Kate Middleton-favoured coats, Downton Abbey-esque outfits: British country clothing takes over runways amid fashion’s heritage brand revival
- From Erdem to Barbour to the Kate Middleton-favoured brand Really Wild Clothing, looks synonymous with the British countryside are taking over fashion catwalks
- Television shows such as Downton Abbey and The Traitors and films such as Saltburn have shone a light on high society with their games and countryside pursuits
Under the porticoes of the British Museum in September 2023, Erdem Moralioglu presented a fashion collection inspired by the late Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, custodian of the great Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, in the English Midlands.
The looks were inspired by famous photographs of the duchess, Deborah “Debo” Cavendish (one of the six famous Mitford sisters), feeding her beloved flock of chickens dressed in haute couture.
Moralioglu was charmed by her eccentricities, the coats conjuring up an idiosyncratic image of certain quirks in British style which are rooted in the idea of combining luxury with countryside pragmatism.
Aside from plundering the Chatsworth archives, Moralioglu partnered with Barbour, the 130-year-old, family-owned brand synonymous with the British countryside, to make these hybrid wax coats. It’s a collaboration that continues into the autumn and is a way for a traditional heritage brand to refresh its ideas.
