Kent&Curwen Autumn Winter 2025 Collection. London, February 23rd 2025
Kent&Curwen’s AW25 collection is a study in transformation — a wardrobe built for navigating the liminal space between adolescence and adulthood, tradition and reinvention. Presented in the grand Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the setting amplified the collection’s underlying tension: the weight of British heritage reimagined through a youthful, almost rebellious lens. With a soundtrack that playfully stitched together London Underground announcements and musings about tea, the atmosphere was unmistakably British, yet delightfully offbeat — a fitting backdrop for a collection that questions what heritage means today.
Words by Adam Chan.
The opening look immediately set the tone. A black babydoll dress with an oversized white collar, complete with a gold embroidered crest, evoked both collegiate nostalgia and a quiet subversion of school uniform dressing. The exaggerated volume of the skirt added a sense of playfulness, while knee-high socks and patent shoes reinforced the preppy undertone. It was a look that embodied Kent&Curwen’s knack for blending the prim with the undone, the familiar with the unexpected.
Throughout the collection, checks and tartans took center stage, but in ways that felt fresh and youthful. One standout menswear look layered a striped knit vest and an elongated patchwork scarf over a billowy shirt, striking the perfect balance between heritage and modernity. The mix of greens, purples, and blues added a vibrancy that contrasted with the sharper tailoring elsewhere. Meanwhile, an oversized trench coat — one of the collection’s strongest outerwear moments — exuded an effortless cool, its fluid shape nodding to tradition while embracing a looser, more contemporary silhouette.
A personal favourite in womenswear was a look that perfectly encapsulated the collection’s spirit of playful disruption: a cobalt blue zip-up jacket paired with a deconstructed plaid skirt-trouser hybrid. The athletic influence of the jacket injected a modern sportswear energy, while the layered plaid brought a punkish irreverence, a reminder that heritage doesn’t have to be rigid. Accessories—bold sunglasses, a bright red handbag — sealed the attitude, proving that Kent&Curwen’s take on British fashion is anything but conventional.
As the show progressed, the collection’s deeper narrative became clear. This was about the evolution of identity — how clothing can be both an anchor to the past and a tool for stepping into the unknown. Whether through oversized proportions, disrupted patterns, or a subtle nod to childhood dressing-up, Kent&Curwen AW25 offered a wardrobe for those on the cusp of something new, outfitted for the journey ahead.
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