Rex Trueform (South Africa) 80s, Harrod's, Apartheid-era, Commonwealth Export

Rex Trueform (South Africa) 80s, Harrod's, Apartheid-era, Commonwealth Export SUNDAZED & OUTSIDE SOCIETY S.O.S. | sundazed.io/sos Produced in apartheid-era South Africa, the blazer reflects export-scale tailoring aligned with Commonwealth retail and visual respectability. The Rex Trueform for Harrod's blazer embodies a rare confluence of colonial-era manufacturing pragmatism and mid-century British tailoring ideals, produced within a vertically integrated South African system that supplied garments to one of London’s most prestigious department stores. Founded in the early-to-mid 20th century, Rex Trueform functioned as both a tailoring house and industrial apparel producer, aligning itself with the Commonwealth export economy by adapting traditional British menswear codes to suit the demands of mass production and international distribution. The co-branded Harrods label, affixed to this blazer, situates the garment within a specific geopolitical framework—where postwar South African manufacturing served imperial luxury retail networks under a model that prized consistency, affordability, and respectability over artisanal flourish. The presence of a “Wash and Wear” label signals the garment’s alignment with mid-century technological shifts: a decisive move toward easy-care formalwear underpinned by synthetic blends and machine-stabilized finishes.