Matchless was founded in England in 1878 by Henry Herbert Collier and has been manufacturing motorcycles since 1899. The Matchless brand became famous when the Colliers sons won the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy on Matchless motorcycles in 1907, 1909 and 1910, which is known to be the oldest and still most dangerous motorcycle race in the world.

In addition to their own motorcycles, Matchless' own engines were also sold to brands such as AJS. And AJS was taken over by Matchless in 1931, but both brands were taken over by the AMC group in 1938, which later also included Norton. Unfortunately, the Matchless brand disappeared completely from the market at the end of the 1960s.

Matchless motorcycles and leather jackets were among the absolute favorites of the likes of Marlon Brando and James Dean, and among the favorite jackets of the ACE Café London rockers.

At the beginning of 2013, the brand rights were acquired by the former Belstaff owners, the Italian brothers Malenotti, who are again developing a high-class biker and vintage-inspired fashion line for bikers from history, passion and the shapes and cuts of the time.