'My family wore wool at a time when everyone else had cast it off in favour of manmade fabrics': The knitwear pioneer who is one of David Beckham's countryside champions

This interview is part of a series on David Beckham's countryside champions, as featured in the October 22, 2025 edition of Country Life. Read part 1 with stockman Trevor Kirk, part 2 with milliner Barnaby Horn, part 3 with gardener Poppy Okotcha and part 4 with Ramandeep Nijjar, a young naturalist.

My family wore wool at a time when everyone else had cast it off in favour of manmade fabrics. My father, John, who died when I was 15, adored the great outdoors and could often be found, with golden retriever Oscar in tow, striding across the flat expanse of sand near our Formby home sporting either a navy V neck or a crew neck as a shield against the bitter winds. My mum, Moira, had a navy jumper, too, and I suppose the look, feel, colour and smell of these old favourites worked their way into my subconscious until the time was right for me to launch my knitwear brand Navygrey.

Before that, I studied History at the University of Oxford, made historical documentaries for television and ran education and social mobility-linked businesses, but, all the time, Navygrey was brewing and I launched it in 2019. The name seemed right. It encompassed the palette of our wardrobes from long ago and the colours of the sky and the coastline where I grew up.

Our 50 styles of jumper are produced mainly in Britain by four knitters and one weaver, who are exceptional at their craft. We use British wool in many of our creations; and, regardless of the different shapes we make, all of our jumpers are built on feeling — the feeling that this is a garment you want to come home to wear, to feel its warmth and its comfort. Our bestsellers are The Relaxed, our first jumper based on my mum’s old lambswool round neck, and The Cardigan, a re-creation of the beige one my grandfather constantly wore in his later years.

Sir David is making craft cool again and he’s also bringing a joyfulness to it. Equally, by working with BOSS and being pictured in the company’s Merino crew-neck and roll-neck jumpers, he’s showing his support for wool, as we’re proud to do, too.

As our jumpers find favour with our customers, I’m still based in a tiny terrace house in south-west London despite longing to live in the countryside. A move will eventually be on the cards and, when I get there, I’ll ensure that my wardrobes are full of classic knits, as my parents’ once were.

Visit the Navygrey website for more information.

This feature originally appeared in the October 22, 2025 issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.