John Smedley news and archive

John Smedley unveils collaboration with Bill Nighy

British luxury knitwear brand John Smedley has unveiled an exclusive capsule collection designed in collaboration with actor Bill Nighy, who has been a wearer of the brand since he was 17 years old. In a statement, Nighy explains that he has turned to John Smedley knitwear “as a foundational part of his wardrobe,” for more than five decades, and...

Fashion

John Smedley sponsors the Great British Wool Revival

The Great British Wool Revival, launched in 2024 to support the wool industry from farmer to designer, has announced heritage knitwear brand John Smedley as its brand partner and key sponsor. The initiative, created by the think tank Fashion Roundtable, believes that wool, as an environmentally friendly and locally sourced material, is “...

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John Smedley appoints new managing director

British luxury knitwear brand John Smedley has appointed Jess McGuire Dudley as its new managing director, succeeding Ian Maclean, who will step into a new role with the company. McGuire Dudley, who joined the Derbyshire-based manufacturer in 2014 as head of marketing, was most recently the brand’s deputy managing director and global brand...

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Fashion|In Pictures

John Smedley launches diffusion line at John Lewis

British luxury knitwear brand John Smedley has launched its first diffusion line as it looks to take its 240-year history in British manufacturing and contemporary take on knitwear to a wider audience. The new ‘JS by John Smedley’ diffusion line is stocked exclusively at British department store John Lewis and offers 13 styles made in the brand’...

Fashion

Daks unveils knitwear collaboration with John Smedley

British heritage brands Daks and John Smedley have unveiled a capsule knitwear collection for spring/summer 2025 as they look to champion ‘Made in England’ manufacturing. The collaboration marks the first collection between the two British luxury brands that are both steeped in history and design and follows John Smedley reopening its production...

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Fashion

John Smedley launches sweater with Duchy of Cornwall Estate tenants

Family-run British knitwear maker John Smedley, which holds two Royal Warrants, has unveiled a limited-edition Cornwall sweater made exclusively in the UK using British wool. The unisex jumper has been created in partnership with The Campaign for Wool and utilises wool sourced from farming tenants of the Duchy of Cornwall Estate and the sheep...

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Business

John Smedley targets Chinese market

Knitwear brand John Smedley is launching a suite of digital activities in mainland China to drive the brand forward in what it calls “the world’s largest market”. The move will see the brand launching an e-commerce mini programme shop on WeChat, making the brand’s luxury merino wool and cotton knitwear more accessible to Chinese consumers. John...

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People

John Smedley appoints deputy managing director

John Smedley, the knitwear manufacturer, has appointed Jess Mcguire-Dudley as its new deputy managing director, effective immediately. Mcguire-Dudley joined John Smedley in 2014 in the newly created role of head of marketing and within six months she had also taken on the responsibility for the design teams to become head of marketing and...