Dunhill's Creative Director Simon Holloway talks the brand's identity, codes, and how men should dress.

Simon Holloway, who took the helm as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/creative-director">creative director</a>&nbsp;of the storied British luxury house Dunhill in April 2023, brings a wealth of experience from his impressive tenure at prestigious brands, including James Purdey &amp; Sons, Agnona,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/ralphlauren">Ralph Lauren</a>, and Narciso Rodriguez. This appointment marked a new chapter for Dunhill, a house founded in 1893 when Alfred Dunhill inherited his father's saddlery business and transformed it into a luxury brand synonymous with British elegance and automotive culture.
Now part of the Richemont luxury group, Dunhill has evolved from its origins in motoring&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/accessories">accessories</a>&nbsp;to become a full-fledged luxury menswear brand. Holloway embodies the brand's dual nature&mdash;equally at ease with rock stars and royalty as he is in a quiet country pub. He approaches elegance as a fundamental value while maintaining the light touch that has characterized Dunhill since its inception, steering away from the stuffiness often associated with traditional Savile Row tailoring. His vision embraces a more joyful, lightweight, and casual approach to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/menswear">menswear</a>, while remaining firmly anchored in classical principles. As Holloway himself explains: "I like being someone who makes people's lives easier, rather than complicating them."
Keep scrolling for his full interview, where Holloway also reveals his philosophy on how men should dress.

L'OFFICIEL:&nbsp;How did joining Dunhill as creative director make you feel?
SIMON HOLLOWAY:&nbsp;It was like connecting with something my father could have aspired to. He traveled around the world for work and liked to represent a certain idea of Britishness, with his blue blazers. For me, Dunhill has always been a pinnacle of menswear.
L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;The brand has a great history, beginning with the intuition of what the automobile would represent in 20th-century society and the demand for accessories and clothing related to that world. Today, how would you define Dunhill's men's fashion?
SH:&nbsp;After World War II, the brand became synonymous with fine tailoring, breaking away from Savile Row clich&eacute;s to outline a less rigid, structured universe, although black tie, with suits worn by Frank Sinatra or Truman Capote for his famous Black and White Ball in 1966 in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/newyork">New York</a>, remains an important component of our imagery. Today in the collection, the codes of a British wardrobe in terms of sensibility and colors intertwine with a level of lightweight tailoring derived from almost 40 years of production in Italy. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/jackets">jackets</a>&nbsp;are a great example of what Dunhill is today. Built with the lightest canvas, they still have a pronounced shoulder, but not padded. The silhouette is very English, without embracing the typical overseas length, a middle ground compared to the shortened proportions of Italian tailors. And it has something sporty and relaxed about it.
L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;Relaxed enough to win over an audience that, in most cases, has never worn a proper suit?
SH:&nbsp;True, but this is why we're witnessing a generational change. These are young people who not only have never worn a suit, they've never even seen one on their parents or grandparents, and for this reason, they're fascinated by it. They're not obligated to wear a jacket and tie; it becomes their choice, a way of expressing themselves; in a sense, it represents a counterculture, a reaction to the extremes of casual fashion. In London, there are groups of young people who wear vintage suits, or have them custom-made, or buy them from brands like Dunhill. Maybe then they wear a velvet jacket with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/jeans/p/1">jeans</a>; they have no rules, and I find it very inspiring.

L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;So the suit isn't just the prerogative of board meetings?
SH:&nbsp;A friend asked me some time ago if I could make him a couple of suits. He's a bassist, playing in one of the most important English bands, and after wearing one of the suits during a concert, he sent me a message explaining his surprise at feeling so good in a suit jacket and pants. "It changed my posture, and made me play better," he wrote, and I was struck by that. I mean, he's a rock star, a god to people, yet that look gave him something extra. I think this is the meaning of choosing a certain type of image today.
L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;It's comforting to know that elegance is alive and well, but what's your biggest challenge as a designer?
SH:&nbsp;Many men love shopping, and when they come to us, they don't limit themselves to choosing one piece; they get themselves a proper wardrobe because they don't feel style impositions. I have one task: to infuse joy into menswear through lightness, quality of fabrics, workmanship, combining everything with correct pricing. In the sphere of menswear with a timeless vocation, most of our competitors have much higher costs.
L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;How should men dress today?
SH:&nbsp;I would like to see men rediscover the desire to look beautiful by adopting a timeless style. I believe in movie stars who represent themselves as such. Many arrive on red carpets without a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/ties">tie</a>&nbsp;or bow tie, just with an unbuttoned collar shirt, but there's something special about a wellfinished look, about being well dressed, and why not, even a bit overdressed.
L&rsquo;O:&nbsp;Why do you think British style is so coveted around the globe?
SH:&nbsp;The royal family and English aristocracy, well known to international audiences, convey a very romantic idea, echoed by another aspect: the connection between rock and royalty. From the 1960s when Princess Margaret hung out with the Rolling Stones, to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/princessdiana">Princess Diana</a>&nbsp;with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/tags/eltonjohn">Elton John</a>, to the current King Charles and younger members of the Royal family, there has always been a direct and very approachable connection between these two worlds. It&rsquo;s a typically English soft power that's truly seductive.
This story appears in the&nbsp;L'OFFICIEL&nbsp;April 2025 Hommes issue. Buy it&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/issues/l-officiel-hommes-usa-april-2025-jon-hamm-cover">here</a>.

Simon Holloway Discusses Dunhill's Soft Power

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