First, Simon Holloway took us for afternoon tea, presenting his debut dunhill collection inside London’s gilded National Portrait Gallery, with waiters serving finger sandwiches and cocktails. This season, Holloway delivered his sophomore collection for the British brand in a Milanese garden, taking his classic gent outside.

Backdropped by live violins, models strolled across the grass in sophisticated suiting cut in lightweight materials and patterned with traditional motifs: herringbone, windowpane and Glencheck. Inspired by a well-to-do British social calendar – from daytime regatta to evening gala – sporty shorts were paired with blazers alongside collegiate styles and casual – only in dunhill’s sense of the word – double-pleated trousers. Foreseeing this year’s rainy summer, the brand’s iconic car coat and driving jacket silhouettes were reimagined in treated water-resistant and double-faced linen, while in hand, models carried leather briefcases and hand-made umbrellas crafted with pewter dog head handles. “These are not basic clothes for going into the office,” said Holloway. “These are clothes for enjoyment, for a life well-lived.”