Wales Bonner’s Knits Are Made in the World’s Oldest Operating Factory. We Got a Look Inside
Those weren’t just fine-gauge knit polo shirts that went down the runway in Wales Bonner’s Spring/Summer 2026 Paris show. Nor was the long-sleeve white henley shirt, blurry and out of focus in the FW26 campaign, merely a Wales Bonner-made undershirt. This duo of knits, though somewhat inconspicuous in Wales Bonner’s latest collections, is part of something much larger: The revival of John Smedley.
And in images shared exclusively with Highsnobiety, we get a behind-the-scenes look at how the centuries-old Derbyshire mill creates Wales Bonner’s latest knits.
Those familiar with the knitwear stalwart understand that John Smedley is an anomaly. The 242-year-old British knitwear label has outlived its peers, making its hub in rural Derbyshire, England, the oldest operating factory in the world. All the while, it has remained an independent family-owned company, a rarity in today’s conglomerate-run fashion landscape. But to stick around for so long, John Smedley has had to weather some storms (and two world wars).
Until the mid-80s, John Smedley was producing luxurious knits for the likes of Prada, Burberry, and Vivienne Westwood, but its production business slowly dried up as fashion’s bean counters started favoring cheaper offshore factories.
Now, after a 40-year hiatus spent focusing exclusively on its in-line brand, John Smedley has reopened its production lines, and Wales Bonner is one of the first brands making use of the factory.
The initial spark for the partnership began last year: After collaborating with John Smedley on Lewis Hamilton’s bespoke white 2025 Met Gala Suit, Grace Wales Bonner, the British-Jamaican designer behind the brand (and newly-appointed Hermès creative director), traveled to John Smedley’s historic mill to inspect its vast archives. There, she honed in on a checkerboard-textured knit, now utilized on merino wool crewneck sweaters and lace collar detailing found on the four-button long-sleeve polo shirts available now for between £295 and £395 (around $405 to $545).
These aren’t uncommon styles for Wales Bonner. Retro polos and deftly shrunken sweaters have long been part of the brand’s oeuvre; the difference is that now they’re being produced locally by the self-proclaimed maker of the “world’s finest knitwear.”
The days of John Smedley producing knits for high fashion’s big fish were thought to be over. Turns out, this 142-year-old factory isn’t done yet.
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