Luxury menswear is entering an interesting period. For Autumn/Winter 2026/27, I see the conversation moving beyond the relentless sneaker culture that dominated much of the previous decade and toward something more sophisticated: footwear that offers comfort without looking overly athletic, craftsmanship without appearing precious, and luxury that can be recognized through material and construction rather than an enormous logo.
Men still want comfort. That genie is never going back into the bottle. But increasingly, the luxury customer wants comfort accompanied by refinement. The exaggerated sneaker, oversized sole and instantly recognizable status shoe have not disappeared, but they are now sharing the floor with slimmer silhouettes, supple leather, suede, loafers, driving shoes and hybrid constructions that can move between tailoring and casualwear. That shift makes the new particularly item timely.
For AW 2026/27, I believe one of the most important ideas in men’s footwear will be the elevation of the everyday shoe. Instead of buying one sneaker for weekends, another shoe for the office and something entirely different for dinner, men are looking for sophisticated products capable of crossing those boundaries. The Davies answers that desire by reconsidering the traditional driving shoe through the construction and functionality of a contemporary sport sneaker.
What Makes a Luxury Shoe Truly Luxury?
Price alone has never made a shoe luxurious. In my years covering menswear, I have seen expensive footwear that felt disappointingly ordinary and comparatively understated shoes whose craftsmanship became apparent the moment I held them. True luxury begins where shortcuts end.
Leather matters. Construction matters. The last matters. The lining, stitching, edge finishing, hardware, sole engineering and way the shoe flexes all matter. Even elements a customer may never consciously notice contribute to the sensation of quality.
With leather footwear, particularly, the material should have life. High-quality calfskin can soften, develop depth and acquire a patina rather than simply deteriorate. Suede should possess richness and dimensionality. A beautifully constructed shoe should feel considered inside as well as outside, because the part touching the foot for eight or ten hours is every bit as important as the surface everyone else sees.
Fit is equally important. A luxury shoe that is painful after an hour is a poorly resolved luxury product, regardless of price or branding.
And increasingly, engineering belongs in the luxury equation. That is where the Davies becomes interesting. dunhill describes the shoe as combining heritage leather craftsmanship with precise engineering, and its specifications reveal how seriously the House has approached that intersection. The sneaker incorporates a custom stop-release speedlace system, injected AD Cypher detailing, an amber rubber sole and a micro-Hobnail tread inspired by dunhill’s longstanding relationship with motoring.
More importantly for the person actually wearing it, lightweight internal components reduce unnecessary weight, while a low-profile sole is designed to allow the upper to flex naturally with the foot. A plant-based anatomical footbed provides additional comfort, and nappa leather lines the interior.
These are details I want to see in modern luxury footwear. The product should not merely look expensive; the wearer should experience the difference.
AW 2026/27: Luxury Footwear Becomes Quieter
The broader direction in men’s footwear for AW 2026/27 is less about one dominant shoe and more about a change in attitude. After years of highly visible sneaker culture, luxury is becoming more tactile, personal and nuanced.
I expect supple loafers, driving shoes, sophisticated leather sneakers, streamlined boots and hybrid footwear to become increasingly important, particularly in chocolate, tobacco, whiskey, cognac, tan, burgundy and black. Rich suede also feels right for the season because it gives autumnal colors greater depth while working beautifully against wool, cashmere, flannel, denim and corduroy.
The silhouette is important too. I see men’s luxury footwear becoming leaner and more elegant after years of aggressive proportions. Even when the shoe is technically a sneaker, it should be able to sit beneath a tailored trouser without overwhelming it.
That is precisely the territory Davies occupies.
Available in hand-burnished patina calf and Italian suede, in chocolate, whiskey, tan and black, it has been conceived to complement tailoring as naturally as casual dress. That versatility is increasingly valuable because contemporary men’s wardrobes no longer operate within rigid categories. A man might wear softly tailored trousers with a knit polo in the morning, denim and an overcoat later, and the same footwear throughout the day.
Luxury houses that understand this changing behavior will have an advantage.
From Saddlery to British Men’s Luxury
To understand dunhill footwear, however, you first have to understand dunhill itself.
The House traces its origins to 1893, when Alfred Dunhill took over his family’s saddlery business in London. But Dunhill recognized something profound happening around him: transportation was changing. The horse was giving way to the automobile, and with it an entirely new male lifestyle was emerging.
