In 1877, Mr. Helly Hansen saw a need for clothing that would protect him from the harsh Norweigan elements whilst he was working on his boat. His wife then started soaking linen in linseed oil to create a waterproof material that would protect Mr Hansen and his workers whenever they were out on their boats. They then started offering this clothing to others and Helly Hansen was born.

To this day, Helly Hansen has continued to engineer sailing clothing that can handle the harshest of conditions, enabling their wearers to work, perform and survive just about anywhere. Not only are Helly Hansen garments weather resistant, but the brand’s Norweigan heritage has heavily influenced their minimalistic and timeless, typically Scandinavian design.

For over 50 years, Musto has been engineering cutting edge sailing apparel. Their sailing clothing has been used by adventurers, America’s Cup racing teams and couples cruising the world on their family yacht.

The brand was started by Mr Keith Musto, a British Olympic sailor who realised in order to win, he had to be lighter, fitter and stronger than all of his competition. After starting his fitness regime, he soon realised that traditional sailing clothing compromised his ability to sail at his best, so he set out to make clothing that would enable him to perform. As a result, he ended up winning the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in his Musto gear.
To this day, Musto continues to engineer fabrics and materials that will allow wearers to be comfortable in any condition.

ZHIK was founded just prior to the 2004 Athens Olympics when it was noticed that sailing clothing could do with a spark of innovation. Since then ZHIK has engineered some of the highest performing waterproof clothing for sailors and has combined it with a fresh new look that is very modern, in a world dominated by tradition.

They are the kit of choice for both the Australian and New Zealand sailing teams and also sponsor Sail GP and Volvo Ocean Race teams, all of which need technically proficient gear that will handle any condition.

North Sails was started by American Sailor and Olympic Gold Medalist, Lowell North in 1957. Originally he focused on making the most technically advanced sails that were faster than any competitors. The brand continues to make these ultra-high performance sails and has used their ethos to also create a lifestyle clothing line.

Their sailing clothing combines both function and form which performs in harsh conditions and looks great doing it. They offer a range of technical, high-performance gear as well as a more traditional lifestyle line so no matter your style of sailing, North Sails will have you covered.

Born in 1983, Nautica is a leading lifestyle brand for men. Influenced by the nautical lifestyle and designs, Nautica has focused more on making everyday clothing for men as opposed to other sailing clothing brands that were born out of a need to defeat the elements.

Whilst Nautica might not offer sailing clothing that is as technically advanced as others, their focus on design has enabled them to lead the industry from a style perspective. They combine both traditional nautical designs with a modern perspective and forward-thinking styles.

Henri Lloyd was founded by Henri Strzelecki a Polish war hero and Angus Lloyd in 1964 in Manchester, England. They pioneered the use of waterproof fabrics and materials in clothing. They also made other innovations including the first non-corrosive zipper as well as the use of velcro in waterproof garments.

To this day Henri Lloyd continues to innovate in order to remain on the leading edge of waterproof clothing. They also focus heavily on design and offer some of the most aesthetically refined waterproof sailing clothing available.

Born in Genoa, Italy, Slam has evolved to be one of the greatest sailing clothing manufacturers, all thanks to their collaborations with past and present Olympic Sailors. Genoa itself is a town on Italy’s Ligurian coast and its history is heavily rooted in fishing, sailing and its port. Naturally, one day a garment maker would come about as a result of the town’s need for clothing that is suitable for life on the coast and at sea.

Today the brand offers a range of lifestyle and recreational sailing clothing which embodies Italian effortless cool. They also offer technical garments for those looking to face the harshest conditions mother nature can throw at them.

In 1975 a passionate dinghy sailor, Nick Gill became increasingly frustrated with the lack of dinghy-specific sailing gear. To mitigate the problem, he founded a company and started to produce the gear he wanted. Since then, Gill has continued to evolve and develop to create clothing for all facets of sailing and all conditions sailors encounter.

Gill is the sailing clothing of choice for current America’s Cup champions, team New Zealand. To complement their clothing, Gill also offers footwear and accessories for sailors.

If you want to go big and be the best dressed on the yacht, then Prada’s America’s Cup range is the way to go. Prada is the official sponsor of Italy’s Lunar Rossa. One of the challengers in this year’s big race. Their gear is very basic in design but goodness it’s cool.

Regardless of who you’re supporting in Barcelona, Prada’s Linea Rossa range is the best.  Made in Italy, you can’t go wrong.