I’ve always had a soft spot for Dunhill - in many ways it should be the flag-bearer for British luxury menswear, but there hasn't always been something there for me.
Recently, however, things seem to have really improved. I was in the Bourdon House store last month and the quality of the knits, the tailoring and particularly the suede outerwear was exceptional. It felt like what I hope to find at Purple Label, but rarely do.
There’s a shearling car coat, for example, that looks relatively ordinary in the lookbook - an unusual grey colour, sure, and a slightly unusual length, but nothing to jump out at you. But in person, the shearling is really substantial, almost stiff, and there are great details, like calf-leather trim on the cuffs.
Design wise the collection seems to sit in the middle of a tricky Venn diagram: pure British traditionalism on one side, defined by someone like Cordings; British fantasy on another, all Polo suede and grey flannel; and that quirky Englishness of florals and bright cords.
It’s not an easy position to get right, but they seem to be doing it quite well. There’s suede outerwear, for example, but not as lightweight and soft as you’d get from an Italian brand; there are bright cords but they’re dusty pink and citrine, rather than something louder.
And most interestingly, there are subtle contemporary aspects to a lot of the cuts. Some of the knitwear is a little bigger, a little off the shoulder; some coats are deliberately roomy and flowing. For me this is an area with a lot of potential, because it places Dunhill in a sweet spot between the big fashion brands and the traditional outfitters - a place few people are really occupying.
Classic menswear often needs a push, but not a big one - and that seems to be what the creative director Simon Holloway is giving it.
Below are some of my favourites, deliberately selected from different categories. I also got some time to talk to Simon last month, so I’ve added in his comments for detail.
1: Wool pea coat
The material of this pea coat is a thick, English merino, but it’s softer than a more traditional melton, which can get rather board-like. You get the same feeling of substance with the pocket linings, which are done in strong corduroy on the top, hand-warmer set, and with the solid brass buttons.
“The collar on a pea coat has to pop, really stand up, otherwise it’s something else,” said Simon. “We tried so many fabrics, English and Italian, before we got this combination of sturdiness but softness.”
The fit is slightly modernised, with a small drop in the shoulder and big fit in the chest; traditional pea coats are very much straight up-and-down. The only thing I’d change if I could is the Martingale-style belt on the back, but some will probably like that detail.
2: Cashmere intarsia high-neck jumper
Fit is the first thing I’d focus on here. As soon as you put it on, you realise this is not really a piece of classic menswear - the body is wider and squarer, the shoulders dropped. It’s slouchy yet doesn’t feel overstyled. It’s similar to the kind of thing Connolly do in their shared-wardrobe collection, and the direction Loro Piana has trended more recently with knitwear.
The colour is real menswear navy, very dark, and the windowpane is satisfyingly unusual yet subtle. It’s also intarsia knitted, so all those checks have been worked in by hand. “This is a slightly more contemporary piece, but it was made in Scotland,” says Simon.
“I think Dunhill has a freedom in its collections that comes from its varied past. We started with driving clothing and car accessories, but then did ladieswear at one point, were best known for tailoring at another, and starting making in Italy in the early seventies. We’ve sought out the best in different places and tied it to British tradition.”
3: Silk belted evening jacket
This tailored jacket is a case in point, because it has quite a sharp silhouette yet is very light, with soft canvas in the body and very little in the shoulder. The design is a tailored jacket that happens to have a belt. It fastens with regular buttons, but you can put the belt round for a little swagger or even tie it just at the back.
I’d never really considered silk for evening wear until I tried on this particular printed navy. “That’s an English silk, printed in Macclesfield,” says Simon. “We have fairly subdued colours generally, but I also love how those English prints are more matte than elsewhere.”
The Dunhill tailoring is generally well made: a hand-attached collar, hand-attached lining, one piece of facing around the in-breast pockets. The lapel buttonhole is sewn by hand, which adds a decorative detail, while the rest are by machine.
4: Wool/cashmere double-breasted coat
“This comes from an archive piece from near the beginning of Dunhill’s history, in the Edwardian era,” says Simon. “The original was in a heavy tweed, but also had a button-out leather lining, to act as a windstopper.”
