Inside Dunhill’s newly opened store at The Dubai Mall — all gleaming wood, rich textiles, and quiet confidence — Creative Director Simon Holloway is very much in his element.
The space, a contemporary echo of London’s Bourdon House and Paris’s Rue de la Paix boutique, is Dunhill’s first brick and mortar outpost in the Middle East. It’s a milestone that reflects the brand’s growing global reach and the region’s well established appetite for timeless craftsmanship. It’s also the perfect setting for the Creative Director’s refined approach to British style. One that fuses heritage with a distinctly modern sensibility.
“We take that kind of real heritage code in outerwear and apply it to more contemporary pieces,” Holloway says, running his hand along an overshirt crafted from suede bonded to a cashmere lining. “This is a tartan that’s woven in Scotland from undyed natural colours. It’s very traditional, but it’s all about that play — traditional elements done in a contemporary way.”
That balance between old-world craftsmanship and modern wearability defines Holloway’s vision for Dunhill. Since joining the house in 2023, he’s been quietly reshaping its codes, leaning into its storied past without losing sight of what men want to wear today. “There’s a next generation of menswear clients that have never had to wear tailoring,” he reflects. “For them, it’s a style code. It’s an experiment, a badge of style, an exploration of their own identity. Nobody’s ever told them to wear a suit.”
Founded in 1893, Dunhill began as a purveyor of luxury motoring accessories — “everything but the motor,” as Alfred Dunhill famously put it. From goggles and headlamps to tailored outerwear and luggage, the house became synonymous with innovation and craftsmanship. Holloway honours that legacy with reverence, but never nostalgia, even giving one of the founder’s archival leather outerwear pieces pride of place in the Dubai store for visitors to appreciate up close. “From the outset, Dunhill was born in sport tailoring, in outerwear — pieces made in metal, leather, fabric,” he explains. “We weren’t just making a trunk. We made the trunk for the car, the headlamps, the goggles, the dashboard instruments. That richness is what attracts people to Dunhill.”
That spirit of invention continues in Holloway’s collections, where he seamlessly merges traditional techniques with contemporary technology. “Even the way everything is pieced together and bonded and laser cut — it’s the combination of traditional making with technology that’s really interesting,” he notes. “In leather outerwear, there’s a lot of invisible innovation. You look at it and you don’t see it, but it’s there.”
Simon Holloway, Creative Director of Dunhill
But as the menswear space still seems to be dominated by the comfort codes of the post-pandemic era, is there really an appetite for more tailored and intentional designs? Holloway firmly believes so and insists that refinement feels refreshingly confident. “People are bored of hoodies and sweatpants,” he says with a wry smile. “They’ve lived that for the last ten years. Our clients — whether young or older — are looking for something a little more discerning, a little more interesting.”
For him, the Dunhill man is not defined by age, but by attitude. “Regardless of age, people can find things that suit them,” Holloway explains as he walks from room to room in the welcoming Dubai store. “That was always the intent, to create collections that are ageless, that would look good on a guy of any age.” He gestures to a softly structured jacket: “These are full-canvas jackets, but if you feel through the chest, there’s very little in there. There’s no pad — just the canvas that wraps to the back of the shoulder. It’s all about lightness and comfort.”
This lightness, both physical and emotional, is at the heart of Holloway’s design language. “Although the look is quite layered, everything is made lighter,” he says as a male model wearing one of his layered FW25 ensembles stands before him. “We make lightweight coats in jacket-weight fabrics, which gives you a whole new product,” he adds, slipping an example of one of these coats off a hanger for closer inspection.
Holloway’s affection for tactile, natural materials runs deep, as does his nuanced understanding of fabrics, having worked previously as a designer for prestigious brands like Agnona and James Purdey and Sons. “This coat is camel hair woven in Yorkshire,” he notes. “There’s the classic ginger colour, but then this is very rare — a blonde camel hair blazer and top coat. We redeveloped the fabric in that rare tone and made the jacket weight even lighter. It’s all about that touch, that feel.”
He is clearly a man obsessed with the details, the hidden stitches, the quiet refinements that reveal themselves only upon closer inspection. “An understanding of cloth and pattern is really intriguing on a man,” he muses. “We try to create lightweight versions of very traditional English cloth with a softer hand feel. It’s those subtle differences, a glen check that reverses to solid grey, or a suit made from three different patterns of worsted cashmere, that show sophistication,” he explains.
That same attention to craftsmanship extends beyond clothing to Dunhill’s world of accessories and hard luxury. The silks are all printed in Macclesfield, the tie fabrics are woven in Suffolk (the last two mills in the UK that do these jacquards prints) “It’s proper silk screen printing, not digital,” Holloway explains. “When you want a good thing, you want a good thing.”
Even as the world of menswear leans ever more casual, Holloway sees an unexpected revival of elegance. “There’s been a great resurgence in ties and soft accessories in every market,” he says about the shift he is seeing in the menswear space. “Even in very casual places like China. I think there’s a massive interest in anything that has heritage and high-quality detailing.”
For Holloway, Dubai’s sophisticated clientele instantly understood Dunhill’s message. “We’ve had former Dunhill clients come back, very happy with what they see,” he shares. “We talk a lot about casual elegance — we offer something that’s a dressier version of what’s out there at the moment. Our looks really transmit a sense of quality, and that’s what people here respond to.”
As Dunhill CEO ad interim Andrew Holmes noted about the store opening, “Dubai stands at the forefront of global luxury, and this new space allows us to share the House’s heritage and contemporary vision with a cultivated international audience.”
After walking through racks of exquisitely tailored jackets and newly expanded leather goods accessories section, Holloway pauses. “Ultimately, Dunhill was always intended for an international audience,” he reflects. “Alfred Dunhill was obsessed with craftsmanship and quality — and that’s still the ethos we espouse today. But not at the lack of innovation. I’ve taken it back to a more heritage-inspired look, but I hope there’s relevant casual clothing throughout, and moments where you can get dressed up in a beautiful tuxedo.”
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