CHURCH’S AUTUMN WINTER 2026: ENGLISH CRAFT, RECAST FOR THE MODERN GENTLEMAN

Church’s Autumn/Winter 2026 campaign begins somewhere that feels instinctively suited to the brand: the Goodwood Racing Circuit in West Sussex. Yet this is not a conventional portrait of British tailoring or motorsport. Instead, photographer Samuel Bradley and creative director David James construct a gently surreal day around brand ambassador Theo James, using the rituals of the racetrack as a backdrop for a more relaxed interpretation of dressing well.

The mood is distinctly English, but never overly reverential. James moves through the circuit with an ease that allows the footwear to become part of the story rather than its sole focus. In the pit lane, he wears the soft-grain tan Sidley boots; later, the Sidbury suede Derby accompanies him as he push-starts a vintage Aston Martin. The new Skipton Oxford appears during an impromptu picnic beside the track, while the Stanhope Chelsea boot finds its place in an altogether less expected scene at the starting grid.

The campaign’s humour is understated. Between races, James crosses the circuit in the Farsley penny loafer and acquires an unlikely companion in Betty, a magnificent Great Dane. By the time the story reaches the podium, champagne and celebration provide the final flourish. It is an intentionally playful sequence, but beneath its eccentricity sits a considered proposition: that contemporary elegance need not depend upon ceremony.

That idea informs Church’s new New Formal group, introduced for Autumn/Winter 2026. Rather than treating formal footwear as something reserved for strictly prescribed occasions, the collection approaches elegance through softer proportions, distinctive finishes and greater versatility. Oxfords, Derbies, Chelsea boots and penny loafers retain the visual discipline associated with traditional English footwear while being presented as part of a wardrobe capable of moving between different settings.

The distinction is subtle but significant. Formality here is less about adhering to a dress code and more about maintaining a sense of refinement while allowing clothes and footwear to adapt to the day. The Skipton Oxford and Sidbury Derby offer two expressions of that approach, while the Stanhope Chelsea boot introduces a cleaner silhouette. The Sidley adds a more relaxed character through its soft-grain construction, demonstrating how texture can alter the impression of a traditionally structured shoe.

The campaign also brings attention to the Farsley penny loafer, one of the collection’s more relaxed silhouettes. In its Fumé Bookbinder Leather treatment, the finish gives the familiar loafer a richer visual depth, while the penny-loafer construction keeps the overall impression uncomplicated. The current Autumn Winter assortment also includes the Hertford 2.0 in grain calfskin and the Oreham in Bookbinder Fumè, extending the season’s emphasis on polished yet adaptable footwear.

The collection’s wider context is important to understanding why this shift feels natural for Church’s. The company traces its shoemaking history in Northampton to 1873, when Thomas Church and his family opened the first Church’s Shoes factory at 30 Maple Street. Production moved to larger premises on Duke Street in 1880 as demand grew. The brand’s early history was marked by an interest in construction and fit, including William Church’s introduction of right and left shoes through the Adaptable model, which was offered in different widths and half sizes. Church subsequently expanded internationally, opening its first London boutique and overseas store in New York during the 1920s, while its Shanghai style became one of its recognisable designs. In 1999, Prada Group acquired the company, beginning another chapter in its international development.

That heritage remains visible in the Autumn/Winter collection, but it is not treated as a constraint. Earlier in 2026, Church’s presented the season’s collection through a musical concept in Milan, drawing a parallel between the precision of instruments and the discipline of shoemaking. Within that presentation, the New Formal family was described through silhouettes including the Sidley, Stanhope, Sidbury and Skipton—the same quartet now placed within the more narrative setting of the Goodwood campaign.

There is therefore a pleasing continuity between the collection’s presentation and its campaign. One considers craftsmanship through precision and composition; the other places those carefully made objects into a day that refuses to behave quite as expected. Together, they suggest a version of English elegance that is less concerned with rigid convention and more interested in character.

The newly arrived footwear further develops that perspective. The Farsley Fumé Bookbinder Leather Loafer is listed at €890 in Church’s European online collection, while the Hertford 2.0 Grain Calfskin Loafer is €940 and the Oreham Bookbinder Fumè Loafer is €920. These pieces sit alongside a broader Autumn Winter offering that includes polished and semi-polished Oxfords, Derbies, monk straps and loafers, giving the season a wardrobe-like quality rather than presenting individual shoes in isolation.

What makes the Goodwood setting particularly effective is its relationship with that wardrobe philosophy. A racetrack is a place of tradition and spectacle, but also movement, interruption, and informality. It provides an environment in which a polished Oxford can appear beside a vintage car, a Chelsea boot can become part of an unexpected pause, and a penny loafer can carry its wearer across the circuit without requiring the occasion to announce itself.

Church’s has spent generations refining the codes of English shoemaking. ForAutumn/Winterr 2026, those codes are not abandoned; they are loosened. Theo James’s day at Goodwood turns the process of dressing into something more spontaneous, allowing craftsmanship to coexist with humour and elegance with ease. The result is a campaign that understands tradition not as a fixed formula, but as something capable of acquiring new rhythms without losing its character.