‘Ten c’ is an acronym formed from the title of that famous Hans Christian Andersen tale, The Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s also the name that’s been given to a new line of premium outerwear. We’ll be honest, all things considered, this seemed a bit odd to us at first too — everyone knows the Emperor’s favourite deck-out was his birthday suit.
However, as Ten c have explained, the central theme to that fable was this: ‘look beyond what you are told to see — see what is truly there’. In the instance of Ten c this is meant to mean: ‘ignore meaningless exercises in branding and instead focus on the integrity of the clothing itself’.
A bold statement? Perhaps. A bit pseudo-philosophical for an Oi Polloi newsletter? Perhaps.
At this point we should probably point out that Ten c is the brainchild of ex-Stone Island designer Paul Harvey and Allesandro Pungetti, of CP Company / Esemplare fame. Both renowned perfectionists, responsible for a great deal of outstanding clothing in their time, being torchbearers of The Massimo Osti School of Thought.
The jackets themselves are all based around time-honoured outerwear shapes, re-imagined in a velvety Japanese fabric which bears a resemblance to Stone Island’s soft-touch micro-fibre. It’s water-proof, breathable and tough — so tough Bentley use it for soft-top roofs (or so the story goes).
If your looking for an serious outerwear investment — this might just be it.