British designer Daniel Fletcher takes the helm of Guangzhou-based luxury label Mithridate, aiming to establish a distinct British-Chinese aesthetic. The appointment marks a significant shift for Mithridate, transitioning from its previous focus on extravagant eveningwear to a more pared-back, quality-driven approach.
This article first appeared on Vogue Business. Driving 40 minutes outside the sprawling city of Guangzhou in China to a modern studio building, you might not expect to be greeted by British designer Daniel Fletcher. Nor a mood board of images from the UK of Mick Jagger, Hugh Grant and preppy 1940s university-goers in pinstripe suits and hats. We’re here because Fletcher has been appointed creative director of Guangzhou-based luxury label Mithridate, as the company announced on Wednesday.
Fletcher’s vision will come to life with a show at London Fashion Week on February 21. To mark the appointment, Mithridate is releasing a campaign starring British It-girl Alexa Chung in a fluffy cable-knit jumper, a crisp striped Oxford shirt and cotton shorts — a taster of the collection Fletcher is developing between both London and Guangzhou. It’s an unexpected move for Mithridate, which was launched in 2018 and specialised in extravagant eveningwear, prints and embellishments under Chinese creative director Demon Zhang. Originally, the label was conceived as a creative outlet to sit alongside the company’s high street concept Mith World, which has over 200 stores across China. (Mithridate, by comparison, has seven standalone stores across Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhengzhou; the company does not disclose its revenues.) But as the Chinese luxury market meets continued headwinds, the hope is to scale Mithridate as a luxury brand by taking aim at the Western customer. Mithridate has shown in London for the past eight seasons, making its official calendar debut during Spring/Summer 2025. After Zhang exited in late 2024, Mithridate founder and CEO Tina Jiang turned her eyes to the UK to find its new direction. “London is such a centre of creativity, and British designers are also running some of the biggest houses in Paris, so it made sense,” Jiang says. She was introduced to Fletcher via a London-based contact, and says she instantly understood his vision for a more pared-back design language, focused on quality, that differs from the current offerings in China. For Fletcher, who founded his London-based menswear label Daniel W Fletcher in 2015, it presented a fresh challenge. Fletcher also serves as creative director of horse racing event Royal Ascot, mainly working on the annual lookbook to guide attendees on what’s appropriate to wear in various enclosures. (He previously served as creative director of Fiorucci from 2019 to 2023, and has held design roles at JW Anderson and Louis Vuitton.) “When I first came to China to meet Tina and the team, I didn’t really have an idea of what I was coming into,” Fletcher says, walking me through his vast studio space, with mood boards and fabric swatches lining the walls. Upon arriving in Guangzhou, his first port of call was a mall, where he noticed many Western brands had produced similar lines for the market (a lot of boxy skirt suits and heavy embellishments). “I asked myself, what is it that I do, and where does it fit into this? I was certain I didn’t want to come in and just do what so many European brands in China are doing. I wanted to create something that spoke to my heritage, but made use of the resources and expertise Mithridate has, that’s not already in the market.” Fusing British inspiration with Chinese manufacturing Jiang is keen to establish Mithridate as a British-Chinese label, fusing the creativity of London’s fashion scene with the production capabilities of Mithridate’s atelier and its local suppliers. Close to Shenzhen and Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a major Chinese textile manufacturing hub. Inside the Mithridate atelier, around 30 artisans are hard at work, cutting patterns, hand-embroidering sweaters and embellishing toiles by hand based on Fletcher’s designs (for big orders, production will be outsourced to local factories). It’s a far cry from the studios of most independent brands in London, Fletcher notes. “After working for myself on a young brand in London without as much resource, or working in a major house where you perhaps don’t have the sway, here, I’ve been able to redefine the logo, the visuals, the branding, with so much support.” Fletcher’s first collection for Mithridate speaks to his background in menswear and is decidedly British, with collegiate, preppy influences like rugby, cricket and sailing. From Oxford shirts and cotton shorts to tailored wool coats, drop-waist, casual evening dresses and relaxed cashmere sweaters, it’s intended to form the basis of a buildable, high-quality wardrobe. As we talk in the studio, emissaries from the atelier come in to show Fletcher embroideries or fabrics for approval. There’s not much time to spare, as Fletcher was appointed in November (though not to public knowledge), and has revamped every aspect of Mithridate, from the logo to materials, graphics to the design. Such an abrupt change in creative direction carries risks of alienating or confusing existing customer
FASHION LUXURY BRANDS DANIEL FLETCHER MITHRIDATE BRITISH DESIGN CHINESE MANUFACTURING LONDON FASHION WEEK
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