The modern version is still a big, roomy coat, but the material is much lighter and softer: a fairly loosely woven wool/cashmere blend with Donegal-like flecks in the twill. It’s enveloping but not heavy, and fastens up nicely across the chest and neck. It looks like an archive piece but feels like a contemporary one.
The cut won’t be for everyone, as it’s long and straight and the belt on the back is more decorative than functional. But this is the point in many ways - leaning a little more into fashion means the piece is more distinctive, which also means it's not everyone's style.
5: Mount two-piece leather slipper
Grecian slippers have enjoyed a bit of a resurgence both among classic outfitters (eg Bryceland’s) and fashion (eg Lemaire). They fit very well alongside the silk jackets and robes at Dunhill: “A good portion of our evening wear is aimed at the man who doesn’t want to wear a regular tux, so we give lots of different options to play with,” says Simon (below).
“Again we went looking for the finest in terms of construction and that was more Italian than English - a fine calf, a more flexible construction. We also worked hard on the last shape, to make it comfortable and a little more masculine.
The padding and construction are certainly very comfortable, and the sole is made to be wearable outdoors as well as in. In fact the one place you get more stiffness than in some makes is in the heel cup, but that makes it sit better around the foot as well.
The prices of the pieces and exact product names are listed below. It's all expensive, but that's what you'd expect from a designer brand. The significant thing for me is that the quality of the products actually lives up to it - this is some of the best-made menswear anywhere.
And the designs are great - I'd love to own all the above, and several more pieces besides. There are very few brands I can say that about today.
Details, full names and prices, in order:
- Wool peacoat, £4,100
- Cashmere check intarsia high-neck jumper, £2,150
- Wool-cashmere twill windowpane archive double-breasted coat, £4,200
- Silk printed bourdon double-breasted evening jacket, £3,100
- Mount two-piece slipper leather, £775
Interesting that you should write about Dunhill the same day I saw the Fabricateurialist post a review of their shirt on Instagram .
The Peacoat and the evening jacket are beautiful.
Whilst I love their style and design it’s when you see a review by someone like Fabricateurialist that you begin to wonder what your actually getting for the price (the shirt in question is priced at €646 ).
Are buyers merely paying a premium to cover Dunhill’s ad campaign , shop leases etc .
In a similar vain I’ve noted Desmond Merrion Bespoke , a blunt talking Yorkshire man, on Instagram talk about machine stitched canvassing and lapels being no more inferior to hand stitched ( the latter merely costing more and thus being more expensive ).
I raise these points with this article primarily as price is what most readers will take from this article , once they’ve salivated over the design and style . And at these prices the discussion is warranted .
Hey Robin,
Yes I’d agree, and it’s always good to talk through these things on PS. My starting point with a designer brand is that I need to feel I’m getting something extra for all the development work that’s gone into the clothing. I know from personal experience now how much more work goes into these kinds of clothes, and how expensive the sourcing, sampling, commissioning exclusive materials and so on is. But I need to feel that in the final garment – and the point of difference has to appeal to me personally. The reason I think Dunhill is worth highlighting is that with many of their pieces now I really feel that, where I don’t with the majority of designer brands.
Robin you make an interesting point about Des Merrion, and I know many have suggested to Simon in the past that he should cover him.
He’s made me many garments over the years and at his suggestion some have been made with hand padding and some by machine to demonstrate the fallacy about handwork in this area. Frankly it is impossible to tell the difference, albeit Des has always said there is a way of using the machine to ensure the correct tension in the stitches.
So yes, time is money
The items are extremely beautiful. But the prices are out of this world.
I get that designer brands needs to cover the costs for markering and also for having creative directors and other people working on the design.
But that can justify a price premium of maybe 30-50 percent. In some cases more. I totally accept that. I also get that they may have to sell some items and the end of the season with a 30% discount.
But at some point the premium margins became absurd. The Dunhill Pea Coat costs more than four times the cost of the Permanent Style Bridge Coat. And five times the cost of the Private White ordinary Pea Coat. Private White is not Dunhill, Prada, Tom Ford, Cucinelli or Loro Piana. But it is a brand that also does advertisements and hires designers.
The price could be justified if it was bespoke in Vikunja. But what am I getting for more than 3000 pounds extra than the price of the Permanent Style Bridge Coat?
