From inside the Tate Britain, Daniel Fletcher’s Mithridate left the city, got some air in its lungs and had a party while it was at it.
Pack your bags, you’re going away for the weekend. Grab your cosy sweater, fishing gear, and big coat. But bring something sexy. Mithridate’s Autumn/Winter 2026 collection was an escape to the country for thrill-seeking hotties, played out in London’s Tate Britain art gallery.
This season, Creative Director Daniel Fletcher started with the Wisteria tree, which first arrived in the UK from Mithridate’s home city of Guangzhou in 1816 and remains in its spot in Chiswick in the bank of the River Thames to this day. But the journey began a little further east in Borough, the former industry hub on the South Bank where Mithridate’s London design studio is located. Fletcher, who splits his time between London and China, nodded to the area’s history with chunky V-neck sweaters and trousers stamped with “Mithridate, Tailors of London” prints referencing trade sacks.
From its central London starting point, the city-to-country themes of Mithridate’s last two seasons were built out. “The roots that we laid in the first two seasons are taking hold now. And this collection was really about solidifying that. It’s a bit darker and moodier,” Fletcher shared ahead of the show.
But this time it was bulked up with sexed-up eveningwear. Early looks saw pin-striped suits layered with peacoats as models carried with leather carry-alls. Then came thigh-skimming shorts paired with top coats – an off-grid mufti for long walks that finished with a pint and a bag of pork scratchings before evening suits entered the mix. These were rockstar suits made to be loosened up as the night progressed.
“That very British heritage feeling is still there, but in a darker, sexier place this season. I think one of the things that you’ll see is kind of the tweeds, which is kind of a real country reference coming through, but done in a kind of younger, sexier way,” Fletcher says. “There’s some fly fishing elements that came from thinking about the journey that you could take along the River Thames from the city to the country. So whilst you’ve got those kind of city boy tailoring looks, they’re kind of paired with this softer, more country feeling relaxed style.”
Mithridate’s Autumn/Winter 2026 collection was for life on the move. Clothing was not presented in isolation, but open to interpretation. They could be dressed up or down, whether you’re having it large in the city, sending in the sticks, or having a chilled one. “I want to see people take Mithridate in their own way,” says Fletcher. “It’s designed as a collection to be really lived in. It’s not just for a fashion show.
