For the dunhill Autumn Winter 2026 collection, Creative Director Simon Holloway turns to the world of Anthony Armstrong-Jones: Lord Snowdon – his discerning eye, and the tension between aristocratic formality and unguarded artistic expression. Snowdon’s wardrobe reflected this sensibility, informing a collection built on tonal discipline, textural richness, a thrilling film-noir sensibility and an undercurrent of quiet espionage. This collection symbolises a 1960s London that Snowdon was a conduit for, a city defined by contradiction – classy yet unvarnished, beautifully edged with mischief – and an insurgence of creatives outfitted by the anti-establishment emporiums of the King’s Road and upstarts of Savile Row.
Ethan James Green’s dunhill catalogue raisonné opens with an image of a silver Hobnail textured Unique Lighter, an iconic expression of dunhill ingenuity, part of a series of black-and-white portraits that depict Henry Kitcher as a characterful embodiment of dunhill masculinity. He is at once heroic and aristocratic.
The wardrobe iterates in gradients of grey. Super 150s “barely-there” wool cashmere flannel tailoring establishes the silhouette: Bourdon-cut suits run the gamut of sharkskin, birds eye and nailhead, occasionally with correspondent top coats. Haberdashery features subtly coloured madder silk pocket squares in polka dots or floral neats, woven silk ties in lustrous stripes and cashmere silk scarves punctuated by glen check and houndstooth.
As the palette deepens, structure is enhanced with ever more bold texture. Large scale textured cashmere or camelhair tweed blazers trimmed with leather, cashmere roll necks and cavalry twill, or unexpected suede or lambskin 5 pocket trousers continue the story, accompanied by the House defining accessory: leather driving gloves, also a reflection of Snowdon’s racy narrative.
The mid-grey alpaca car coat introduces a richly textured, naturally thermostatic sporting layer that references a 133-year history of innovative yet luxurious motoring-inspired outerwear. Other outstanding examples of outerwear include a graphite suede trial jacket, and an exceptional grey leather trench, bonded to camelhair and double-face finished by hand. Windowpane and magnified-nailhead tweed driving coats – accompanied with cashmere jacquard or variegated cable knitwear – balance heritage construction with a contemporary sharpness. The colour palette is subtly punctuated with Windsor blue and verdigris flannel blazers with tonal corduroys and rich tones of winter brown.
Leather goods reinforce the esteemed craft lineage of the House, while showcasing the Alfred, Century and Bourdon lines. The styles showcase a masculine, softly tailored silhouette, casualised with an almost imperceptible slouch – crafted in the finest hand burnished patina calf, grain calf, grain nubuck, and wool felt in shades of black, chocolate and grey. The gleaming vintage palladium reeded hardware resoundingly echoes the words of our founder: "It must be the best of its kind”. This silversmith heritage is casually worn as
engine turned sterling bracelets and studded into the hinges of fine retro modern eyewear in sculpted tortoiseshell acetate.
A bench-made Chelsea boot in calf or suede delineates a subtly modernist expression and the Davies sneaker appears throughout in rich shades of suede and patina calf.
As the narrative darkens, silhouettes take on a more cinematic tension. Winter brown and anthracite tailoring, windowpane or pinstripe, is styled with layers of superfine cashmere roll necks, twill shirts and scarves, creating a shift in mood that signals an opulent masculinity.
The collection reveals a masterful expression of British textile artistry through a series of stand-collar Bourdon jackets woven in the darkest shades of midnight brown, blue and grey, wool–silk jacquards. Patterns that draw on the legacy of the Arts & Crafts movement are exclusively developed at a specialist mill in Suffolk, the cloth carrying a darker inflection to the season: elegant and villainous.
Eveningwear continues with formality presented in all its classic opulence. High-buttoned double breasted velvet evening jackets, wool barathea frock coats and tuxedo suits in midnight brown, blue and black, worn layered with racy outerwear: the rugged leather shearling aviator jacket or richly hued alpaca car coats.
Autumn Winter 2026 closes on a portrait of English elegance inspired by Lord Snowdon’s personal style: tailored and stealthy, textural yet minimal, steeped in the rituals of dressing but sharpened for the modern world. A London of infinite greys, deep browns and shades of midnight. Discreet, stylish, and definitively dunhill.
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