Hector Maclean AW25

Walking into St. Paul’s Church for Hector Maclean’s AW25 show, "Bastard Aristocrat", the atmosphere was buzzing with anticipation, equal parts reverence and rebellion. The setting alone, with rain-slicked cobblestones and Union Jack umbrellas bobbing outside, felt like a metaphor for Maclean’s collection, a collision of sacred tradition and anarchic energy. As the wind picked up one of the umbrellas and set it flying majestically across the runway, the show begins...

The show opened with a trio of stark white looks—structured shift dresses, pearl chokers, and sculptural silhouettes that whispered aristocratic restraint. But this was no staid homage to monarchy. By the third exit, the collection erupted into a riot of upcycled Union Jack fabrics, repurposed from vintage bedsheets and flags, spliced into corsets, tailored coats, and even a show stopping train made of remembrance poppies (courtesy of the Royal British Legion). Maclean’s genius lay in the tension; lace ruffles brushed against punk-era slashes, while Baroque-era poet sleeves framed models with mohawk-inspired updos.

The heart of the collection was Maclean’s own lineage. After uncovering his descent from Lady Susan Bellasyse, King James II’s fiery, illegitimate-in-all-but-name paramour, he channeled her audacity into every piece. A black lace gown evoked Queen Victoria’s mourning wear, while a Twiggy-esque minidress nodded to swinging London. Even his grandmother’s defiance (she famously ditched her debutante ball for a book) seeped into the narrative.

"Bastard Aristocrat" wrestled with British identity. Its pomp, its contradictions, its buried histories, and left us with a rallying cry; royalty isn’t inherited, it’s claimed. As guests spilled into Neon’s afterparty, buzzing over the show’s theatricality and sustainable ethos, one thing was clear, Maclean isn’t just a designer, he’s a storyteller of England's unwritten history.