Belstaff and Liv Tyler Celebrate the Launch of SS17 at London Fashion Week

Liv Tyler’s second capsule for Belstaff captures the heady vibe of the English countryside at the end of the 1960s / start of the 70s and the rock’n’roll characters that were drawn to it at the time.

Liv Tyler

 Shapes and silhouettes reference the free-spirited women who were such an important part of that scene, such as Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithfull and Patti Boyd. Liv explains “I wanted to tap into the spirit of those women at that time, combining it with my love of Belstaff’s military archive pieces, yet done in my way.” The result is a capsule that is at once strong, yet feminine and playful.

 The palette reflects the summer countryside - taking more than a cue from Liv’s break-out film Stealing Beauty directed by Bernardo Bertolucci - rich with khaki, sand and washed-out denim hues, while a floral motif has been presented on a black background (in a silk jumpsuit, pussy-bow blouse and a bomber jacket) for an edgier aesthetic.

 A soft tactility is at the heart of the collection, from the Alconbury, a cropped fitted leather biker jacket with epaulettes (inspired by an early 70s racing blouson from Belstaff’s archive) to a beautiful sage-green suede suit made up of an A-line popper-fronted skirt and sartorial jacket.

 The military influence is visible in a four-pocket trench coat in olive and sand, and a cotton olive cape, both of which are water-repellent.

Military buttons are also a feature of a striped knit and a cropped regalia jacket. These structured pieces are juxtaposed with more relaxed shapes such as a denim dress with four pockets referencing Belstaff’s heritage outerwear and matching wide-leg cropped jeans. The Amira bag from the Belstaff & Liv AW16 capsule has proved so popular it’s been reproposed in a new material (suede) and other colours (cognac in the large size and military green in the baby version).

A fresh yet bold polka-dot patterned silk top and wide trousers - a look whose inspiration Liv took from Katherine Hepburn.

  The flat Hanlon sandal in the same materials as the bags with studding completes the look.

Photograph credits: Dave Benett