DANIEL w. FLETCHER Autumn Winter 2023 Collection at London Fashion Week

DANIEL w. FLETCHER Autumn Winter 2023 Collection present I Loved You From The Start at The Fine Rooms, The Royal Academy of Arts, London on June 10th 2023, London Fashion Week.

The DANIEL w. FLETCHER autumn/winter 2023 show is a look to craft; to Britain’s history of making with precision, integrity, nuance and a forever future-facing drive.

The collection of DANIEL w. FLETCHER Autumn Winter 2023 Collection is complete with collaboration from Huntsman, the 174-year-old Savile Row tailor and maker of the world’s finest clothes. Over the past six months, Fletcher has worked with the renowned house to develop nine bespoke suits (available made-to-order at Huntsman Savile Row) and 12 ready-to-wear styles, each inspired by the archives of both brands and this contemporary coming together.

The craftsmanship of Huntsman’s practice has been key to this collaboration, with Daniel w. Fletcher’s designs incorporating the basting stitching to highlight the unique precision of the making of a Savile Row suit. In silhouette, the pieces that shape the collection have a sense of formality, with strong shoulders and narrow waists. The almost two-century-rich Huntsman archive is considered and present, but the collection doesn’t remain still in one era for too long, instead focusing on pulling together Huntsman’s heritage with the DANIEL w. FLETCHER modern signature.

Where the tailoring is formal, ready-to-wear adapts a more louche silhouette as Fletcher plays with a new fluidity for oversized shirts, wide-leg trousers and A-line jackets. The visible basting feels akin to the signature DWF top-stitching that’s now worked across a sumptuous brown velvet biker jacket two-piece. Other traditional tailoring features — internal belts, fastenings from sporting jackets — are reworked with fresh appeal in unexpected formations.

Britain’s sartorial legacy is further honoured as each piece has been made in the United Kingdom, whether navy wool for oversized coats or cropped blousons with shearling collars. These collars are a focus detail throughout, changing in size whether classic for a cream organza blouse and for a shirt that incorporates a waistcoat structure for hybrid appeal, as corduroy and denim shirts see neckline details come oversized. The focus on British craft extends to support from iconic auto-motive brand Jaguar, who place supporting the creative arts and British designers at the heart of its business.

A sense of romanticism runs alongside the sharp lines of the tailoring. A column dress with train leads this new expansion for Fletcher, with wide cuffs, oversized crepe and silk shirts with shawl collars following suit to achieve softer, gentle contrast. The colour palette is also led by this mood, simultaneously reflecting the surroundings of the Fine Rooms at the Royal Academy, where models will walk to a soundtrack that lyricizes lost and unrequited love stories.

For Fletcher, this partnership with Huntsman and its cutters, tailors and craftspeople has been an educational, informative endeavor that he anticipates will shape his design hand for the rest of his career.

“To work with Huntsman in such a way that has been so much about detail and craft is a real honour. I know that being able to observe and take note of the way that Campbell and the team on Savile Row work will inform how I go on to design for the rest of my career,” Fletcher says.

“Building from the collaboration, I wanted to show the best of what we do here in the UK, the craft behind creating these collections and the heritage of British fashion.”