The Golden Bee: Favourbrook's Timeless Emblem Turns 20

Few motifs hum with such quiet authority as the golden bee. For two decades, Favourbrook has woven this intricate symbol into its collections, transforming bow ties and waistcoats into subtle declarations of heritage and grandeur. This season, marking the 20th anniversary of its debut, the bee takes flight across both our menswear and womenswear collections, adorning velvet waistcoats and jackets in rich jewel tones, as well as silk ties, bow ties, cummerbunds and pocket squares. Yet, for those seeking extravagance, we've also created velvet jackets for men and women, plus matching trousers embroidered with the golden bee for the gents. A more minimalist black bee variation rounds off a head-turning eveningwear collection.

Olive Gold Bees Velvet Newport Jacket

£890

Olive Velvet Gold Bees Single Breasted Waistcoat with Piping

£290

Black Bees Velvet Dress Trouser

£390

Black Gold Bees Silk Large Party Bow Tie

£95

Black Bees Silk & Leather Slippers

£450

Black Gold Bees Silk Pleated Cummerbund & Bow Tie Set

£195

Champagne Bees Silk Tie

£110

Gold Bees Silk Bow Tie

£75

Gold Bees Silk Single Breasted Waistcoat

£290

Gold Bees White Leather Silk Braces

£165

The bee's allure lies not in novelty, but in its ancient pedigree, reclaimed by Napoleon Bonaparte as the cornerstone of his imperial iconography. In 1804, as he crowned himself Emperor, Napoleon unearthed golden bee jewels from the tomb of Childeric I, a 5th-century Merovingian king, during excavations at Tournai. These Carolingian treasures - filigree insects inlaid with garnets - spoke of a pre-Christian symbolism far older than the Bourbon fleur-de-lis he sought to eclipse. Bees, after all, were emblems of the Frankish monarchy, etched into cloaks and seals as harbingers of royal lineage and divine favour.

Olive Gold Bees Velvet Cotton Wiltshire Gilet

£490

Black Bees Velvet Cotton Wiltshire Gilet

£490

Black Bees Velvet Cotton Nehru Jacket

£940

Green Gold Bees Silk Single Breasted Waistcoat

£290

Navy Gold Bees Silk Single Breasted Waistcoat

£290

Powder Blue Gold Bees Silk Tie

£110

Red Gold Bees Silk Single Breasted Waistcoat

£290

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Green & Silver Silk Bees Bow Tie

£57 £95

Napoleon, ever the strategist, elevated the bee to embody his vision of empire. It signified travail, the unyielding industry of his Grande Armée; éloquence, the persuasive buzz of revolutionary rhetoric; and immortalité, a nod to resurrection myths where the bee emerges from winter's hive as a symbol of eternal renewal. Napoleon festooned his robes, carriages, and coronation cloak with bees in gold thread, a deliberate fusion of pagan vitality and modern ambition. At the Hôtel des Invalides, his tomb still swarms with them, etched in granite as a final sting against oblivion.

Black Bees Velvet Cotton Wiltshire Gilet

£490

Black Bees Velvet Newport Jacket

£890

Black Bees Velvet Dress Trouser

£390

Black Gold Bees Silk Bow Tie

£75

Black Gold Bees Silk Large Party Bow Tie

£95

Black Gold Bees Silk Pleated Cummerbund & Bow Tie Set

£195

Black Gold Bees Silk Pocket Square

£50

Black Gold Bees Silk Single Breasted Waistcoat

£290

Black Gold Bees Silk Tie

£110

As Favourbrook's golden bee buzzes into its third decade, it reminds us that true style always endures. In our Womenswear collection, the golden bee also takes centre stage in the form of our elegant Camden jacket, which is based on the classic Nehru shape. Made in London, it features a stand collar, fabric-covered buttons with working pockets and cuffs. Perfect for both daywear and eveningwear, the embellishment of the bees gives the jacket a playful yet sophisticated attitude. It pairs well with our Cigarette Trousers Pewter Gold Silk Douppion or our Land Girl Trouser Hay Gold Plain Silk Crepe Satin.

Waistcoat Single-Breasted Black Gold Bees Silk Jacquard

£350

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As well as the Camden jacket, we have incorporated the bees into one of our ladies' silk waistcoats, which are perfect worn beneath a dinner jacket for a sophisticated eveningwear look, paired with cigarette pants.