Simon Holloway’s Dunhill show on Sunday night thrust you into a rarified British world of high finance, garden parties, horse races, tennis matches and charity galas, possibly with royalty present.
“An essay on radical classicism,” Holloway said of his collection, which riffed on England’s codified approach to dressing: three-piece suits and handsome leather briefcases to work in the City of London; car coats and driving in luscious leathers and silks for weekend excursions, and black tailcoats, halterneck waistcoats and silk scarves for the fanciest occasions.
Suffice it to say that Dunhill’s might be the only show in Milan to feature walking sticks, cigarette lighters and padel-racket cases — and to identify each model as Mr. in the run-of-show and detail every pocket square, cufflink and wingtip loafer.
Guests were seated in an idyllic courtyard, sipping Pimm’s cup cocktails at little café tables arranged on the perimeter of a stone path that wound its way between fountains and majestic trees.
While at times this parade of sartorial refinement felt like a dress rehearsal for new episodes of “Downton Abbey,” there were plenty of sumptuous items suited for modern gentlemen with exquisite and expensive taste, including double-breasted trenchcoats in suede, linen or silk, a luscious leather blouson, and a cashmere tartan overshirt.
But then again, Holloway said he’s meeting demand for luxurious, conservative classics that are getting hard to find on the market.
“I have American friends who always ask me where they can buy a tailcoat in London,” he said, citing an ambition to reclaim the “joy of menswear and the art of tailoring and haberdashery.”