Duchamp relaunches with first collection in two years

British luxury menswear brand Duchamp, known for its elegant tailoring and accessories, is relaunching with a resort collection for spring/summer 2022, followed by an autumn/winter 22 collection in September.

Global licensing specialists Brand Machine Group acquired Duchamp for an undisclosed sum last year and immediately named ex-Kent & Curwen head of design and Gieves & Hawkes design director Mark Frost as head of design.

The menswear label is set to launch online on June 23 with a summer collection inspired by the “lightness, joy and nostalgia of holidays,” featuring linen and cotton poplin in relaxed silhouettes, as the brand shifts towards styles that offer comfort and versatility for the wearer.

At a press dinner to unveil the new collection, Frost told FashionUnited: “I’m looking to create a contemporary wardrobe that appeals to a diverse customer base and builds on everything that has come before. For the first season, we are slowly introducing styles that don’t alienate customers who have known the brand in the past, while also moving on the brand.

“The second season, for winter will see us move towards a more contemporary look as we try and make it more of a modern, luxury premium brand. We get into more branding, expanding our product categories and bringing in accessories in a really strong way, with leather goods and luggage as we move forward.”

Duchamp repositions itself as a modern premium brand

There is a sense of approachability and refined playfulness to the new Duchamp, while still maintaining the label’s signature construction and tailoring techniques to offer silhouettes and fabrications that feel relaxed alongside tailoring that is evolved and causally influenced.

The launch collection for SS22 offers suits, knitwear, shirting, jackets, T-shirts, chinos, and shorts, everything a man would need to enjoy a summer holiday or attend a wedding. With prices ranging from 50 pounds for loungewear to 1,750 pounds for outerwear.

Frost added: “So, for summer, we have different silhouettes of shirts, we have classic shirting, linen and lightweight fabrics, which offer a relaxed feel, and for our tailoring, we have created tailored pieces that you don’t feel like you have to wear, these are pieces to wear for pleasure.

“We are focusing on tailoring becoming something that you want to wear as a luxury, and while we will maintain a reasonable sized chunk of the collection as tailored items, we don’t want to feel just like a tailoring brand.”

For AW22, Frost explains that the collection will look and feel “a little younger” as the brand looks to expand its customer base. Previously Duchamp attracted 40-plus customers, while the new-look Duchamp is looking to target men aged 25 to 45 years old.

Tom Duncan, brand director at Duchamp, added: “The brand is well-known with a loyal customer base, and still has an incredible position place within the luxury, casual market. With the investment that’s going into brand, product and quality it’s an exciting time to bring the brand back to market.”

Duchamp was originally launched in 1989 by Mitchell Jacobs, who worked as a buyer for Browns. He named the brand after French artist Marcel Duchamp and took inspiration from a vast collection of vintage cufflinks that he had discovered in a Parisian market. The brand became a specialist in cufflinks before growing in the 2000s into a full menswear offering, and in 2013, the label began showing on schedule as part of the men’s shows at London Fashion Week.