Space Denim.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT - MIDWEIGHT.

 

Struggling to charter your own rocket ship? Still saving-up for that solo trip to the stratosphere? Why bother? Just bag yourself some Space Denim instead. Developed exclusively by Universal Works, this crisp but comfy lightweight denim has a strong celestial vibe. Made in India using a unique dyeing process, the randomisation of the print means every item is totally unique. Man on the moon, or just down the pub, it’s got all the hallmarks of a 2022 sartorial space odyssey.

  

Shop 'Space Denim' here.

 

 

 

Cordura/Cotton.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 60% COTTON, 40% CORDURA NYLON.
WEIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT.

 

If you fancy radiating some serious clean-cut charm, it’s time to chuck a checked curveball into the mix. Friendlier than a stripe, more nostalgic than a plain, the graphic balance that grids can bring are always a welcome addition. At Universal Works, the introduction of Cordura-Nylon signals some serious technical wizardry. At first glance you’d think it’s pure Ivy League, but step closer to discover this is a modernised, crunchy and crispy durable affair. Made from a futuristic mix of 60% cotton and 40% Cordura-Nylon, it’s a lightweight but robust cloth that keeps you drizzle free on days when the weather can’t decide what it’s doing – which, let’s face it, is all the time these days!

 

Shop 'Cordura/Cotton' here.

 

Typewriter Cotton.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT.

Typewriter cotton is definitely a cloth to write home about. Made in Japan using a complex and mind-bogglingly technical loom set up, this tightly woven fabric is made up of high twist and low twist yarns. The end result is super lightweight but unbelievably crisp, with a handle that feels decidedly fresher and more distinguished than your standard poplins. Some say it’s ‘top dog’ on the hierarchy of natural fibres, thanks to its superior breathability, crunchy character and slightly water repellent qualities. It’s the Christopher Walken of cottons, if you will.

 

Shop 'Typewriter Cotton' here.

 

 

Canvas.

 

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - MIDWEIGHT - 280g/sm.

Canvas has become a perennial Universal Works staple now for a number of years. It has a soft, hand-feel yet provides great durability. A truly great workwear fabric.

 

Shop 'Canvas' here.

 

 

Cotton-Linen Suiting.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 51% COTTON 49% LINEN.
WEIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT/MIDWEIGHT - 250g/lm.

Made for us in Portugal, a great medium weight cotton-linen blend of tailoring cloth for soft yet enough structure in the fabric to carry off a great jacket or pants. A summer classic.

 

Shop 'Cotton-Linen Suiting' here.

 

Delos Cotton.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 98% COTTON, 2% ELASTANE.
WEIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT - 200g/sm.

Sometimes, bigger does mean better – especially when it comes to Delos Cotton. This is seersucker on steroids, flexing the fibres to give a texture that looks like a hybrid of waffle on one side and bubble wrap on the other (we can guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it before). Made in Portugal, it’s surprisingly lightweight and crisp to the touch. Breathable, beefy and bloody good looking, it’ll keep you Jack Kerouac cool on sizzling summer days, and age just as well as his beat generation literature has. Be sure to pack one of the UW shirts made from it for your next road trip – no iron required.

 

Shop 'Delos Cotton' here.

 

  

Dry Handle Loopback.

FABRIC COMPOSITION -100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - MIDWEIGHT - 375g/sm.

 

Classic Universal Works fabric for many seasons; with a dry hand feel, knitted with slub yarns and garment over-dyed creating a vintage feel.

 

Shop 'Dry Handle Loopback' here.

 

Hand Block Print.

FABRIC COMPOSITION -100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT.

A centuries-old art form, ‘Handblock Printing’ involves carving a desired pattern or design onto a wooden block, applying ink or dye and then with careful consideration, stamping onto fabric. This indigo-dyed cotton poplin is made by local artisans in Southern India - summer in a shirt!

 

Shop 'Hand Block Print' here.

