Balance between homage and growth

The Paul Costelloe brand has been an integral part of the London Fashion Week program since its inception more than 40 years ago. This season, new creative director William Costelloe presented an emotional tribute to his father, who passed away in November 2025. At the same time, he showed his vision for the future of the brand, which is rooted in the house’s tailoring DNA.

William Costelloe has worked alongside his father for the past nine years and is now tasked with driving the development of all of the brand’s collections. Backstage, he told FashionUnited that he believes the brand is ready for expansion. This applies to both the UK and Ireland, where the brand is already known through its collaboration with Dunnes, and to the Asian market.

“This season has been emotional, but also an exciting look into the future,” said Costelloe. “Tailoring is our goal, it’s our DNA, our tradition. We believe in creating exciting, beautiful silhouettes that all women can wear and feel proud in. It’s about preserving my father’s legacy but also evolving it by adding my own little touch.”

William Costelloe plans international expansion of the Paul Costelloe brand

The starting point of the collection was fabrics. These included 100 percent Irish wool and tweeds from Magee Fabrics, which Paul Costelloe purchased before his death. Son William transformed this into an exploration of modern tailoring. It is a collection characterized by a play with proportions. Shaped silhouettes showcase structured, exaggerated shoulders, voluminous sleeves and oversized collars. These are combined with wide pleated trousers and balloon skirts.

“My father will always be my inspiration and I miss him very much. He bought all the fabrics, which was kind of the last thing he worked on until his death. The collection is my interpretation of how the fabric should be implemented. It’s actually been a great pleasure to experiment with new silhouettes for the future of the brand,” Costelloe added.

The fabrics weren’t the only tribute to his late father. Costelloe also added an exclusive, in-house print using archival sketches. The hand-drawn figures and architectural lines are described as a “shared language of tailoring and form.” They are intended to honor the brand’s heritage while further developing its vision of modern tailoring.

“That was, so to speak, our last project together,” says Costelloe, explaining the sketch print. “I looked through the archives of his drawings and then combined them with my own. From that we created the most beautiful print in three different color variations. It was really exciting when it came out on the silk roll and then looked so beautiful in the graduation gown.”

Other highlights include tailored coats offset by silk and organza blouses. Cashmere rib and cable-knit styles feature exaggerated collars and shoulders, while other pieces feature handcrafted, sculpted wool flowers or large, bow-like embellishments.

The collection was also styled with numerous bags from the brand’s leather accessories line. According to Costelloe, this was intentional as he wanted to “create a relationship between the garments and the bags that work together.”

“I really want to push the UK market. I know we’re already very big in Ireland and I want to expand that into the UK. This is where I live and this is my headquarters. I’d like to have stores here and I’d like us to be in department stores,” Costelloe added, looking to the future.

“I’m also looking at the Asian market. I’ll probably attend Seoul Fashion Week in South Korea. I think our DNA and our heritage fit beautifully with the Asian market, especially Korea, where women dress so elegantly,” Costelloe concluded.