The White Company revamps clothing line for AW25

British lifestyle retailer The White Company, which has become known for its bed linens in pristine whites and greys, beautifully scented candles and cashmere loungewear, is looking for customers to come in-store and discover its new directional take on womenswear launching for autumn/winter 2025.

Fashion is the brand’s second largest category, behind its homeware offering, and The White Company has turned to designer and trained sculptor Sheila McKain, a former designer at Donna Karen and Oscar de la Renta, who also worked at Hush and Jaeger, as its clothing director to rethink its womenswear collections with a contemporary edge to mark its 30th anniversary.

At the AW25 press day, which took place in London in June, McKain told FashionUnited: “The automatic perception about The White Company is sheets, candles and babywear, and we just wanted to allow fashion to have its own voice and ensure that each individual piece had a purpose in the collection.

“My starting point was how do I get to the essence of what is actually necessary, and what people want to wear – I was just trying to break down the foundations. I also spent a lot of time with Chrissie Rucker [founder of The White Company], looking at her wardrobe and other people’s wardrobes.

“In doing that, you realise everybody has their foundational pieces that they go back to time and time again. But creating work classics can feel a little dated, so we played around with proportions and silhouettes to reshape and make them feel more relevant.”

The result is a contemporary collection of elegant classics with elevated, modern, directional twists, which McKain describes as being “quietly beautiful,” from outerwear in attention-grabbing bold silhouettes, to tactile knitwear, slouch, super soft cashmere separates, and an edit of footwear to complete the head-to-toe look.

The White Company showcases new clothing vision for AW25

The White Company is approaching its fashion line as a one-stop shop to building a capsule wardrobe, one that appeals to its loyal customers, who are looking for timeless, quiet luxury styles, while also resonating with a younger audience, and offering customers versatile pieces that can be worn and styled in multiple ways.

The anchor of the collection is the outerwear, which strikes a stylish note with its fluid, oversized proportions, from a throw-over soft poncho in wool to a pared-back take on the classic khaki parka, and an oversized leather jacket, as well as an edit of cosy short coats in wool and shearling. The highlight, though, which seemed to impress editors at the press day, had to be the brand’s butter yellow draped double-breasted trench coat made from a Lenzing Ecovero blend to give it a more fluid silhouette.

They sit perfectly alongside relaxed tailoring, from wide-leg trousers in all-Italian wool blends, reinvented denim that includes slouchy carpenter, carrot and straight styles in a new selvedge denim, and knitwear designed to add “a sense of luxury to dressing,” with soft cable knits, knitted polo shirts, T-shirts and slouchy hoodies.

There is also a focus on comfort, which The White Company has become known for, elevating its loungewear offering with cashmere track pants, jersey and corduroy joggers.

McKain also shared that there is a renewed focus on accessories this season with bags crafted in slouchy suede and “snuggly” shearling, alongside cashmere hoods, long leather gloves and an edit of footwear, all designed to complement the collection.

You’ll also notice a soothing and grounding colour palette throughout the collection, which stays true to The White Company aesthetic, with McKain opting for a collection of “beautiful neutrals,” with whites, ecrus and greys, complimented by rich earth tones, such as khaki green and chocolate brown, “tones that pair together, really seamlessly” to allow customers to layer styles.

So, where does The White Company hope its fashion will be positioned on the high street? “I feel like there’s a big space in the market between the high street and designer brands, and I believe we can fill in a little bit of that space,” added McKain. “I’ve tried to make sure the collection is an accessible price point; we haven’t done anything that’s crazy from a price point perspective.

“But I do think there is scope in the market for a few things that stretch the price point, while keeping enough of the collection super accessible.”

The White Company is also looking to refocus its customers on its fashion line by addressing how it showcases its collections in-store, opting for less clothing on the shopfloor to allow the collection to “breath a bit”.

“We did our first fashion concept in our Marylebone store, and it performed really well, by just putting less clothes out and allowing customers to look at it styled together,” explained McKain. “We’ve also designed the collection so that everything goes seamlessly with each other, you can put almost anything together and it will work, which for us was a true test. We want to make it easier for the consumer to discover.”