“Quietly confident” was how Simon Holloway described his mood at a preview the day before his second collection for Dunhill, which unfolded in a Milanese garden on Sunday afternoon. Getting into the groove of his role, which he has now been in for just over a year, the 52-year-old designer has pulled back from the fashion-forward direction taken by his predecessor Mark Weston. Instead, Holloway’s Dunhill is about pursuing what he calls “radical classicism.”
“This collection is really a sort of mirrored version of what we started with in fall, so it’s this quintessentially English wardrobe,” he said. The designer explored Dunhill’s extensive archive, whose ready-to-wear origins lie in creating sports tailoring for when the car was invented and driving was still a luxury pursuit, and so the collection began with a deliciously expensive-looking spread of butterscotch suede car coats and chocolate brown leather jackets. Then came tropical wool tailoring the color of clouds—sharply cut but with breezy movement—charming tennis garb with leather racket cases, and finally a set of tuxedos so immaculate that any of the models could have been shrunk down and convincingly plonked on top of a wedding cake.
For Holloway, a Brit who worked for Virginie Viard at Chloé in Paris and as creative director for Agnona in Milan, and did stints at Ralph Lauren and Hogan in New York, there’s a sense that he feels very at home in the unapologetic, James Bond-esque Englishness of Dunhill (one particular detail he was pleased to show was a re-edition of a walking cane with a gadget lighter hidden in the handle). “For me, it’s very much about owning British style and finding huge joy in that,” he said.
The timing feels good for Dunhill; there’s a growing hunger in menswear for a return to elegant, classic clothing (with rules!) that chimes well with Holloway’s talents. Erring on the side of traditional, occasion-driven menswear without veering into stuffy or dated territory isn’t easy, but Holloway has a knack for striking that balance. This collection felt fresh and cohesive, with a lightness that belied its rigor—and showed he’s the right man for the job.