OFFSHORE VESTMENTS.

When American rap star M.C. Hammer appeared in a video draped in a baggy, high -tech Helly Hansen sailing jacket, he started a trend in nightclub fashion. The singer was more likely to have stepped from a limousine than a racing yacht (Helly Hansen's were worn by the crews in the Whit bread Round the World Race) but the nautical origin of the clothes did not deter the fans. Across the US, sales began to soar-but in unlikely urban retail outlets rather than marine sales centres. Suddenly male fashion was all at sea. "There's an element of fashion, especially with active role models, like British solo yachtsman Pete Goss", says Shara Woodhead, editor of the trade fashion magazine Menswear. "But this marine-look, high-tech clothing thing has moved from a trend to a staple in the male clothing industry, and that's true right across Europe. It's also bringing in a new, more mature, fashion customer".