“I was looking at a lot of old British heritage sporting images,” says Daniel Fletcher, taking us through his new FW24 collection. It makes sense, with the designer being appointed creative director for Royal Ascot earlier this year. With that came a lot of research into the archives of British sport – that unique blend of tailoring and technical, done-up yet easeful, sophisticated yet sexy.

Unpacking this storied heritage and refashioning its uniforms, references to classic sportswear codes are reworked towards Fletcher’s signature youthful suiting and subcultural lens: double-breasted suiting alongside cotton shirts angularly cut at the collar; corsets rendered in soft cotton poplin and woven merino wool; and the brand’s signature bow-tie shirt is reimagined and relaxed in denim chambray. Throughout, a sense of adolescent adventure and self-discovery is cast across hallmark stripes and a colour palette of cornflower blues, chocolate browns and subtle tartan, nodding to traditional cricket whites and jockey’s silks. The collection is accompanied by a campaign shot by Morgan Hill Murphy in Richmond Upon Thames.

Speaking to us below, Fletcher delves into the inspiration behind his collection, shares his love of Brideshead Revisited and paints a picture of how he sees the DWF man continue to evolve season after season.

Ella Joyce: Where did the initial ideas for this collection begin?
Daniel Fletcher: A lot of ideas for this collection started when I became creative director for Royal Ascot at the start of this year. I was looking at a lot of old British heritage sporting images for that and it ended up feeding into the collection, some of these pieces in this I also designed specifically with the races in mind. I think all the ties were particularly inspired by what I was working on at Ascot.

EJ: What sort of references/images were on your mood board during the design process? 
DF: Certainly a lot of traditional sporting uniforms like rowing kits and rugby shirts were on there, plenty of stripes and what we think of as old British heritage brands but also some sexier 70s references when it came to silhouette.

EJ: Are there any books, movies or artworks that you turned to for inspiration this season? 
DF: There’s a bit of Brideshead Revisited in there, which definitely has some echoes of Saltburn for me, and if you look closer there’s also a bit of A Clockwork Orange in there with the eccentric Britishness of it all.

EJ: British heritage and English preppiness lie at the core of your design language, how do you see this continuing to evolve in your work? 
DF: I think people can be turned off by the idea of preppiness and associate it with something quite stuffy but I think there’s a quiet sexiness to it that i enjoy pushing the boundaries of. I guess that’s something I’ll continue to explore in future collections, I’m in the throes of finishing SS25 right now and that’s definitely got that feeling but a little more glam.

EJ: How has the DWF man evolved since last season?
DF: I gave myself some extra time over the last year to approach the collections in a slightly more fluid way and to work on some other projects like Ascot and the photography book I released, and it’s helped me to have a clearer vision of the ‘man’. I think he’s got a little bit more grown-up but also not so afraid to be slightly bolder too.

EJ: How would you sum up the collection in three words?
DF: Sexy, stripy, rowers.

Shop the collection here.