As far as random appointments go, Daniel Fletcher taking the helm at Mithridate might just top the list. The British designer, known for his sharp tailoring and exploration of heritage menswear, now leads a brand deeply rooted in Chinese craftsmanship and tradition. Founded in 2018 by CEO Tina Jiang and headquartered in Guangzhou, Mithridate has built a reputation for meticulous artistry, a vision solidified under former creative director Demon Zhang, whose designs wove Chinese heritage into contemporary silhouettes. Following its 2022 retail expansion across China and a striking runway debut last season, today’s debut from Fletcher would mark a new era for the brand.
What we got was a stark contrast to last season’s crystal-studded spectacle. Gone was the excess embellishment, replaced with a refined take on controlled eccentricity—an approach that felt quintessentially Fletcher. His muse? The archetypal Hugh Grant character: charmingly dishevelled, awkwardly elegant, and effortlessly British. ‘I was really into this 80s-meets-bad-taste-noughties moment,’ Fletcher told me. ‘Periods of time that have a really bad reputation for style. Taking things that shouldn’t go together and mixing them all.’ The result? A wardrobe fit for a rom-com antihero—imperfectly perfect in its clash of textures, silhouettes, and irreverent charm.
It’s a refreshing direction for the Chinese brand, though one wonders how its clientele—Fletcher tells me their biggest market remains China—will respond to this distinctly British eccentricity. For Fletcher, however, Mithridate’s relative youth compared to the industry’s storied heritage houses offered a rare opportunity: a blank slate on which to establish its design codes.
His debut sought to fuse his signature tailoring with artisanal Chinese craftsmanship. One jacket was imbued with intricate embroidery and traditional Chinese knotting techniques, each knot meticulously embroidered by hand. ‘Each stripe takes 14 hours,’ Fletcher revealed. ‘It’s such a beautiful process, typical of Guangzhou—this is what should become our heritage.’
Nods to the brand's opulent origins poked through in the beaded skirts and sequin dresses—dressed down with mohair knits slung nonchalantly around the waist—evoked a sense of undone glamour, while an A-line pony hair coat captured the rebellious energy of London’s 1960s youthquake. The collection played with contrasts, pairing the precision of Mithridate’s craftsmanship with a louche, thrown-together attitude. It was a wardrobe that felt both considered and instinctive, where the prim met the playful, and elegance was always offset by a hint of irreverence.
