Purdey’s new summer range adapts to life on the savannah
The Global Sporting Collection sees the British brand take its fieldwear line to warmer climes...
Since Purdey stitched its first clothing collection — over half a century ago, in 1974 — the British brand’s field-ready apparel has conquered the world. It has stepped out onto the sporting estates of high-altitude Argentina. It has braved craggy ranges from the Cairngorms to the Stormberg Mountains. And, year after year, it has kept countryfolk warm and comfortable on England’s own cold wolds and windswept moors.
But the latest range from Purdey is designed and destined for warmer climes. The Global Sporting Collection is inspired by the heat of Kenya’s grand equatorial landscape, where a discreet presence is essential, and the most effective clothes sit quietly against the terrain. From shorts to shirts, the collection serves to blend the wearer into these surroundings, improving their chances of witnessing what they came to see while keeping them cool, calm and comfortable.
As such, the palette is drawn from sand, grass and khaki tones, and each garment is cut with an emphasis on ease, breathability and practicality. This lightweight, flexible philosophy can perhaps best be seen in Purdey’s new cargo trousers — a pair of sage green strides crafted from lightweight stretch cotton and featuring snap-closure pockets. Also available in a versatile stone shade, they’re essential for hot days — at once practical and effortlessly smart.
Of course, there are few fabrics lighter than linen, and Purdey has also reworked a warm-weather staple — the linen shirt — with a cotton blend and small tattersall check. In line with those subtle hues, it’s available in a collected, composed taupe tone, and two utility chest pockets, which snap shut with poppers, give it the brand’s signature ergonomic edge.
The days may be long and hot on Kenya’s great plains, but night always comes. Thankfully, Purdey’s latest range is ready for that drop in temperature. While the collection, as a whole, is underpinned by a selection of soft and versatile polo shirts — both short- and long-sleeved — there are also synthetic leather-trimmed shooting vests, ribbed cotton socks and scarves on hand when the days draw in.
But we’d recommend reaching for the Lightweight Kalahari Jacket. It’s an elegant second (or even third) layer, and an unbeatable addition to your warm-weather sporting wardrobe. A new proposition from the British brand, the relaxed herringbone jacket has ample pockets and an adjustable drawstring at its waist, is cut from 100% linen to combat humidity and comes in shades of either ‘Grass’ green or off-white ‘Straw’ to ensure it’ll blend softly into the surrounding savannah.
It’s quite a journey to Kenya — or any far-flung, sun-baked destination — so Purdey’s new range doesn’t begin and end with clothes alone. An essential part of an abroad field outing is luggage, so the brand also offers a weekend bag made from a rugged, waterproof cotton canvas. With a separate boot section and open front pocket, it’s got leather trims and short, sturdy handles modelled on the iconic Purdey rifle strap — perfect for transporting your new warm weather wardrobe in its entirety.
“The Global Sporting Range reflects a modern interpretation of sporting life,” says Giles Deacon, Purdey’s creative director, of the collection. “It presents the field as a place of watchfulness and movement, grounded in curiosity, heritage and craftsmanship. This is Purdey as a companion to exploration — measured, informed and quietly capable.”
Founded in 1814, Purdey has spent more than two centuries refining that very sensibility. And, now well into its sixth decade of dressing us — and expanding its practical pieces to keep us comfortable the world over — the British brand has quietly become one of our most valued, not to mention trusted travelling companions.
Want more from Purdey? Check out the Vatersay Sporting Cape II, our product of the week…
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