Unlike Mark Weston’s first collection in London last season—static presentation, pretty damned good clothes—this runway-displayed sophomore outing had the whiff of serious corporate investment behind it. We were in Paris for a start, in the Lycée Carnot, where Chloé, Valentino, Paul Smith, and a zillion others had trod before. Some of the crossover crowd drifting fresh—damn them—into town for couture were here to check it out, too. What would we see?
Weston pulled on the hand brake, burned some rubber, and squealed Dunhill fresh into a new (but not entirely) era following the considered, delicate reign of John Ray. Dunhill started as a motoring accessories brand, and in the late ’70s and early ’80s was a prime exemplar of shades of brown masculinity: the Rollagas lighters, the big lapelled luxury tailoring, and the fragrances—ah, Edition.
Tonight Weston tried to echo but update that alpha male vibe. His triumph was the outerwear, which, given his long spell at Burberry, was probably not a surprise. Boldly silhouetted drill and moleskin topcoats were a little bit harder and in-your-face than the soft-shouldered check Italian numbers everyone has been wearing at the shows, but they looked deeply put-on-able: fresh. Personally, I thought the delicately kicked leather pants were way too overemphasized for a luxury marque that deals primarily with businessmen—just check out the gents at Bourdon House in London—but they did nicely preface the very beautiful webbed bags in bordeaux and black, and the oversize leather zipped blousons. The narrowly quilted leather jacket inspired by ’70s car upholstery was awesome. And the Dunhill selvage strips run into the arms and legs of a cool check track top and pant in the first look made for a really excellent mishmash of then and now.
This collection veered not entirely convincingly hither and thither in search of a new Dunhill man, as if guided by a satnav with only periodic connection. Yet enough of the direction seemed positive that one could remain hopeful that the destination will justify any misdirected kinks en route. Let’s see how those pants do in store. The outerwear will doubtless deliver.