Thanks Carl. Those smaller brands don’t really have designers in the same way, and don’t develop as many exclusive things at all as the other brands. They are much more a value proposition from that point of view, and designer brands are at the other end of the spectrum – they are trying to make the best things they can come up with, and in the best possible materials. Some of the suede you will see at someone like Dunhill is a quantum leap nicer than anything a brand like that would offer. It’s also the top end of the market that has become more expensive than any other.
But I also don’t think those luxury aspects are the best selling point, myself. They’re part of the deal, but it’s the design side that has to sell it, particularly with menswear where so much in classic designs and silhouettes is available. If you’re going to approach that kind of price level, you need something categorically different, not just incredibly luxurious but unique and interesting as well. That’s what I see with some products now at Dunhill, but don’t really at most of those other designer brands.
That price premium is probably enough to cover just the retail by the way, without the design team, marketing, materials and make.
Thanks Simon, deeply appreciated.
I get that they produce things that are special. And I agree that Dunhill seems to to a lot of exciting things. But I still think some prices are ridiculous (I can’t really attest to the materials here).
Some of the things that costs a lot is also not extremely “design”. I visited some of the designer stores in Taormina last summer. Zegna sold t-shirts for 1500 euros. They were in 14 micron wool so I get that they probably had to pay a lot for that. But the t-shirts were just “t-shirts” in their design. Tom Ford are selling cotton t-shirts and Loro Piana are selling v-neck sweaters with very nice material. But the design hasn’t really changed for decades. You could say that they need high margins on old stuff for having the resources to design new stuff. But the new stuff are – if possible – even more expensive.
This doesnt mean that I dont have a lot of respect for some of the luxury brands. But with some you get the impression that they are “aiming for a certain price level” more than just charging what is justified by their costs.
Hey Carl,
I think our last comments crossed, sorry about that.
I completely agree, at brands there will be pricing that has to be at the same level roughly across products, even if much less design work has gone into it. But then I wouldn’t I buy those, and I think they are less attractive on all the points talked about ere.
Ciao Simon,
you know, Brunello Cucinelli highlights costs as ” ..secondary to value, quality, ethical production, and human dignity, which ultimately justify a premium price point…”
Yes all very nice but charges £ 420 for a cotton, solid coloured t shirt.
So does that come with a coupon to discount a hearty lunch @ Solomeo ?
I have no problem with prices appealing to the 0.1 % , similar to Dunhill , The Row and Zegna etc. but , seriously, it has got a little out of control, no ?
I think PS should go back to earlier PS reports where we could be excited about lovely, fine makers in Napoli or Roma. Not just bespoke, but wonderful workshops for everyday wear.
Maybe it is a good time to re-visit, Simon, I am sure it will be appreciated.
What do you think ? Grazie.
Ciao JR,
To be honest I don’t think you’ve considered the points in the article or in the comments above – Cucinelli and The Row etc are different to these pieces at Dunhill, that’s most of the point.
There are some amazing makers and in recent weeks we’ve covered lots of small brands like August Special, Museum Garments, Atelier du Bracelet Parisien, Campbell’s, some of them for the first time. We will carry on covering them and small artisans as well.
But when you broaden your view, as we’ve done on PS in recent years, you have a richer appreciation of the differences between these makers and the reasons for them. That also means it suits different people with different priorities too. Lovely as those ateliers in Napoli or Roma are, it’s often design that let’s them down. This is the opposite extreme, and the whole wonderful richness of menswear lies in between.
Ciao Simon,
it’s OK, we are on the same page. I was just adding some colour to Carl’s comments regarding high costs and perceived poor material value.
Dunhill, needs to be the 007 of the British style brigade ; confident and no rear view mirror. Bravissimo.
Nicely put JR
By the way Carl, this is genuinely interesting and thanks for stimulating it. Part of the problem is there are so many aspects to it I think, and part is that the importance you put on is subjective (much more so than the price of a cloth).
As an example of the first: designer brands will often develop very expensive pieces of clothing that will never be sold, or in very limited numbers. They will lose money on them, but it’s part of putting across a full expression in a collection, something that feels important if you put a lot of emphasis on the pursuit of design.
As an example of the second: to some people the fact that these clothes will only be produced for a very limited time, or in very limited numbers, is part of the attraction in that you’re buying into a part of a journey, a place in time. That’s not something that I value, but given how much old Polo Ralph Lauren is now collected, or old Giorgio Armani, I understand more how it could be.
