Knitwear is a lifelong investment. Choose well, and you’ll be wearing it for years. But how do you make sure you’re buying something that’s built for longevity and won’t fall apart after just a few wears?
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As a menswear writer and stylist with years of experience, I’m clued up on the brands that know what they’re doing when it comes to knitwear (from high-street hitters and independents to family-run Scottish mills and luxury labels) – and I’m well versed in how to make it look good, too.
Here’s my guide to the best brands available right now, and how to choose the best piece for you, as well as a few insider styling hacks and tips on how to keep your chosen piece in your rotation for as long as possible.
The best men’s knitwear brands
Responsible knitwear
Asket
Asket knitwear
Best for: transparency
Asket is all about transparency. In fact, you can see an “impact receipt” with a detailed cost and environmental breakdown for every design; Asket also either repairs or recycles any pieces that are damaged. And that’s before you get to the certified responsible textiles and the fact that the brand designs with longevity in mind, with classic silhouettes that don’t date, to encourage a “buy less, buy better” approach.
There’s loads of knitwear on offer. My personal favourite is the merino wool polo (£120), but there’s also a jumper (£110) or roll neck (£120) using the same fabric. If you want to treat yourself, though, the cashmere (£190) is a softer choice, or there’s a cotton sweater (£100), all of which come in a selection of neutrals and jewel tones.
Rise & Fall
Rise & Fall knitwear
Best for: luxurious pieces without the mark up
Rise & Fall has a few core values: limit waste by matching supply and demand; use responsible fabrics; and offer everything at a reasonable price. Its manufacturers are some of the best in the game, so ethical working practices and environmental responsibility are a given. Each product has a transparent breakdown of its materials, too.
Responsibility aside, the London-based label’s knitwear is some of the softest, comfiest, chicest around. Every time I wear my Rise & Fall, it’s a compliment magnet. My favourite is the cashmere sweatshirt with a loose hem (£225), but you can get everything from a zip hoodie (£240) to a quarter zip (£190) to a classic merino cardigan (£135), as well as gloves (£55), a snood (£95) and a cashmere cap (£90) – all of which would make great Christmas presents.
Sheep Inc
Sheep Inc knitwear
Best for: carbon-negative knitwear
There are barely any knitwear brands that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – but Sheep Inc does – and it’s B Corp certified.
Its wool is from regenerative farms (such as those that use rotational grazing). The energy used in the manufacturing process is renewable, and the brand invests in biodiversity initiatives such as the Meru and Nanyuki community regeneration project based in the foothills of Mount Kenya and a reforestation project in the Acre Amazonian rainforest in Brazil, and uses 3D knitting machines to guarantee zero-waste. Use your phone to scan signature NFC tags on each garment, and you can trace the product’s entire journey, all the way down to the sheep that produced the wool.
And it’s not just good from an environmental perspective – the knitwear is some of the best on the market. The best pieces are those with the brand’s signature playful twist, such as the contrast hem jumpers, which come in at £250. Then, I love the more casual knits, such as the zip-through sweaters (£270) and pullover hoodies (£250), which come in some bold, punchy colours, as well as the classics, such as the original crew neck (£220).
High street knitwear
Uniqlo
Uniqlo knitwear
Best for: affordable cashmere
Uniqlo has a great selection of reasonably priced knitwear. The best value for money is the lightweight merino wool sweatshirt for £34.90, and a chunkier lamb’s wool for £29.90. But the jumper I always recommend from Uniqlo is the cashmere crew neck. It’s not often you find a pure cashmere jumper for under £100, let alone £89.90. It comes in a great selection of colours, but a word of warning: the good shades tend to sell out fairly early in the season, so if there’s any that catch your eye, jump.
Cos
Cos knitwear
Best for: premium knitwear on the high street
Cos is a London-based label with a Scandi aesthetic that sits at the high end of the high street. That means it’s a little pricier than most, but the quality and craftsmanship are also at a higher level. Take the men’s knitwear: it’s all designed with a fashion-forward silhouette (relaxed but not baggy) and uses premium textiles such as brushed wool (£95), merino (£65), cashmere (£169), mohair (£109) and alpaca (£95). Expect elevated design touches such as a dropped shoulder, a chest pocket, a stand collar or a henley neckline.
Marks & Spencer
M&S knitwear
Best for: value for money
M&S is putting a lot of effort into its menswear, from the higher end Autograph and Jaeger lines to its main collection, and even a new menswear-specific Instagram account with involvement from fashion influencers Oliver Proudlock and Sam Salter. I’m loving the wool blend argyle (£38) and the festive cable knit (£35). If you do want to go premium, though, I’d suggest trying the pure cashmere crew neck (£99) or this classic cardi (£135).
Arket
Arket knitwear
Best for: classic knitwear
You can always count on Arket for a quality jumper. Well, you can actually count on the Scandi label for all of the menswear staples: jeans, T-shirts, Oxford shirts and more. It’s the kind of brand you can wear head to toe and always look polished.
For knitwear, this is the place to go for quality classics. The range is full of wearable pieces any guy could pull off – most of which are cut to an ever-so-slightly relaxed fit but still tailored enough to look smart. Since this is the place for the basics, the extra-fine merino wool jumper (£55), which comes in 16 colours, is a top contender, as well as a simple quarter zip (£85), which you could make fashion-y with a shirt and tie à la Jonathan Bailey or even dress it down with a T-shirt. Or, you could try my favourite of the lot, the long-sleeve merino polo neck (£65).
Gap
Gap knitwear
Best for: contemporary basics
When it comes to quality basics, you can’t go wrong with Gap – and its knitwear is no exception. The CashSoft range is designed to feel like cashmere, with some made with a cotton-nylon-acrylic blend and others pure cotton (the latter’s my recommendation; the former feels a little static). But you can’t beat the merino wool collection – especially the navy long-sleeve polo (£55) and the grey cable knit (£60). On the more affordable side of things, though, I’d suggest going for the ever-so-slightly cropped cotton jumper, which comes in at £35 – a great price for a jumper made using a natural textile that’s cut to a nice, contemporary silhouette.
Mid-range and luxury knitwear
A Day’s March
A Day’s March knitwear
Best for: luxurious Scandi knitwear
If you’re after Scandi minimalism at its finest, let me introduce you to A Day’s March. You can just tell it’s from the Nordics. The colour palette. The contemporary classic silhouette. The premium fabrics and the understated (more or less nonexistent) branding. It’s basically the upmarket version of what Cos and Arket are doing on the high street.
And the knitwear follows suit. The fuzzy, light blue mohair sweater (£230) takes first place for me, while the indigo cardigan (£250) comes in a close second, with the white cable knit (£180) in third. If you prefer the basics, though, a classic crew neck in lamb’s wool (£120) or merino (£130) is a safe choice.
Toast
Toast knitwear
Best for: a slow-fashion approach
