Archive I takes its cue from one of the most transformative periods in material and cultural history, the Regency Period. An epoch bridging the revolutionary years of the late 18th century through to the early years of the 19th Century. This was an era shaped by upheaval and imagination in equal measure. Literature, art, philosophy and dress evolved at an unbridled speed, as Britain navigated political uncertainty, global conflict and the early rise of industrial modernity. It is no surprise that such a period of change inspired some of history’s most enduring voices from Jane Austen and Mary Shelley to Charlotte Brontë and William Makepeace Thackeray, whose works captured the tensions between restraint and romance, tradition and progress.
Culturally, the Regency coincided with the emergence of the Romantic movement, a response to the Enlightenment, rationalism and the accelerating Industrial Revolution. Poets, Wordsworth and Byron championed emotion, nature and individualism, while painters, including J.M.W. Turner and John Constable, recorded both the beauty of the English landscape and the visual marks of industrial change. During times of war and uncertainty, society often looks back to history, myth, and earlier ideals, and the Regency was no exception. Classical antiquity, medieval romanticism and Britain’s own past became powerful sources of reassurance and identity.
Fashion during the long Regency reflected these wider shifts. Early silhouettes were inspired by classical ideals of harmony and proportion, muslin gowns, columnar forms and high waistlines echoing ancient Greek and Roman dress. These new styles rejected the stiffness of 18th-century fashion in favour of lightness, movement and natural form. As the period progressed into the 1820s and 1830s, a turn toward Gothic Romanticism emerged. Structure returned through stiffeners, layered petticoats and decorative excess, introducing volume, curvature and emotion back into the silhouette. Fashion moved fluidly between antiquity and national history with a magnetism towards non-European worlds.
Much of this transposition was shaped by global events. The French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars and Britain’s loss of its American colonies transformed political life and national identity. From 1793 until the final victory at Waterloo in 1815, Britain existed in a perpetual state of war. Military presence permeated daily life, and fashion absorbed its language, frogging, braiding, buttons, epaulettes and structured coats migrated from uniform to civilian dress. Foreign influences entered British wardrobes through conflict and travel, Russian Cossack trousers, Polish and Hungarian detailing, maritime workwear and naval silhouettes all reshaped Regency clothing.
The English countryside also played a vital role. Riding habits, great coats and tailored wool garments designed for walking, hunting and travel informed both women’s and men’s dress. Country attire, valued for comfort, durability and freedom, gradually entered metropolitan fashion. Split coat tails designed for horseback riding, boots replacing shoes, and relaxed tailoring became markers of modern elegance.
This paradoxical shift from the flamboyance of the 18th Century transformed the trajectory of menswear, in favour of sober, restrained tailoring. At the heart of this transformation stood figures such as Beau Brummell, whose influence redefined masculine elegance. Rejecting excess ornamentation, he championed fit, cleanliness and perfection, “a nice blend of careless ease and absolute control.” His philosophy of restraint shaped English style for generations, reinforcing Britain’s reputation as a global authority on tailoring and taste.
Archive I reflects on these sensibilities: classical purity and romantic emotion, military structure and domestic softness, countryside practicality and metropolitan refinement. The philosophy is not to recreate Regency paraphernalia, but rather craft beautiful pieces to wear daily, reinterpreting elements, proportions and nuances from the past. The collection reflects the same spirit that defined the Regency itself, a period when clothing responded directly to lived experience, social change, and the enduring human desire for beauty, meaning, and movement.