From a personal point of view, I also often think with designer brands that there will always be some part of the price that couldn’t be justified in any way other than its beauty and uniqueness. That is the most subjective of all, and the furthest divorced from discussing cost margins and manufacturing.
Thanks for elaborating!
Yes I get that some people are willing to pay premium, sometimes a ridiculous premium, for unique items. Even if I more often associate this with limited edition sneakers than with tailoring.
But I also think there is a difference between a “standard” product that becomes an icon decades later (like some early 501s or M65s) and products that are produced in extremely limited series where the producer knows that they will get extremely expensive immediately (and maybe never worn). I am also personally willing to pay a premium for “heritage” and also have great respect for brands like the Real McCoy.
I also get that that some clothes are more “pieces of art” than clothing. And I understand that some things made for fashion shows are impossible to wear outside that kind of venues. And that the shows are important for some kinds of brands.
At the same time. Some pricing seems to be based more on “because we can” than pure cost.
And – this should be another post – it disgusts me when brands that uses ultra-premium pricing uses modern-day slavery in their factories (like the LVMH/Loro Piana scandal last summer). And to be clear, that shouldn’t influence brands that don´t, like Dunhill in this article. If you pay ultra-premium you should expect that humans and the environment are treated in a dignified way.
Isn’t this entire discussion mostly missing the point? That being, that there exists a market at these prices, in which there are buyers that can drop $4k with less hesitation than most of us face when considering the $1k for the bridge coat? And therefore there exist brands to serve that market? Value having nothing to do with it? What other explanation is there for $400 for a t-shirt?
Alternatively put, how much hesitation does one overcome when buying an espresso? Run through the orders of magnitude from $1 through $10, $100, $1000, etc., the number of people in each rung of the ladder probably decreases exponentially, but the higher rungs are so lucrative that of course there are brands that serve them. That’s fine. More than fine – it means there can exist outrageous things like Ferraris and Bugattis. Not really a problem?
Would you mind explaining what you mean by “designer brand” in the context of how it’s used in this article? I’ve never been exactly sure what’s meant by the term designer clothing, and always felt it was a little outdated maybe?
I am not certain but it may have been Douglas Adams, or perhaps Red Dwarf (it certainly wasn’t anyone involved in fashion, and someone I read on my youth) that said “designer clothes are clothes that are designed by a designer, as opposed to, for example, a bricklayer or accountant”.
I don’t think it’s Red Dwarf (rewatched the original ones all recently) but it certainly sounds like Douglas Adams
I think this discussion shows interestingly what does make a designer brand – it should be one where a lot more is spent on design, including all the kind of things we’ve talked about, not just employing designers but giving them more freedom in time and sampling and expensive small runs and building a vintage archive etc etc.
Unfortunately, the way fashion has evolved in the past 30 years or so, it’s often used these days to just refer to an expensive brand, or an expensive famous and desirable brand
Ciao Rowan,
It can mean many things to many people.
For me, it means heritage.
Yves Saint Laurent and Signore Armani ( RIP ) are two examples.
One was awash with considered sexy luxury and the other was elegance personified.
Both had the effortless ability to make a man feel like I am Alive and it feels good.
Is that DNA still alive today ?
If you think , Si, then you can safely believe you are keeping the ” designer ” flame alive and not bowing to some lack lustre marketing campaign and questionable quality.
That’s what it means to me. Grazie.
I have always greatly admired Dunhill for very similar reasons to Simon. I realise the pricing also has to cover their overheads, yet my odd visit to the Bourdon shop reminds me of the lovely scene from Four Weddings, when Hugh Grant’s character is looking for a gift for Andie McDowell’s character’s wedding. The assistant mentions they have some lovely items “starting at 1000…” and Hugh replies ” I was thinking more around the £50 mark.”
I used to smoke their cigarettes, but gave up and sold my Dunhill lighter at the same time.
They are just trying to revive a name that was once associated with quality and aspiration.
Clothing was never really part of their business, but tobacco, leather, and associated products were.
Don’t be fooled guys.
That’s not really true Marlon, they made clothes from very early on, and have made tailoring since the seventies.
