Introducing Great British Brands 2026

Dylan Jones, new Editor-at-Large of Great British Brands, celebrates this year’s edition – themed New Frontiers – and champions what this country does best.

A Manifestation Of All That Is Heroic About British Luxury

If you were to believe the negative intensity of the narrative surrounding the UK right now, you might believe that the luxury market has rarely been so challenged. A headline dump might include inflation, tariffs, business rates, VAT challenges, national insurance, market uncertainty, a bewilderingly punitive Budget and a government that not only refuses to engage with sectors which actually deliver extraordinary growth – the worlds of luxury, hospitality, auto and property, for instance – but that also appears to be legislating against it. But Britain – Great Britain – has always been a keen competitor where adversity and austerity are concerned.

We simply power through.

This 2026 edition of Great British Brands is testament to that, an example of what this country does best, and what this country continues to do in spite of global trends, economic fluctuations or hostile retail environments. What it delivers is a distillation of what is happening in luxury in the UK right now. Great British Brands – an expertly commissioned, precision-targeted and beautifully produced artefact that is as bespoke as any of the brands contained within it – is a manifestation of all that is truly heroic about British luxury, a full English smörgåsbord of sartorial, experiential and occasionally indulgent lifestyle solutions that you simply can’t find anywhere else.

The world of luxury changes all the time. New centres of excellence pop up all over the world in the same way that new markets open up, driven by customer appetite and pan-global marketing expectations. Travel websites identify new retail hotspots, and social media desperately tries to promote influencers who increasingly appear to be interested in promoting little but themselves. And the luxury world, because it is never less than whip-smart, takes note of all this and feeds it into whatever unnecessary Monday morning doom-Zoom meeting it reserves for worrying about what everyone else is doing in the world.

But when all is said and posted, brands in the luxury world turn back to what they do better than anyone: understanding what they are and what their clients and customers want. What luxury brands need more than anything else right now is confidence. Not confidence in governments, not confidence in global markets or ingenious new marketing strategies, but confidence in whatever it is that made them great in the first place.

And that confidence can be found in the pages of this issue, a truly great magazine that reflects the luxury world today and one that I’m proud to be associated with.

Enjoy.

What’s Inside Great British Brands 2026

This edition includes contributions from some of today’s finest writers and commentators, including Anthony Scaramucci, Alex Bilmes, John Arlidge, Lisa Armstrong, Greg Williams and Celia Walden among others.

Discover more than 100 of Britain’s most exciting luxury and lifestyle brands, each celebrated for their heritage and creative contribution. From reflections on the past decade to the challenges faced and the opportunities ahead, these brands share what they believe will shape their most exciting chapters yet.

Subscribers receive their issue of Great British Brands 2026 on 9 January, with copies on newsstands from 30 January with the Jan/Feb issue of Country & Town House. Want to receive yours first? Subscribe here and never miss another magazine.

On The Cover

Burberry – one of our most beloved homegrown brands – fronts this year’s cover, photographed by Simon Lipman on the UK’s South Coast.

• Fashion Director: Nicole Smallwood
• Photographer: Simon Lipman
• Fashion assistant: Lacie Gittins
• Photographer’s assistant: Kailas Gurung
• Video: Carl Wilson @ Adrenalin Photographic
• Make-up: Ruth Warrior @ Ray Brown Productions using Sisley skincare and Charlotte Tilbury
• Hair: Ruth Warrior @ Ray Brown Productions using Hair by Sam McKnight
• Female model: Lauren de Graaf @ Premier Models
• Male model: Sang Gun @ IMG
• Model casting: Elizabeth Miles
• Production: Adrenalin Photographic