Great as this gig is, the last show of a season always feels end-of-school amazing. Apart from that, what I really loved about this Dunhill show were the around-the-neck Rollagas lighter holders worn by at least one model on-runway and in great evidence backstage. This company’s recent fashion-incarnation insistence on denial of its tobacco-fumed history is stupid: today came a hint of a more adult position. Along with the first look’s blue blazer—such a defining-ly Dunhill piece—Mark Weston also used vintage Dunhill lighters clad in marble as the inspiration for the attractively patterned green nylon parkas. Vintage graphics were blown up on the attractive bags. History was being acknowledged.
This was Weston’s second full show for the car accessory brand turned tobacco titan turned luxury goods specialist—along with Jimmy Choo and Ralph & Russo one of only three bona fide luxury fashion companies founded in London—and it felt much more authored and assertive than last season. A bit like Paul Smith shortly beforehand, Weston was looking at large-volumed tailoring shapes from the early ’80s. Smith was there the first time round, Weston was not: The man from Dunhill focused on minimizing the form via a hidden-button one-and-half-breasted construction in moire voile silks and leather. Pants were wide, structured, and slashed casual-style with popper-ed slits at the hem: when un-popped, as often here, this compromised the happy break of a long wide pant, but you could see why Weston wanted his men to have a clean silhouette. There was a bit of fiddly playing with lengths and layering with high-waisted leather blousons over long-waisted shirts, and a totally un-fiddly and fine field jacket that would look magnificent accessorized with a snakeskin Rollagas holder. Shoes featured geezer-ishly heavy buckling, and reminded me a little of what in retrospect was the single standout show of this season, Martine Rose way back in London. A green trench in olive MA1 nylon, a moire silk T-shirt, and black leather trench were other pieces that looked likely to ignite customer desire and inspire a long, languorous pull on their credit cards.