Hi Simon
I agree, the aesthetic is really wonderful. But the price point occasionally competes with Bespoke (and Loro piana which I can’t help but think is fairly over priced). On that basis I cannot buy into the label as I otherwise would. I’m not sure if the price point has been fully aligned with the offering.
To be fair, I used to also be under the impression that it’s better to commission bespoke rather than buying from designer brands. That said, after some trial and error, I’ve grown to appreciate certain aspects from designer brands a little bit more. Don’t get me wrong, if the goal is to have a standard navy suit then sure, go bespoke. But for items like blazers, sports/dinner jackets, I can certainly see the appeal of buying something which you can try on and know for sure whether you like the cut and styling.
It’s a good point Rowley, and not one I always put that well. Going through the bespoke process is magnificent in many ways, but you also realise its shortcomings, and you can waste thousands of pounds that way
Hi Simon,
Out of curiosity, would you wear a pair of Grecian slippers outdoors?
No I wouldn’t
I understand what you mean. I have a pair of lovely Grecian slippers with soft sole, and it is very enjoyable wearing them indoors.
However, this piece by Dunhill has sole made to be wearable outdoors as well as in, and it creates some confusion for me.
What is your take on this, Simon?
Good point, I hadn’t thought about that. It would limit how I could wear them – perhaps more as an evening wear piece, with black tie and variants. In that context I would wear them outside, though I would tend towards a more conservative style probably
I’ve wondered this myself. We’re seeing more of these than ever, or that’s how it seems anyway, and I have wondered whether they’re purely an indoors thing. They strike me as something that could potentially be worn in especially nice summer weather (in the UK I mean), or abroad. However Simon’s admirably to-the-point response makes me question this…
Dunhill has aiways sold very nice items at very high prices. I have a few of their ties and a golf jacket I still wear. All well made and all purchased decades ago. I could not see myself buying anything from them now as ties start at $300.
“You had me at Dunhill…” and the coat on the left of the first photo is gorgeous with a spectacular collar. Eye-watering prices but they are lifetime pieces and would hope to get 10-15 years plus at least out of one them.
You’ve got me interested in Dunhill again. Also something we can aspire to and value as a British brand finding it’s mojo again.
One of the things I still regret not buying, many many years later, is one of their Duke totes – the XL ones with a top that ‘flops over’ itself a little, perhaps in that wonderful deep burgundy they once did….
Yes, they were really lovely
Hi Simon,
For the majority of us buying high end designer products on a regular basis may not be affordable but is there merit in investing in one off pieces if they represent a good investment alongside more economical items and if so what criteria would you suggest makes a piece an investment piece? Is it the nature of the item ie you get more wear out of a coat and so the cost per use is going to be less than say knitwear or is it also about differentiation and the value gained from the designer pieces needs to be not just in material but also design and having a garment with a suitable cost per use and a differentiated design which significantly enhances the value a wearer gets out of it makes some of these designer pieces worthwhile buys?
It will depend on lifestyle and also personal preferences but I’d feel more comfortable spending £5k on a coat which would last 20 years than £500 on a shirt. It would be great if you could consider writing an article on how to choose what constitutes an investment piece.
It’s a good point Harry, and I think it would make a good idea for a piece.
Overall I’d say it’s going to be something in the balance between something unique and something fairly conservative so you won’t go off it. I’d worry a little less about cost per wear, though it should be something that you already know you will wear and how
Thanks Simon.
Those slippers are very interesting. I’ve always loved Grecian slippers, and have had a few pairs from Church’s, Trickers, etc. over the years, but the soles are very soft and, even with wear exclusively indoors, the outer edge would collapse a bit after a year as I underpronate. My go-to now is some more traditional house shoes from Cleverley, as they have a much more substantial sole, and hold up very well. Having a pair of Grecians with what looks like a proper sole on them would be a wonderful solution but, at £775….
Separately, on the Dunhill debate, they seem to have had a few changes of designer over the past couple of decades, and never quite found their stride. I can see what they’re trying to do, but I wonder if there’s high demand for it. There’s also a rather unhelpful association with golf wear. I think you sum it up very well in your first line – “in many ways it should be the flag-bearer for British luxury menswear, but there hasn’t always been something there for me”.
