A YEAR into his tenure at Mithridate, Daniel Fletcher delivered one of the season’s most compelling runway narratives, blending British heritage fashion with contemporary sensuality in a collection designed for movement, identity and lived experience.
Held against the historic backdrop of Tate Britain, the show positioned traditional craftsmanship within a cultural frame that felt both institutional and irreverent. This was not fashion in isolation; it was fashion as story – anchored in history, migration and a distinctly modern spirit.
The collection’s foundation was unmistakably British: pinstripe suits with squared shoulders, tweed outerwear, and cosy Aran and Fair Isle knits evoked stately estates and countryside walks along the Thames.
But Fletcher refracted these codes through a contemporary lens, layering them with risqué energy and fluidity. Shirts were left unbuttoned with a rakish ease, trousers rode slightly low, and structured coats opened to reveal intoxicating contrast beneath – a nod to debauched elegance rather than mere tradition.
Where some LFW runways this season emphasised spectacle, Mithridate’s AW26 collection found its power in storytelling. The narrative of wisteria – a plant carried from Guangzhou to Britain and now thriving – became a metaphor for Fletcher’s own cultural fluency. As models moved, the collection looked like a journey: from riverside regattas and hunting cottages into urban nights that spark as dusk falls. This blend of heritage and hedonism was punctuated with accessories that turned utilitarian pieces into statements: think oversized carry-alls, brooch-like tokens and layered knitwear that nodded to both function and fantasy.
Textures and proportions spoke to contradiction and cohesion. Classic woollens brushed against shimmering silks; sturdy tweed met blurred lines of evening-wear. The result was a collection that didn’t just fuse cultural aesthetics, rather it made them flirt with one another.
Now into his third collection, it seems Fletcher has now planted a forest of motifs and new signatures. And what was two seasons ago a brand with no face, it feels rooted yet excitingly restless, polished yet unruly, and deeply relevant to the global fashion landscape’s hunger for narrative depth beyond surface style.
by Imogen Clark