Mithridate Spring/Summer 2027

Daniel Fletcher takes Mithridate to London’s New Romantic era for Spring/Summer 2027, but beneath the theatricality sits a question the brand is still trying to answer: what does Mithridate actually look like?

For Spring/Summer 2027, Daniel Fletcher imagined Princess Diana meeting London DJ and fashion muse Princess Julia on the way to Blitz. It is an irresistible London fashion fantasy, and one that gave Fletcher plenty to play with: bubble-hem party dresses, feathered bodices, corsets with exposed suspender clips, candyfloss-pink ballerina pieces and dramatic bicorne hats by Noel Stewart. There was also a strong women’s presence on the runway, marking one of Mithridate’s more flamboyant collections under Fletcher yet.

But the collection also highlights a question that has followed Mithridate through its recent evolution: where does the brand begin and its references end? There are certainly recurring ideas — English prep, tailoring, youth culture and a taste for theatricality — but they don't always settle into a visual language that feels uniquely Mithridate. A rugby shirt here, a tweed blazer there, a broad-shouldered jacket, a flowing trench or an embellished denim look can all make sense individually, yet the overall picture sometimes feels like a conversation between other established fashion codes rather than one unmistakable house vocabulary.

This season, those references stretched particularly widely. The preppy side of British dressing came through in striped rugby jerseys, ribbed polos, sweater vests and sculptural school scarves, while the more extravagant looks moved towards Blitz-era glamour: feathers, tulle, fringe, exposed corsetry and oversized studs. At points, the polished British outerwear and tailoring recalled the visual territory of houses such as Burberry; elsewhere, the craft-led eccentricity and exaggerated accessories suggested a wider contemporary luxury vocabulary. None of this makes the clothes unsuccessful, but it does make the question of authorship harder to ignore.

Fletcher has previously described Mithridate as a brand that is growing, with new stores and developing footwear and accessories categories, and SS27 certainly feels like a designer testing the possibilities. The challenge now may be less about finding another historical reference point and more about deciding which ideas are worth keeping. Mithridate doesn't necessarily need to become quieter or more conventional. It needs a few signatures that can survive the change of theme — the kind of pieces, proportions or details that make you recognise the brand before seeing the label. At the moment, Mithridate has plenty of personality. What it is still searching for is a personality that belongs unmistakably to itself.