The Interview: Peckham Rye’s Creative Director on reinventing the brand for AW25

Brand Machine Group (BMG), owner of brands including Penfield, Flyers and Duchamp, as well as global licensing partner for New Balance, U.S. Polo Assn, Lee Kids, Juicy Couture, and plenty more, acquired 230-year old tailoring business Peckham Rye in 2023. Hadleigh Jalil, son of BMG founder Boo Jalil, was brought in as Creative Director of the brand in 2024, tasked with giving Peckham Rye a complete brand refresh for AW25. Here’s his take on the new direction.

What’s your history with Brand Machine Group?

I started working at Brand Machine Group in about 2017 and then I went off to the US for two years to work with some of our partners there, including Nike and the Jordan brand - working across the business. I then came back here and worked my way up through the commercial team, mainly on sales. However, my background was boxing, and I ended up going back to the US to become a professional boxer. I did that for two years and then had two kids. I moved back to the UK with my partner and the opportunity to become Creative Director of Peckham Rye came about a year ago.

What’s your design background then?

I’ve always worked very closely with the brands on production, including fabric selections, sourcing, brand development and art direction. Plus, I’m very fortunate with Peckham Rye to have a strong and supportive designer working alongside me, called Heidi Chan. We work very closely and visit factories and mills together.

Why did BMG decide Peckham Rye was a good addition to its brand portfolio when it acquired it in 2023?

We run a lot of licenses with brands, but we also now own a few different brands. When the opportunity arose to acquire Peckham Rye, especially after the success we had after acquiring Duchamp, we just felt it was a great way for us to move forward and expand our brand portfolio into tailoring.

How did the deal come about?

It was through Martin Brighty, who’s part of the McCarthy family which founded the original company in 1795. It was Tommy McCarthy who founded the tailoring business. Martin, along with David Walker, who was also previously the brand’s Managing Director, ran the Peckham Rye store on Newburgh Street – which runs parallel to Carnaby Street in London – for a few years from 2009 to 2015. They specialised in silk ties and scarfs, but also offered made to measure tailoring. I believe both of them have since retired, and the Peckham Rye business was sitting dormant. We are now fortunate enough to be in a position to give it a new lease of life.

When was Brand Machine Group’s first collection with Peckham Rye?

It was prior to me taking control as Creative Director, but it was a pre-collection for AW23, with the aim to create pieces that combined classic menswear with a modern day luxury approach. My first collection is for AW25, and we’ve given the brand a complete refresh in this its 230th year. Peckham Rye has an incredible heritage, and we wanted to respect the past while updating it for the future. For AW25, we have focused on enhancing all fabrics and finishes with a Mediterranean aesthetic – including high collar shirts and more generous lapels. It's a more fashion led take on affordable quiet luxury through formal and casualwear, while retaining the brand’s established handwriting.

What was your initial thinking when you took over the Creative Director role?

We tapped straight into the DNA of the brand, which has always predominantly been about tailoring, as well as accessories such as silk neck ties, scarves and cravats. Tailoring is a beautiful thing, but I looked at how we could drive Peckham Rye as a regular business. If you look at the trends of recent years, tailoring hasn’t been a priority – even since pre-Covid. People started to dress down a bit more with smart casual looks. So, what I did was take the collection and flip it to 70% smart casual and 30% tailoring.

You can see from the silhouettes that we are still very much in line with the heritage, but we’ve gone wide and bold with our lapels. We’ve also introduced a high waisted formal trouser on the tailoring. When you look at our smart casual collection, we’ve expanded all categories, so there’s T-shirts, polos, knitwear, shirts, trousers, outerwear and accessories. Athleisure hasn’t gone anywhere in the marketplace, it’s still very dominant. As a result, even though we are a tailoring brand, we are now offering smart, knitted tracksuit sets with a pintuck running through the middle of the leg of the bottoms. So, it’s still got that nod to tailoring.

What else have you changed?

We’ve re-looked at the branding and repositioned it. For a brand to remain relevant it’s better to keep branding minimal. So, we’ve introduced a cream enamel rivet – either in the back of the neck or the bottom left-hand side of the product, as opposed to a branded tab or embroidery that you would have previously seen. It gives it an elevated and more premium feel.

Who’s your real target market with Peckham Rye now?

In terms of the demographic our main priority is focusing on the 28-38 year-old consumer. That’s where we see most opportunity and relevance for the brand. That’s not shying away from anyone else, of course, but that’s who we are really pinpointing with this new direction.

Who is handling the wholesale side of the business?

That is also me. I’m currently selling with NEXT online and we are in conversation with a number of key global retailers.