Henri Lloyd
Encyclopedia
Henri Lloyd is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...

 manufacturer established in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1963, that specialises in making clothes for sailing, yachting and golfing.

Company Information

Henri Lloyd's headquarters are based in Manchester, England. They have 40 stores spanning UK, Australia, the Middle East and Europe. In recent years, Henri Lloyd has added a hand-crafted footwear collection, a Boys collection and a younger denim
Denim
Denim is a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This produces the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim has been in American usage since the late 18th century...

-focused brand, called HL Jeans Co, which launched in 2008.

In March 2009 Henri Lloyd signed a commercial partnership with Brawn GP
Brawn GP
Brawn GP Formula One Team, the trading name of Brawn GP Limited, was a Formula One motor racing team and constructor, created by a management buyout of Honda Racing F1 Team. It only competed in the 2009 Formula One World Championship, with drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The team...

 Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 Team as Official Supplier of Clothing and Footwear Technology.

Personal history

The original Henri Lloyd, Henri Strzelecki was a soldier in the Polish Army. In 1946, Mr Henri was awarded both Polish and British military medals. Settling in Manchester at the end of the Second World War, Strzelecki or ”Mr Henri” as he became known, studied textiles and design before working with local clothing companies in Manchester.

In 1985, Mr Henri was given the Member of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, This followed in 1986 and 1987 by two Queen's Awards for Export Achievement.

Corporate history

In the 1960s, Mr Henri realised the potential of a technical fabric, Bri-Nylon. Forming Henri Lloyd Limited in 1963, Mr Henri pioneered the use of these technical fabrics, closures and safety features within sailing clothing. Henri Lloyd’s innovations include the first non-corrosive zip
Zipper
A zipper is a commonly used device for temporarily joining two edges of fabric...

 made of nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...

, the introduction of a Velcro
Velcro
Velcro is the brand name of the first commercially marketed fabric hook-and-loop fastener, invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral...

 closure in waterproof garments, and the hand taping of seams as an alternative to varnishing.

In 1966, Sir Francis Chichester
Francis Chichester
Sir Francis Charles Chichester KBE , aviator and sailor, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for becoming the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the clipper route, and the fastest circumnavigator, in nine months and one day overall.-Early life:Chichester was born in Barnstaple,...

, the first man to circumnavigate the globe, wore Henri Lloyd. In 1979, the Transglobe Expedition
Transglobe Expedition
In 1979, adventurers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Charles R. Burton set out to make the first circumpolar navigation, traveling the world "vertically" traversing both of the poles. Starting from Greenwich in the United Kingdom, they went south, arriving at the South Pole on December 17, 1980. Over the...

, the first round the world journey via the poles, was led by Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Ranulph Fiennes
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE , better known as Ranulph Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. He is also a prolific writer. Fiennes served in the British Army for eight years including a period on counter-insurgency service while...

, who also wore Henri Lloyd’s gear.

Henri Lloyd’s focused on innovation and developing new technology. In 1994, his high performance breathable foul weather gear used Gore-Tex
Gore-Tex
Gore-Tex is a waterproof/breathable fabric, and a registered trademark of W. L. Gore and Associates. It was co-invented by Wilbert L. Gore, Rowena Taylor, and Gore's son, Robert W. Gore. Robert Gore was granted on April 27, 1976, for a porous form of polytetrafluoroethylene with a...

for the first time, and it went through over 22,000 hours of round the world testing at sea, before it was sold to customers. In 2001 Henri Lloyd’s TP3 Reflex Jacket and Hi-Fit Trouser won the Design Award METS, at the Marine Equipment Trade Show in Amsterdam.

The mid 1990’s saw the launch of Henri Lloyd Black Label. This collection linked Italian inspired sportswear with technically innovative fabrics and was designed by Massimo Goggi. The label was so successful, that it was recognised as defining fashion at that time, and in 1997 Henri Lloyd was awarded as Fashion Brand of the Year in the UK.

Henri Lloyd’s collections now include men’s, women’s and footwear. Remaining loyal to its sailing roots, Henri Lloyd now also successfully attracts a wider demographic.
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