 

Herringbone Denim.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - MID/LIGHTWEIGHT. 

Gone fishin’ takes on a whole new meaning when we’ve got a knockout piece of Herringbone Denim hooked on the end of the line. This mid-weight 100% cotton cloth takes its name from the chevron-type weave – or an inverted V-shape, for all the angle pedants out there. Constructed to resemble the backbone of the humble (but omega 3 boosting) herring, this breathable fabric is more commonly seen in tailoring. But as you’d expect, UW have been digging around the vintage archives and taken this one back to WWII instead, where it was a robust favourite with the G.I.’s. Like all good denim, it starts off sturdy and softens over time, fading in all the right places to give it a surface texture unique to you.

 

Shop 'Herringbone Denim' here.

 

 

Ikat.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - MID/LIGHTWEIGHT.

Ikat has been used throughout some of the first iterations of our collections since the very start, and with good reason. This beautiful art form involves a process of resist dyeing yarns prior to weaving, before creating an intricately handwoven cloth. Our perennial shirting fabric, this beautiful Southern Indian fabric has become a staple for the modern man. Soft, wearable, distinctive and luxurious.

 

Shop 'Ikat' here.

 

Indigo Plaid.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - MID-WEIGHT.

A key fabric for our SS22 collection, this mid-weight Indigo Plaid fabric is woven exclusively for us on old narrow looms in Southern India. Featuring two shades of real Indigo dye, it will age beautifully, developing its own unique patina with wear. 

 

Shop 'Indigo Plaid' here.

 

Merida Seersucker.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 98% COTTON 2% ELASTANE.
WEIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT - 200g/sm.
 

Who needs industrial strength deodorant, when you’ve got Merida Seersucker? The answer, of course, is nobody. Far from an old school classic, this iconic fabric is actually pretty technical. The ‘puckering’ isn’t just for show, it was an early 20th century invention that keeps the majority of the cloth sitting away from the skin. This means it’s naturally breathable and allows air to circulate freely between you and the garment. Every move you make wafts a cool fresh breeze to the parts that need it the most. Who can argue with that? At Universal Works, we call it cotton air conditioning.

 

Shop 'Merida Seersucker' here.

 

 

Nighttime Ikat.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT - APPROX 105g/sm.


The stars have aligned for Universal Works fans, with the Night Time Ikat. Hand-made in southern India using methods honed over centuries, you’d be hard pushed to find a more timeless fabric. One of the oldest forms of textile production, it takes an expert with a trained eye to make warp and weft look this atmospheric. The cloth itself is a rare breed of brilliance that looks confidently well-traveled and well-read in equal parts. Lightweight 100% cotton, with a soft handle and distinctly recognisable design, you don’t need a telescope to appreciate the scattered optic white twinkles. To infinity and beyond!

 

Shop 'Nighttime Ikat' here.

 

Organic Fine Poplin.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% ORGANIC COTTON.
WEIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT - 115g/sm.
 

This beautifully crisp, garment-dyed cotton fabric has a tight plain weave making it both durable and hardwearing, yet it is incredibly lightweight, comfortable and breathable- perfect for when it starts to get a bit hot under the collar!

 

Shop 'Organic Fine Poplin' here.

 

Organic Loopback.

FABRIC COMPOSITION -100% ORGANIC COTTON.
WEIGHT - MIDWEIGHT.

Super soft Portuguese loopback jersey fabric made from 100% Organic Cotton.

 

Shop 'Organic Loopback' here.

 

 

Oxford.

 

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - MID-WEIGHT, 115g/sm.

Oxford cloth stands out as a great shirting fabric for being lightweight, lustrous and soft. It ages amazingly, becoming softer to the touch.

 

Shop 'Oxford' here.

 

Terry Fleece.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 85% COTTON, 15% POLYESTER.
WEIGHT - MID-WEIGHT.

