Style

Cult menswear brand LESTRANGE is backed by Jenson Button – and a growing list of devotees

LESTRANGE, the British label known for its smart separates, has garnered one of the biggest followings in premium menswear in recent years, selling over 100,000 pairs of its signature trousers. Now Jenson Button has turned his own love of the venture into a brand in his investment portfolio

Words: Zak Maoui

Having a wardrobe that you both love and find easy to navigate is not something that comes easily to most men. You've either got too many of the same thing, in different sizes and styles, or too few of something to wear those other things with. On the one hand it's great that menswear has come so far that it's not just about jeans and a simple white tee, but on the other there's almost too much of a broad spectrum of possibilities for some guys to get their head around.

Over ten years ago Tom Horne and Will Green founded LESTRANGE, a brand that eschewed trends, dismissed too much faff in one's wardrobe and instead focused on a modular foundation. "A what?", you ask. In short, they wanted to create a wardrobe based on the separates you need and want, that could go with one another, in any combination.

And the brand has won over a mass number of household names from differing industries. Football coach Frank Lampard, Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón and actors Tom Holland, Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Piven, Bill Nighy and Tom Hollander are among the frequent wearers of LESTRANGE’s products. But LESTRANGE’s relationship with its wearers often goes beyond the wardrobe. The brand has never raised money from venture capital or private equity. Instead, it’s built entirely through its own community – with over 100 customers choosing to back the business as investors. For LESTRANGE, belief in the product has always come first. Investment follows naturally.

One guy that is so enamoured with the brand is Jenson Button, who has just turned from customer to investor with LESTRANGE. As a Formula 1 World Champion and one of Britain's most famous racing drivers, Button, who has just started his second season racing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), has a career to rival anyone who has ever taken to the tarmac. His CV boasts much more than that, with over 300 starts for the Formula One, of which he won 15 Grands Prix wins. What's more, he's now also a Sky Sports pundit. Meanwhile, he was one of the key figures in Netflix's global smash Drive to Survive, which sent both his and the Formula 1's popularity soaring on a worldwide level. No big deal, really.

But Button's passions, as much as they sit in the driver's seat with him, also lie elsewhere. He's got an entrepreneurial spirit that has seen him partner with the likes of Rolex and Coachbuilt Whisky as a brand ambassador. For Button, LESTRANGE's values align with his own: it is as understated as Jenson, who has a revered, humble reputation. His relationship with the brand started with Button's manager James, who was already a fan of the brand. Button commented on the trousers James was wearing, and when James gifted a pair to Button, he was hooked. The trousers in particular were the 24 Trousers.

Today, the 24 trousers are Button's go-to for his lifestyle which sees him travel the world over as part of his intense job. “Just like collecting cars, my wardrobe grew massively and I got to the point of ‘having’ rather than actually ‘enjoying’”, Button says. “More isn’t always better and having a wardrobe that worked was essential and would work with whatever I’m doing, wherever I am. When I came across LESTRANGE, I loved that they were focusing on creating only the best, the ultimate wardrobe that could be worn as much as possible and for as long as possible.”

And Button is getting fully involved with the business, and isn't just acting as a silent angel investor. "When Jenson got in touch, we had to chat," Horne says. "He’s involved in all sorts beyond racing, but for him, it’s about finding the things that bring excitement – people who share his focus on doing fewer things, but doing them well. That clicked and now we’re all in a WhatsApp group chatting about our next releases.”

Button and LESTRANGE will unveil a unique content series that is focused around Button's entrepreneurial ambition as well as his career. Over the next few months, Button will curate and share his selection of LESTRANGE essentials, be it the trousers or the brand's tees, which work for him equally as well on and off the racetrack.

The brand's main aim is a laser-focused approach to solely creating essential garments, prioritising versatility and comfort, and resulting in a lasting wardrobe. LESTRANGE goes against the traditional release format, and instead of seasonal drops, it does not release standard collections, and rather drops consisting of refreshed updates to its core and signature products. “Each new design is considered and never departs from our core mission of introducing only what is needed, never in excess,” Horne tells Gentleman's Journal, taking us right back to the beginning when he and Green imagined LESTRANGE as fledgling brand, and explaining that the label's ethos has never changed. “We’re lucky that we have such a close relationship with our customers who are excited about being a part of the design process as much as we are. We involve them in it and essentially we create with them, to always make sure that they are leading the development of what is our core range.”

And its vision has landed beyond Button too. Since the brand’s inception all those years ago, LESTRANGE has sold a whopping 100,000 pairs (and counting) of its signature 24 Trousers. These come in two different fits, and a range of colours from sage and beige to Jasper blue, to whatever your fancy may be. They're the sort of trousers that cater to every walk of life, and that's exactly why you'll see them on men who work long hours in the City of London, as well as guys who are wandering around any borough on a Sunday morning. “The 24 Trouser is the building block of the wardrobe,” Horne explains. “By removing the hassle of a traditional tailored waistband, and updating it with a hidden elastic waistband with drawcords, we were able to hit a customer that was looking for something they could wear everyday to the office, to drinks, on holiday without question.”