One of a kind | The Schöffel fleece gilet, with Mike Tindall

Originality is often at the heart of being iconic, but being the first doesn’t guarantee that special status. Icons are, after all, more than just symbols or representations. They capture the imagination, make people feel a part of something, or – in the case of the Schöffel fleece gilet – embody a way of life that transcends trends.  

Put simply, some things just strike a chord and stick. It was only recently, though, as we looked back on 30 years of Schöffel Country, that we realised we’d never really celebrated our coveted fleece gilet as a standout example.  

The story, of course, is already written… But who to help us tell it? Who could do the esteemed fleece layer justice?  

It had to be a long-time Schöffel wearer. It had to be someone of prestige with a love of the countryside. And we wanted it to be a person of real substance who had achieved a lot in their chosen field, too.  

Mike Tindall was perfect.  

A household name in rugby, Mike played at the very highest level of the sport for 17 years, representing England 75 times and winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Now with a number of business ventures, much of his focus is on charitable work as well as family life. Indeed, we were delighted to supply clothing for his events this autumn that will raise funds to support the Matt Hampson Foundation and Give Them a Sporting Chance.   

It's a partnership that makes sense. 

Back to that story… 

Even before Mike had made his professional debut for Bath, the young entrepreneur Corry Cavell-Taylor had put an idea to the oldest outdoor clothing company in the world. It was 1993, and using the revered expertise of the Schöffel family, Corry wanted to engineer the very finest clothing for British country life.  

At first it was a single shooting coat that used cutting-edge fabrics and technology from the Bavarian brand’s skiwear range. But what followed is, arguably, what truly put Schöffel Country on the map. For good.  

The fleece. The fleece gilet. It was only intended as a pairing for a technical coat; instead, its popularity as a versatile piece in its own right flourished.  

Through every season, for every generation, the Schöffel fleece gilet proved itself as the ultimate layer – smart, practical, warm and functional. It was truly original. A blueprint. And, three decades later, it retains that mantle, standing apart from the rest, with unmatched pedigree.  

Today “the Schöffel” is truly embedded in British country life – a bit like the Land Rover, pheasants, and village cricket. It has found favour in the city, too. From the shooting field to the racetrack, and the country pub to the boardroom, it has never gone out of style – and it never will, because its reputation as ‘the fabric of the countryside’ has its roots set in something special.   

From Schöffel’s strong family values to the brand’s unrelenting focus on performance, many factors play a part. Perhaps none, though, is quite so obvious as an uncompromising attitude to the quality that weaves its way through every stage of production. Designed in Britain, Schöffel fleeces are made from the finest Italian-milled fleece fabric at Pontetorto, a family-run company in Tuscany with great pedigree of its own. 

Sounds pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? An interesting backstory, clever design, premium materials… And yet, if these things were easy to achieve, icons wouldn’t exist…