You’d be hard pushed to find another fabric that stirs up connotations of long hot summers like this one. Think sun-tanned preppy jet-set alpha male leisure with a chunk of 1970s seaside thrown in – or fast track the cultural references and straddle somewhere between Slim Aarons and Martin Parr. The name terry cloth originates from the French verb ‘tirer’ – which means ‘to pull’ and explains the manufacturing methods. Long knots of yarn are teased through a dense weft material to generate that brilliant towel appearance. An open weave, those ‘loops’ you can see actually trap cold air and help to cool down your overheated torso. Phew.

 

Shop 'Terry Fleece' here.

 

Tropical Lux Suiting.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% WOOL.
WEIGHT - LIGHTWEIGHT, DRAPEY. 220g/lm.
 

We’ve been using Tropical Wool in our Spring-Summer collections for a number of years now, and with good reason. Lightweight, drapey and incredibly breathable, it offers unbounded versatility for summer suiting, helping regulate your body temperature, wicking moisture away and providing great UV protection.

 

Shop 'Tropical Lux Suiting' here.

 

 

Wales Check Fleece.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 50% POLYESTER 45% COTTON 4% POLYAMIDE 1% ELASTANE.
WEIGHT - MIDWEIGHT - 390g/lm.
 

In a classic Prince of Wales tonal check, this is the new version of our best selling fleece fabric, reinterpreted into a spring-summer version by replacing the wool with cotton, ensuring a cool feel and soft touch. This will become your new favourite go-to fabric for the cooler days of summer. 

 

Shop 'Wales Check Fleece' here.

 

Yokohama Cotton-Linen.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 59% COTTON 41% LINEN.
WEIGHT – MID-WEIGHT, BREATHABLE. 180gsm.
 

If the late Anthony Bourdain had a day off, you can bet your onions he’d be wafting around some snazzy New York neighbourhood in search of a Negroni wearing the Yokohama Cotton Linen. If summer suiting needed a poster boy – it’s this. A 180gsm cocktail of 59% cotton and 41% linen, this midweight, garment dyed linen and sturdy cotton flax mix has a top-notch texture that looks effortlessly worn-in. Hypo-allergenic, with a soft, dry handle, its inherent water-wicking qualities guarantee you’ll remain looking artfully dishevelled when the mercury hits double figures. 

 

Shop 'Yokohama Cotton-Linen' here.

 

Aero Wax Cotton.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% COTTON.
WEIGHT - LIGHT/MEDIUM WEIGHT.

The Bear Grylls of waxed cotton, the Aero Wax is made in bonnie Scotland by the experts at Halley Stevensons of Dundee. Inspired by their 1910 patent for waterproofing textiles, this 100% cotton has an emulsified, water-based dry wax finish, which has been softly tumbled to make sure it’s super comfortable to wear. It will crinkle and crease with wear; but panic ye not laddie – you can maintain yourself with a gentle wash and a re-wax. Naturally breathable, this clever cookie adjusts to ambient temperature as well, which means it’s a laid-back affair when the sun’s out and a stiff upper lip when it's howling wind and rain – clever eh?

 

Shop 'Aero Wax' here.

 

Cotton Twill.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 100% COTTON OUTER.
WEIGHT - MEDIUM WEIGHT - 245g.

A staple fabric in the truest sense of the word, our 3/1 Cotton Twill has been around since the very start, and like the fabric itself, continues to get better with age. Used across a number of our categories, from Jackets, Trousers, to Waistcoats & Overshirts, our cotton twill is woven with tightly packed yarns making it extremely durable and strong - perfect for workwear and for looking good. 

Shop 'Cotton Twill' here.

 

 

Coca Canvas.

FABRIC COMPOSITION - 53% COTTON 47% HEMP.
WEIGHT - 190g.

A fine soft canvas weave, ‘Coca Canvas’ is woven with a super fine high quality yarn: a cotton and hemp mix that produces a great hand feel and has durability. Made by Destro, one of our favourite Italian mills based in Bergamo.

 

Shop 'Coca Canvas' here.