MAKING WAVES: DUNHILL AUTUMN WINTER 2020
Backstage at the Autumn Winter 2020 show, dunhill reveals an exploration of its new and established codes with an unapologetically expressive campaign entitled The New Wave.

The old guard and the avant-garde are both celebrated in the latest dunhill collection, where tradition and subversion work together in a distinctly British way. The technical specificity of menswear is celebrated, with British tailoring traditions explored and experimented with, providing a new take on deconstruction.

Leitmotifs from previous collections reach a culmination in this one, becoming a settled part of the fabric of dunhill. Codes of class and creativity, of the establishment and the anti-establishment, find form once more. The introduction of pegged trousers in felt and eel skin, a nod to the New Romantics, provide a more relaxed lower half to the silhouette. Standard suiting is eschewed, yet tailoring is both rigorous and sensuous. The wrapped jacket is now also strapped, a subtle play on bondage. Silk knit neckpieces, strong structured shoulders and high break jackets provide a new, sinuous elegance in the upper half. Town and country come together in hints of the equestrian. Luxurious leather outerwear, a tour de force of capes and overcoats in calf and eel, provide drama and yet are engineered and bonded for practicality. Kimono sleeves add to the exploration of volume and structure while the notion of tailoring itself is deconstructed with its secret codes exposed – the inner becoming outer. Here, Melton felt resides under collars, chest canvas and acetate linings emerge, utility is transformed into elegance. Brothel creepers and Link strap loafers provide the grounding, accessorised with the new Lock bags.

For Autumn Winter 2020, dunhill introduces three new footwear styles direct from the Paris runway: the dunhill Creeper Derby, Creeper loafer and the dunhill Link loafer. Inspired by the platform-soled creepers associated with British punk culture of the 1970s, the lace-up Creeper Derby and slip-on Creeper loafer are finished in black brushed calf leather for a luxurious take on this distinctly British style. Playing with proportions, the dunhill Link loafer combines a slim leather sole with exaggerated chain link hardware, referencing chain watch straps – a cross between the preppy and the new wave.

GO: Shop the latest collection at www.dunhill.com