An exclusive inside look of Belancē’s cinematic new tailoring campaign
“My love for acting and film has always been an integral part of Belancē’s DNA,” designer Oscar Leal tells Esquire of his latest collection ‘Scenes of a Leading Man’
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FLICK TO ANY style page, any ‘best dressed list’ of a red carpet from the past three years, and, chances are, there’s someone wearing Belancē. But the red carpet appeal of the Sydney-based brand, co-founded by designer-slash-actor Oscar Leal in 2012 with Theodore English, reached new heights after the brand released its first capsule resortwear collection and launched ready-to-wear in 2023.
It was a change of direction from their bespoke roots, but a strategic one that has brought in more clients who’ve been clamouring for more Belancē to wear.
“Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of dressing many actors for red carpet events,” Leal tells me. “We’re aiming to solidify Belancē as the go-to brand for red carpet moments, combining elegance with a cinematic flair that resonates on and off the screen.”
Now, Leal has channelled that sentiment into his tailoring 2025 collection, titled ‘Scenes of a Leading Man’. It marks the first time Leal has bridged his two professions at the brand; actor Thomas Cocquerel is tapped to model Leal’s envisioned archetypal leading men. “My love for acting and film has always been an integral part of Belancē’s DNA, so this year I wanted to honour that connection through this campaign. The title reflects not only my personal passion for storytelling but also our mission to empower our clients to step into their own spotlight . . . we wanted to embrace individuality and originality, creating designs that feel empowering to different types of men.”
The collection, comprising tailored pieces for the day to evening, feels like a return to form. But as Leal tells me it’s “more than a return, this collection represents an evolution of our tailoring.” Indeed, Belancē’s greatest hits from the RTW line are reintroduced for formal occasions. Brand signatures such as the wave lapel is done up on an ivory dinner jacket made of bamboo, linen and wool, or the kimono wrap-style fastening on a tuxedo is cut with a boxy fit. Using one hundred per cent natural fibres, Leal worked with a blend of wools, linens, bamboo, and silks (sourced from the mills of Loro Piana, Zegna, and Dormeuil) to achieve a texture and drape that stops creasing. Leal’s playful shapeliness and considered approach to fabrication remains, though another persists.
“In the past two years, we’ve devoted significant time and energy to developing our signature details,” Leal shares. “I’m constantly exploring what makes Belancē unique and how we can build a brand recognisable from a distance . . . The wave lapel has been a standout success for us, so I thought, why not expand its universe? That led to doubling down on this shape, which has become a cornerstone of our identity.”
The collection marks an important moment in the establishment of one of Australia’s next-gen tailors. Now offering a suite of pieces that make up a complete wardrobe, a good deal of the comfort Leal feels in the brand now comes from the fact that he’s an aesthete with a deeply grooved sensibility, an attuned taste shared wholly with his clients that allows him to create pieces that fall within the Belancē world.
“We’re evolving and growing in the exact way we envisioned, organically and with intention, while keeping an open mind to unexpected opportunities and surprises along the way.”
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