It’s a centeneary year for Kent & Curwen, the heritage label that has long bolstered the British collegiate look. On its anniversary, chief creative director Daniel Kearns is considering how to stay true to house signatures while expanding its scope. Last season he ruminated on the languid styles of London summer in the lush Royal Horticultural Halls, unspooling the house’s preppy codes with bubbled hems and botanical prints. Fall 2026’s show took place in the hulking Westminster School, ancient walls adorned with medieval crests. In the center of the runway, a flickering Victorian lamppost.
For inspiration, the designer looked to the elusive Night Climbers of Cambridge—a group first documented in the 1930s that took part in the clandestine student tradition of scaling the college’s buildings at night. “It’s a secret society based on endeavor—not for intellect or financial gain, but for courage,” said Kearns. “[They were] unknown, unnoticed, misfits who resisted the rules and adopted their own codes. The reverence and irreverence that rubs up against each other feels very British, and very within the brand.”
In a preview, Kearns showed off a book on the club by ‘Whipplesnaith,’ the pseudonym of the author Noël Howard Symington, in which suited up students cling to stained glass windows. Another book depicted some students in their exam robes and evening gear against the backdrop of their messy, poster-adorned bedrooms. Just as the club saw the English university’s architecture as a place for play, Kearns approaches the British systems of dress from unexpected angles.
What that looks like: reworked traditional silhouettes with playful flourishes of volume (as if the wind among the steeples has picked up mid-climb), and abstract symbols and decorative details designed for double-takes. A ruching technique runs across graduate-style capes and flippy skirts as a sort of shorthand for British dishevelment. Funnel necks are reinforced with strips of leather, and the classic trench is cast in baby blue patent leather with loafer-like tassels dotting the lapels. Waists are slung low on a silky gilet and soft knit dresses, while stretch crepe suits are cut slim. Individuality is encouraged with multifunctional zips and jeweled corsages, though these notes of rebellion are punctuated with innocence and whimsy. A darling tailored pink coat with a corduroy collar is fashioned after Kearns’s daughter’s school jacket.
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