It’s time to reach into the back of our cupboards for cardigans and sweaters. While knitwear has historically been less a part of fashion’s cutting edge than a practicality, a bold wave of London designers is proving the genre is more than cosy – it can be disruptive, cheeky, and even radical. Below, meet the three designers leaving associations of mustiness and moth balls behind in favour of the avant-garde and transgressive.
##Adam Jones Who says beer glasses and boozers can’t be avant-garde? Adam Jones, who grew up in rural Wales, finds a distinct beauty in the mundane aspects of his world: “uniforms, tea towels, kitchen sink dramas, football merch”. Jones’s main inspiration is pub culture; he makes striped rugby shorts from ribbons, lace tabards from table runners, and totes and vests from old beer towels. One of his favourites is a jumper picturing a popular pub tableau: Arthur Sarnoff’s dogs playing pool.
“It’s fun to play with class, with what is considered lowbrow,” Jones says. “To challenge people’s stereotypes of what they see as beautiful or ugly.”
While he’s clear that he doesn’t make traditional knitwear – his pieces are all upcycled – Jones leans even more heavily into experimentation with his latest collection. It features towelling pieces made from bar cloths that Jones distressed by tugging at their threads with a hairbrush “to make it less obvious, to surprise the wearer”.
##Nicholas Daley Menswear designer Nicholas Daley puts a transgressive spin on heritage knitwear. The Central Saint Martins graduate takes classic materials – fine British lambswool, argyle, tartans – and filters them through the prism of his Scottish and Jamaican roots. “My work has always been about bringing people together, whether that’s through music, craft or storytelling,” Daley says. The graphics and distressed textures he incorporates add just the right amount of edge.
In the late ’70s and early ’80s, Daley’s parents ran legendary Scottish music night The Reggae Klub, which instilled in Daley a keen sense of the importance of music and community. Daley’s mother “and her network of knitters” still craft many of the hand-knitted pieces in his collections, “which makes them incredibly special”, he says. “For me, knitwear is about more than design. It’s about honouring those skills, recognising heritage and continuing traditions in a contemporary way.”
The Klub also inspired Daley’s autumn/winter 2025 collaboration with heritage British menswear brand Lyle & Scott. “It’s not only about craft but also about ancestry and identity, just as reggae culture in Scotland represented a blending of communities,” he says. “I see my work as a continuation of that energy.”
##AGR Knit When Alicia Robinson started dreaming up AGR Knit’s kaleidoscopic prints and splashy neons, she couldn’t have predicted how quickly London’s music scene would adopt them. The Dutch Indian DJ Jyoty Singh is a repeat customer (Robinson dressed her in a vivid two-piece set knitted with ruffles for Carnival this summer), and international clients like Burna Boy, Jorja Smith and Anderson Paak have also joined the brand’s growing fanbase.
Robinson, a Chelsea College of Arts alum who has collaborated with Missoni, Yeezy and A-Cold-Wall, spins meticulously sourced fibres into technicolour palettes in her south London studio. These are knits with personality, made from fine merino, mohair blends, brushed alpaca, acrylics and airy pointelle. Her studio is installed with an industrial-sized Stoll knitting machine, a multi-pronged beast that looms in the warehouse space. It allows Robinson to stay close to the design and creation process while experimenting with various fibres and technical approaches.
