John Smedley unveils collaboration with actor Bill Nighy

John Smedley has linked up with one of Britain’s best-loved actors, Bill Nighy, for a capsule collection “designed in partnership with someone who has been quietly loyal to the brand since the age of 17”.

He’s 75 now and for more than five decades has used the brand’s knitwear “as a foundational part of his wardrobe”.

It’s a first-of-its-kind creative collaboration for the brand and for the actor who “brings his enthusiasm and eye for detail to a collection that reinterprets signature silhouettes with a tailored nuance”.

The Bill Nighy for John Smedley collection launches on 17 October at Johnsmedley.com and in the brand’s London stores, priced from £200.

It’s actually unisex and features “a refined range of pieces designed with modern influences”. That means “larger collars, more prominent ribs, and subtle yet transformative tailoring cues”.

Included are “a sharply angled waistcoat and cardigan, conceived as a distinctive twinset — a nod to traditional suiting with a relaxed attitude”. Further key pieces include a cashmere and merino set of Long Johns (“a historically significant set of garments for the brand, and one of practicality for Bill who ensured they were included in the collection as he wears a pair on every set during his film projects”).

The palette is built around Nighy’s favourite deep navy and the fit is “unique, designed to be a shorter, boxier, unisex silhouette”.

The company also said that the detail of each piece “is driven by nuances of Bill’s personal and professional life featuring ‘Stay Modern’ as a statement of intent across product labelling and a bird motif originally an illustration of Bill’s drawn on every script throughout his career, re-imagined as embroidery details in various complementary hues across the range”.

Nighy said of all this: “If you’d told me when I was 17 that I’d be working with John Smedley to design a collection, I’d have arranged to be more cheerful in my early life. I wore John Smedley polos in the 60s and 70s in frontline defiance of the silk shirt open to the third button or the tie-dye T-shirts doused in patchouli oil. We were pioneers. As I got older, and Mod became Modernism they remained an essential item. If I do nothing else with my life, there will always be this. Don’t forget to Disco.” 

And John Smedley MD, Jess Mcguire-Dudley, added: “Working with Bill was a true lesson in considered design — every decision was intentional, from fabric to fit. His genuine connection to the brand came through at every stage, from exploring the archive to the final fittings.”