‘I’m very slow with the way I work,’ designer Luke Derrick admits in his sunlit Bethnal Green studio. It’s days before the Central Saint Martins MA graduate is set to present his debut runway show as part of London Fashion Week, and he’s talking me through his A/W 24 collection. ‘Fundamentally, I’m continuing to work towards one wardrobe,’ he says, showing me the hero piece in his collection, a jacket crafted from a heavy merino melton he dubs ‘cardigan tailoring’, which the designer has been perfecting over the course of two years.
Last season, Derrick joined Tolu Coker and Aaron Esh as the newest additions to the British Fashion Council’s NewGen programme. The initiative provides support to the city’s emerging talents with support, including a show space at fashion week. Unlike his contemporaries, in lieu of a runway presentation for S/S 24, Derrick opted to create a fashion film dubbed ‘Nightwalking’, showcasing his proposition of pragmatic tailoring and how it interacts with the streets of London after hours.
An idea that he expanded on for his fashion show debut of the same name at The Old Selfridges Hotel — NewGen’s show space this season. On Sunday afternoon, Derrick unveiled the collection with sounds of the bustling in the city, from steps on the concrete to busses passing by. As the models sauntered down the space, Derrick’s reframing of British elegance became clear.
‘I’m not someone who guts their work and starts again,’ he tells me. His cardigan tailoring is showcased in both short and long iterations, crafted from the same wool used in the nation’s red coat military uniforms sourced from the English mill in Yorkshire that’s been operating for the last two centuries. Having trained at Alexander McQueen, Brioni, and Dunhill, Derrick’s reverence for heritage is clear in his fabrications and classic cuts, but that doesn’t make him a purist. ‘I really love formal, elegant ideas of dressing but In the UK we’re not very good at updating our idea of elegance’.
Derrick tells me his wardrobe is rooted in deception. An idea he explains as ‘looking better dressed than you are’. Inspired by the sportswear worn by the youths on Bethnal Green Road, cargo trousers are crafted from waterproof Japanese nylon taffeta and stamped on the sides, blurring the lines between tuxedo and tracksuit stripes. There’s a pragmatism imbued in these clothes that feels wholly modern with lightweight technical fabrics effortlessly paired with heavy wool jackets for a look that works just as well on commutes to work as they do after-hours.
While Derrick’s clothes are captivating enough to make him one of British tailorings most exciting new names, it’s his approach to fashion that’s equally captivating. ‘Some get all the opportunities in the world before they concretise what they stand for,’ he tells me. Taking his time to refine his ideas, his debut show is a testament to his thoughtful evolution and exploration of British elegance. As Derrick continues to refine and reframe his work, it’s clear that taking his time is paying off.