Thanks, yes I know what you mean about the changes over the years. I think that’s why it feels exciting when there seems to be some real quality and consistency over a few collections. At one point it was rather dominated by trainers and T-shirts
In the discussion of “designer brands”. it is important to consider how the corporate ownership of these brands affects their sales strategy.
The point has been made that these clothes often sell in very small quantities in a very small window of time. That is because they are not actually intended to sell in significant numbers. They are essentially a marketing exercise, creating an aspirational image which actually sells more mass-market products, particularly fragrances and underwear. Those, along with other licensed products like spectacle frames, are the real earners. People feel they are “buying into” a brand by purchasing thse products when they would never dream of paying £5000 for a coat.
Whereas smaller independents are creating and selling menswear as their central business, the corporate-owned British brands like Dunhill and Burberry are using their menswear to promote their luxury status – and the higher the price of such unattainable clothes as these, the more attractive their relatively affordable fragrances, ties and spectacle frames appear.
Incidentally, I remember at a PS event Anda Rowland saying that she had no problem with Cucinelli etc charging such absurd prices for their clothing, because it made Anderson & Sheppard bespoke look all the better value!
hi, thank you for the article. Can I please ask how much is the shearling car coat featured at the top of the story? I could not locate it online.
Thanks, GS
Good point GS, let me check for you
It’s £11,800, so you have perfectly zeroed in on the most expensive thing of all!
Regarding price, could there in some cases, and perhaps it applies to Dunhill, also be the idea of a brand essentially saying to its admirers “this is what we are, this is what we do, and if you want us to remain exactly the same then this is how much it costs”? It’s all a choice at the end of the day. People consistently cite The River Cafe as being ludicrously expensive for lunch, for example. But it’s the cost of it not diversifying and diluting into a money generating high street franchise model. Sorry if that seems slightly off-point but it strikes me as the same kind of area.
I liked Dunhill when I was n my twenties, but thought it was a bit too mature and “proper” for me. Now, thirty years later, I find it almost the opposite — too youthful, too conspicuous, too glossy, too fashion-driven, too “please, notice me.” In fact, I can hardly tell it apart from something like Louis Vuitton these days. I do have a few old bags though, which I cherish, as they remind me of the good old days.
I think it’s worth another look myself, Jan. Certainly I can see how it could have given that impression in the past, but it’s very different from LV right now
There is a lot of talk about ‘value’ here. It is a very difficult topic.
Someone mentioned holidaying in Taormina. Would you prefer a two week holiday there more than a Dunhill coat which will last you a lifetime and provide you with a little thrill each time you wear it? Either choice is, I imagine, entirely valid.
Value within category is also far from simple. The very rich needn’t care much if something is only slightly better but costs a thousands of pounds more. They may also have other motivations; looking at their recent behaviour good taste and a desire to be civilised don’t seem to be at the top of their list. The less well off but who nonetheless absolutely love craftsmanship, design and rare materials or even name value will perhaps be willing to pay at a sacrifice others may puzzle at. Fine.
As an aside I have great fondness for Dunhill. My late father-in-law was a pipe smoker and collected pipes. The Dunhill ones were truly beautiful.
Thank you GH, a thoughtful response
The Bourdon House is such a wonderful shop to visit. Beyond the clothing, it’s worth stopping by the cafe and humidor. I’m glad to see Dunhill get more recognition as they’re doing something unparalleled among other designer brands.
For me a £4000 ready to wear peacoat, or a £2000 jumper is simply ridiculous.
I‘m sure those are designed by perhaps the best in the business, made from fantastic material and sold by heritage brand.
But for me it‘s still a hard no.
Surprised nobody’s mentioned it, but Michael Fassbender is evidently wearing Dunhill throughout Soderbergh’s (terrific, imo) ‘Black Bag’ movie from a few months ago. I thought he looked great, and had to find out who provided the clothes.
https://www.therakishgent.co.uk/pages/dunhill-tailors-the-spy-look-for-soderberghs-black-bag
https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Dunhill-makes-outfits-for-stephen-soberbergh-s-new-spy-thriller-black-bag,1710714.html
Great article Simon – great to see recognition for both Dunhill and Holloway (in my opinion a fantastic designer). I loved what he did at Agnona and feel that in a short time, he is positioning Dunhill to become a very powerful British brand (again). Will be interesting to see how they approach their bricks and mortar retail over the next few years, especially internationally.