Exclusive: The heritage Brit label redefining fashion knitwear

“There’s a misconception that it’s a menswear brand,” Jess Mcguire-Dudley, Marketing and Design Director at John Smedley, tells us. “I love to point out that they were producing women’s underwear in the 30s and shortly afterwards they opened their first store in Mayfair. So its foundations are actually built on lingerie.” In the 50s and 60s there was yet another surge of interest in their womenswear, thanks, in part, to some starry clientele: “We’ve got signed receipts in the archives from Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe buying the classic black roll-necks.”

John Smedley’s new muse is hip-lit poet, model and filmmaker Greta Bellamacina. The London- born writer – shortlisted as the Young Poet Laureate in 2014 – was a perfect fit for the brand’s collection this season, aptly named Love Over All. “Greta started writing some poetry for us particularly around the idea of modern British feminism,” says Jess. “It was a lovely way to connect what a lot of women feel at the moment.” Instead of simply a visual representation, the iconic brand was interested in exploring the symbiosis between fashion and verse. “I wanted to do something more vocal. Greta has a unique voice, she’s multi-faceted and refuses to be categorised. And I love that she’s championing lots of causes too, like her mission to save public libraries.”

A tale of two worlds – old and new – is also at the heart of every collection. When she joined the luxury knit label in 2015, Jess launched The British Fashion Industry by John Smedley, which has seen them team up with talented young creatives such as Ashley Williams, Claire Barrow and Lou Dalton.

This seems like a bold move for one of the oldest manufactoring brands in the industry: “There’s a whole host of designers who don’t have the opportunities to design in the UK,” Jess explains. “I wanted to offer John Smedley’s services as an institution and say, ‘Look, we really want to work with these interesting, creative women and help support their businesses by working with them closely and offering mentorship’.” SS18 will see them launch again with Lou Dalton and Holly

Fulton at London Fashion Week. “I feel like it pushes our boundaries too – their design ideas are very forward-thinking so we learn from that. And we’re able to help British designers produce British product. We don’t want to be boxed in.”

“Feminism is not about pigeonholing people,” Jess says. “It’s an opportunity to champion women, push everything up and be brave.” Likewise, the future of the fashion knit is looking bright. Admittedly it’s never going to go out of style. There’s the obvious: its enduring appeal rests in its serious comfort factor. But its potential has not been exhausted by any means. There is a want from the market for more knitwear; more designers, more colours, more styles.

“I even worked with our design director, Jackie, to make my wedding dress two years ago.” Jess laughs. “The possibilities with knitwear are

endless! As long as there’s a spark of an idea, that’s all you need.” The first John Smedley menswear suit was showcased in June and there’s a women’s suit set to come out next year.

Is gender-neutral fashion the way forward then? “I’d only been with the company a couple of months when I saw on social media that there were a lot of women wearing our men’s products,” says Jess. “So we launched a unisex collection which was a very simple, honeycomb texture. In our category of t-shirts and sweaters it’s very easy for that to be transient. While John Smedley does still design with the male or female form in mind, there’s this big grey area. That’s an important part of being a modern brand. That momentum is growing.”

The Love Over All Collection is available at johnsmedley.com and in John Smedley’s London stores.