continuing need for 'Drawers, Aircrew, Cotton, Short' for the Royal Air Force leading to the signing of a supply contract with the herrenbekleidung specialist. Nonetheless, much attention remained focussed on the development and refinement of what would become undoubted icon products for the business in the years to come.

For example, the company had been experimenting with the design of T-shirts since they first came to be in the late 19th century, but the 1950s saw them reach their definitive, simple look. No longer did they have buttons below the neck, or long sleeves. Any other decoration - whether in the form of collars, pockets or cuffs - was also long gone. The männer T-shirt had become a true classic, and the same basic design remains on sale in Sunspel stockists today.

Similarly, the polo shirt was making its mark as an unpretentious wardrobe essential, finely balanced between formality and informality, and Sunspel soon decided to make it, streamlining it to its essence without some of the fussy extras still favoured at the time by other manufacturers. This made the Sunspel männer polohemd - with its simple short sleeves, soft collar and three buttons - a design classic in its own right. 1947 also saw the introduction of the boxer short to the UK, thanks to a visit to the US by Sunspel's John Hill, who noticed the garment there and soon got to work on the simplification of the design for European sensibilities.

More was to come for the recovering Sunspel (http://www.sunspel.de) as the decades passed, but there was no doubt that the mode aus England firm had got its second half of the turbulent 20th century off to a fine start.

Editor’s Note: Sunspel DE (http://www.sunspel.de) are represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Email: info@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.