It’s Medieval-core! How London’s fashion set became obsessed with suits of armour
No one was more surprised than medieval armourer Matthew Finchen. One of the most memorable looks from all of London Fashion Week was not made in an airy studio in Stoke Newington, but crafted with a forge and anvil in Mansfield Woodhouse, the town in Nottinghamshire.
This season Finchen, owner of Lancaster Armoury, who is on a mission to keep the “back-breaking”, highly-skilled tradition alive, was in luck, for the new style pin-ups are not waif-looking supermodels sucking cigarettes in the Nineties but the knights and heroines that fill up history books.
From Burberry to Annie’s Ibiza, it was less about naked dresses you could flaunt at the Oscars after-parties, more about chainmail that would be enviable during the Battle of Agincourt. Medieval-core was an unlikely, yet undeniable, trend to dominate the autumn winter 2025 collections.
A knight in shining armour holds an umbrella with Burberry’s iconic design
Burberry
It was Annie Doble, founder of Annie’s Ibiza, who commissioned Finchen to make her party-girl suit of armour (complete with chain, micro mini) which was inspired by “strong, inspirational females” from Caterina Sforza (1463–1509) to Joan of Arc (1412–1431).
“We settled on a striking bodice with globular hips, shoulder armour, and a set of greaves for the legs,” explains Finchen, before he embarked on the 30-hour process (20 hours of hammering; 10 of grinding and polishing “to give it that beautiful shine”) to create the outfit.
He was proud as he watched it strut down the decadent Great Hall of One Great George Street, Westminster, on show day. “It certainly caught Daphne Guinness’s eye,” he says. Anyone who really loved it can order their own “Joan Of Arc Armour Suit” for £8,500 on Annie’s Ibiza website now. “It will take us a few months,” Finchen says. “But we are happy to make anyone a bespoke version.”
Dame Anna Wintour and The Knight attend the Burberry Winter 2025 show
Dave Benett/Getty Images for Bur
Greek designer Di Petsa sent male models out with armoured tops, frilly pants and pearl-embellished swords. Rising star Paolo Carzana’s collection was inspired by purgatory and dragons, and was made up of beautiful peasant garb, dyed by hand using logwood, turmeric, madder and cochineal.
Di Petsa
Di Petsa
And contemporary menswear label denizilpatrick showed a shiny, silver-plated brass armour breastplate worn with a sleeveless red turtleneck, tomato stain slacks and hiking boots — you could get away with wearing it to an east London pub.
“We started work on the metal pieces last September,” says founder and creative director Daniel Gayle, who works with artistic director James Bosley on the brand. “Since then we’ve seen all things medieval popping up. For us it was really about chivalry and majesty but set today.” It was made by Oscar Saurin, the London-based, classically trained silversmith.
denizilpatrick
James Cochrane
It comes as “the medieval era is high society’s favourite party theme right now” — as reported by Tatler in January, which noted “jousts, tankards of mead and pop hits on the lute” have become the norm. It has seen It girls, from Poppy Delevingne to Lady Mary Charteris, through to household names Anya Hindmarch and Richard E Grant raid costume shops (and dressing up chests), before scrubbing up on their Old English.
How to wear medieval-core
Unless attending a late-medieval themed garden party, nobody actually wants to leave the house looking like an extra on Wolf Hall, of course.
Millie Bobby Brown in Annie’s Ibiza at the Brits 2025
Jed Cullen/Dave Benett
Perhaps the best medieval pin-up to pull off the look during the past week has been Millie Bobby Brown, who wore the Celestius Gown — an ode to “High Renaissance grandeur” and another look from the Annie’s Ibiza collection — to the LA premiere of film The Electric State, as well as the label’s 1920s Egyptian dress crafted from real silver (and complete with hood) to the Brits.
The most accessible route for women (and brave men) is in the form of jewellery
But you can also embrace this more casually, says London stylist Clementine Brown. “The most accessible route for women (and brave men) is in the form of jewellery. A big cuff bracelet or necklace is a good start. Also, the silver rings with fake nails that are everywhere at the moment.”
The letter necklaces with pearls inspired by Anne Boleyn — a trend started by Dilara Fındıkoğlu — are great, while rosaries and other religious touches also tap in. “A woman’s armour has always been her jewellery. The metal, the chains, the layering; look to [jewellery designer] Shaun Leane for the real deal” Brown adds.
Chainmail is next, “but keep it more Paco Rabanne and less Nasty Gal. If you go too cheap it will come back to bite you very quickly,” she says. Rabanne’s classic, chainmail handbags, for example, are a fantastic addition. So too are the vintage chain coin purses worth hunting for at Portobello Market or fairs, such at Frock Me! at Chelsea Town Hall.
Patterns typically seen on court jesters are making an appearance too – as with Valentino
Valentino
Anyone partial to a pop of colour can consider taking notes from court jesters — one of the key references during Valentino’s haute couture presentation shown in Paris this January — and incorporate diamond checks. “If you are thinking of going down the harlequin route, I’d suggest keeping it on your tights or your knitwear. Anything else and you’ll start looking like a court jester,” Brown says.
But by far the simplest way is investing in a great, bouffant sleeve white blouse — available at ME+EM, Mango and & Other Stories — and pairing it with jeans. Take that one step further by layering it under a corset.
And if you are really feeling the 1400s, why not take a leap and braid your hair Maid Marian style?
