On Friday evening of London Fashion Week (LFW), the city’s fashion crowd gathered in the opulent halls of the famed National Portrait Gallery to watch heritage house Dunhill’s new era unfold. The veteran menswear brand, which recently celebrated its 131st year, has returned to the LFW calendar. This time, the brand is banking on new beginnings to help reignite its sartorial flame.
The show marks Simon Holloway’s debut at the helm of the Richemont-owned brand after being appointed as creative director last April. Following Mark Wilson’s five-year tenure at the label, Holloway is faced with the challenge of putting the Dunhill name firmly back on the map — for Chinese consumers and those around the globe.
For Holloway, that means returning to the brand’s roots and focusing on great British tailoring. Think of it as a modern take on Savile Row: During the show, 1930s dinner tuxedos, embroidered velvet loafers, and bow ties were in full abundance, while aviator jackets paired with cable knit turtlenecks, corduroy slacks, and Alfred Dunhill’s archetypical leather “car coat” breathed a more casual aura into the lineup.
A renewed vision#
Holloway, who is well-versed in British clothing making and working with premium materials, is laser-focused on injecting renewed energy into the Dunhill brand. Before taking on the role of creative director at Dunhill, Holloway served as the creative director of London-based outdoor atelier and bespoke gunmaker James Purdey & Sons, as well as at Italian cashmere specialist Agnona. He also boasts a number of senior creative roles at brands such as Jimmy Choo, Ralph Lauren, and Hogan.
But the industry’s prevailing quiet luxury trend brings with it some hefty competition. Leaders such as Loro Piana and Brunello Cucinelli have managed to maintain their cultural relevance in a way that Dunhill hasn’t, eating away at Dunhill’s slice of the menswear market.
In a bid to reclaim the mantle, Holloway delved deep into the brand’s archives for his debut collection, selecting ideas that could be refreshed to cater to today’s contemporary consumer.
Driving Dunhill’s China market#
An early foreign entrant to China’s burgeoning menswear scene, Dunhill opened its first boutique in Shanghai in the early 1990s and quickly cemented its reputation as a leading premium label among a certain generation of male Chinese consumers. To date, China still accounts for a significant portion of Dunhill’s revenue share — a fact that continues to influence the brand’s marketing efforts.
The label remains committed to expanding its footprint across the mainland. In 2020, Dunhill appointed Chinese actor Yang Yang as an ambassador, sparking conversation across China’s social media platforms, and launched a digital flagship store on Tmall Luxury Pavilion. This month, the label released a special Chinese New Year collection featuring its trademark Rollagas lighter engraved with dragon motifs, alongside a limited-edition capsule of garments in the holiday’s quintessential red hue.