For Autumn/Winter 2026, KENT&CURWEN marked its centenary by revisiting British tradition through the mythology of Whipplesnaith and the Night Climbers of Cambridge transforming classic collegiate dressing into something looser, darker and quietly subversive.
For a centenary show, nostalgia would have been the easy route. Instead, KENT&CURWEN approached its heritage with a more mischievous instinct.
Autumn/Winter 2026, titled Whipplesnaith, drew inspiration from the cult Cambridge “Night Climbers” — students who secretly scaled the city’s architecture under the cover of darkness. That spirit of rule-bending rebellion became the collection’s underlying mood, reframing British heritage not as something pristine, but as something slightly undone.
The codes were familiar: shirts, ties, tailoring and trench coats rooted firmly in the language of British collegiate dressing. But the styling loosened everything just enough to feel contemporary ties left relaxed, proportions softened and textures layered in ways that felt instinctive rather than overly polished.
One of the strongest looks featured a marl knit layered over a crisp shirt and tie, paired with slim brown trousers and a substantial suede carryall. It had the quietly intellectual charm that KENT&CURWEN does so well, but the relaxed proportions kept the look from feeling overly studied.
Another standout leaned further into the show’s eccentric side: a forest-green jacket worn over a patterned knit and softly voluminous skirt, styled with knee socks and glossy burgundy shoes. The look captured the collection’s most interesting tension — taking the language of British uniform dressing and nudging it somewhere younger, stranger and slightly unruly.
The darker looks brought a different kind of precision. A cropped black jacket paired with a high-neck silhouette and skirt created a sharper, more controlled moment in the lineup, softened only by a corsage detail and a flash of colour at the cuff.
Outerwear, however, remained the collection’s clearest statement.
A pale trench coat with an exaggerated collar and belted waist stood out for its clean proportions a reminder that KENT&CURWEN’s strength still lies in taking classic British pieces and making them feel relevant again without stripping away their authority.
What made Whipplesnaith compelling was not just the references but the attitude behind them.
Rather than simply celebrating British heritage, the show suggested that British style is often most interesting when it’s worn with a touch of defiance — a little eccentric, slightly undone, and never too perfect.
For a brand turning 100, it was a reminder that tradition works best when it’s allowed to misbehave.
