Dunhill centers heritage leather goods in its 2026 strategy

Dunhill is turning away from the churn of seasonal novelty and putting its briefcases, trunks and folios at the center of its 2026 strategy. The move feels less like a launch than a statement of intent: in a luxury market crowded with disposable statements, Dunhill is betting that permanence, utility and British restraint still read as distinction.

That strategy sits inside Heritage in Motion, a campaign that will unfold in four chapters and trace the house’s relationship to motoring, craft and British design across more than 130 years. The story begins in 1893, when Alfred Dunhill, then 21, inherited his father’s saddlery and harness business and recast it for the age of the motorcar. Dunhill is celebrating 130 years of the house by returning to the exact ideas that made its name: equipment, not ornament; objects for use, not costume jewelry in leather.

Simon Holloway, who has been Dunhill’s creative director since April 12, 2023, is steering that turn with unusual clarity. Richemont said his appointment reinforced Dunhill’s focus on British craft, innovation, functionality and masculine elegance, and the new leather push makes that brief unmistakable. Holloway described the aim as creating “beautifully functional objects” and pushing Dunhill out of the trend cycle. For a house with this kind of history, that is the right provocation. The question is whether heritage, properly handled, can outperform novelty in a market that has grown fatigued with logo-heavy noise.

The answer Dunhill is offering is a complete leather wardrobe for work, travel and everyday use. The range includes Heritage, a bespoke line rooted primarily in bridle leather made in Walthamstow, North London; Alfred, Holloway’s briefcase in three sizes and three colors, chocolate, whiskey and black; Bourdon, a softer grained-leather silhouette; Century, a holdall with trunk-like references; Duke, an English folio with telescopic handles; and Dispatch, a limited Made in England style focused on local case-making. Dunhill says The Alfred is built around patina calf, hand-finished in Italy, and draws on archival attachés, doctor’s bags, early motorcar trunks and the Unique lighter introduced in 1926.

The craftsmanship story is anchored in place as much as in material. Dunhill points to its London leather workshop in Walthamstow and Bourdon House in Mayfair, the brand’s bespoke destination for tailoring and leather goods. Full-grain and bridle leathers, palladium-plated hardware, engine-turn reed motifs and saddle stitching all reinforce the same idea: these are not accessories for a season, but tools meant to age into character. In a market chasing the next novelty, Dunhill is trying to make durability itself look like luxury.