DAKS X John Smedley Collaboration
British heritage brands DAKS and John Smedley announce knitwear collaboration
DAKS and John Smedley have launched their capsule collaboration for Spring/ Summer 2025, marking the first collection in the partnership between the two British luxury brands that are both steeped in history and design, while championing ‘Made in England’ manufacturing.
In 2024, John Smedley reopened its production lines to brands for seasonal orders and approached DAKS to join the initiative. Recognising their shared values and admiration for one another, what was initially a conversation to manufacture DAKS own product turned into a true partnership, bringing together the brand's design teams and talent to create co-branded collaborative knitwear designs.
DAKS celebrated its 130th anniversary for 2024 so they wanted to ensure that the first collaboration for 2025 was with a brand and manufacturer as steeped in British fashion history as themselves. With the Derbyshire factory being operational since 1784, John Smedley is the oldest knitwear maker in the world and globally renowned for its craftsmanship, this partnership made immediate sense. With a complimentary design ethos, rich history rooted in British manufacturing and both brands holding a combined four royal warrants, the collection is a celebration of heritage meets innovation on British soil.
‘Audiences of both brands view the ‘Made in England’ tag as a marker of quality and authenticity, which has long been a key aspect to DAKS and we have found the perfect pairing to deliver this in working with the John Smedley team.’ - DAKS Team
‘When we reopened our factory to third-party manufacturing, it was important that we collaborated with brands that truly recognised the benefit of our skills and experience of which we have honed over generations. DAKS were able to work across the full-spectrum of our offering, drawing on our expertise from design and production to create a collection that is innovative in colour and design and that represents both brands commitment to responsible manufacturing’, Jess McGuire Dudley, deputy managing director at John Smedley.
The 12-piece knitwear collection references DAKS’ archive, with John Smedley reinterpreting two iconic DAKS styles, the House check and House stripe, creating exclusive variations of both that can be seen across John Smedley’s knitwear silhouettes. The colours throughout the capsule reference the DAKS house colours, from the house colour of Vicuna, navy and black and are made with John Smedley’s highly sought after fine gauge Sea Island Cotton and designed by the DAKS expert design team.
The DAKS x John Smedley collection launches on Thursday 6th March across DAKS.com and throughout DAKS stores across Asia as well as at johnsmedley.com and in its two London boutiques.
Made in England. Rooted in History. Designed for today.