In Pictures: Private White V.C. launches SS26 campaign shot on site of only WWI battlefield in UK

Luxury British menswear brand Private White V.C. has today launched its SS26 collection, with an accompanying campaign titled ‘Steadfast’.

Photographed at Heugh Battery on the Hartlepool coastline, described as the only WWI battlefield in the UK - which came under bombardment from the German navy on 16 December 1914 in “ship-to-shore combat” - the campaign is rooted in Private White V.C.’s origins.

Named after Private Jack White VC, a WWI hero and great-grandfather of the brand’s founder, James Eden, who reignited a family manufacturing legacy dating back more than 100 years, every Private White V.C. garment is designed and manufactured in its historic red-brick factory, known as Cottenham House, on the banks of the River Irwell in Salford, Manchester.

It is one of England’s last luxury clothing factories, dating back to 1853, and is where the brand ensures complete control over craftsmanship, materials and quality.

Rooted in the brand’s WWI origins, the SS26 ‘Steadfast’ campaign traces a direct line from military courage and necessity, through the 1960s moment when uniform entered everyday civilian life, to the present day.

The collection centres on lighter, structured fabrics suited to the British summer: linen blends, lightweight wool and Ventile cotton. There’s also a faithful recreation of a military-issue Aertex-type fabric, once utilised for British Army tropical uniforms in extreme climates such as North Africa.

Described as “modern British uniform”, informed by 1960s civilian utility rather than seasonal trends, key pieces in the SS26 collection include ‘The Honey Trap Trench’, a belted mac crafted from UK-woven cotton gabardine, retailing at £1,095.

Then, available from 2 April, is ‘The Persuader’ jacket, hand-cut in Manchester from Italian calf suede and constructed panel by panel. It features four bellows pockets, a belted waist, double rear vents and military-grade copper hardware from RIRI of Switzerland, set to retail at £2,995.

Another standout design is ‘The Submariner Parka’, constructed from double-skin Ventile, with a half-lined Ventile interior and fully taped seams, delivering waterproof protection without a coating, priced at £995.