Rather than protect yesterday’s business, Alfred Dunhill moved toward tomorrow’s customer.
In 1904, he developed the celebrated Motorities concept, promising motorists “Everything But The Motor.” The proposition included practical but luxurious objects associated with the new motoring culture—from gloves and goggles to coats and accessories. It was an ingenious positioning because dunhill was not simply selling merchandise; it was designing a lifestyle around a technological revolution.
That philosophy established a vocabulary that remains remarkably relevant today: masculinity, engineering, travel, functionality, craftsmanship and British elegance.
Over the decades, dunhill expanded into a broader men’s luxury universe encompassing tailoring, ready-to-wear, leather goods, accessories, gifting and hard luxury. Yet what continues to differentiate the House, in my view, is the connection between refinement and utility. British elegance has traditionally been strongest when it appears effortless—when the engineering and craftsmanship are there but do not scream for attention.
Footwear became part of dunhill’s expanding menswear proposition as the House developed from its specialist leather and motoring origins into a complete men’s lifestyle brand during the 20th century. Rather than being defined historically as a shoemaker in the manner of Britain’s specialist footwear houses, dunhill approached shoes as part of a coordinated masculine wardrobe. That distinction is important when looking at Davies today: it is not an isolated sneaker but another expression of the House’s wider design language.
Davies: A Driving Shoe for a Different Kind of Driver
The Davies sneaker appears as the third chapter of dunhill’s 2026 “Heritage in Motion” project, following Alfred and Century. Here, the House turns its attention to footwear and the driving shoe.
That is an intelligent place to explore dunhill’s archive because the driving shoe represents a particularly interesting menswear archetype.
Historically, driving footwear prioritized flexibility, grip and sensitivity. A traditional leather sole was not ideal when working pedals, and designs developed around softer construction and rubber grip. Eventually the driving moccasin became something larger than its original purpose. It evolved into a symbol of leisure and sophisticated casual dressing, particularly when associated with European motoring culture.
Davies brings those principles into 2026 without simply reproducing a vintage driving moccasin.
I particularly appreciate that distinction. Heritage becomes far more compelling when a brand asks what an old idea means today instead of copying an archival object and calling it timeless.
Automotive references are embedded subtly throughout Davies. The speedlace mechanism suggests mechanical precision; the micro-Hobnail tread provides grip while referencing dunhill’s motoring vocabulary; the injected AD Cypher creates another connection to the wider House identity.
Nothing needs to shout “automobile.”
That restraint is precisely what makes the concept feel luxurious.
Can a Sneaker Work With Tailoring?
Absolutely—but proportion determines whether it succeeds.
One of the biggest menswear developments of the last decade has been the dismantling of the old rule that tailoring requires formal footwear. The modern suit can coexist with sneakers, loafers, boots and even certain technical shoes. But that does not mean every sneaker belongs underneath a beautifully tailored trouser.
A large basketball-inspired sneaker can visually fight with a narrow tailored silhouette. An excessively branded sneaker can make an otherwise sophisticated outfit appear transactional. The best luxury sneakers for tailoring have restraint: lower profiles, refined materials, controlled proportions and colors that harmonize with a wardrobe.
The tan patina calf Davies shown for the launch illustrates that beautifully.
I would wear it with cream trousers, tobacco tailoring, navy flannel, charcoal wool, dark indigo denim or an unstructured brown suit. The whiskey and chocolate versions have enormous potential for autumn because they complement the earth tones returning to sophisticated menswear, while black offers an obvious solution for men who prefer a sharper urban wardrobe.
This is where a hybrid sneaker earns its place.
Is Luxury Footwear a Smart Investment?
I would separate investment in personal style from financial investment.
Most shoes should not be purchased with the expectation that they will appreciate in monetary value. Collectible sneakers and rare archival designs can command extraordinary resale prices, but they are exceptions rather than a dependable asset class.
A well-made luxury shoe can, however, represent an intelligent wardrobe investment.
The equation is cost per wear.
A $200 shoe worn twenty times before it looks tired effectively costs $10 per wear. A substantially more expensive shoe worn regularly over several years can become more economical on a cost-per-wear basis while delivering superior comfort, materials and aesthetic pleasure.
The key is buying the right luxury shoe.
I advise looking beyond the logo. Ask whether the leather will improve with age. Examine the lining. Look at the sole. Consider whether the silhouette is tied to a fleeting trend. Ask whether you can imagine wearing it with at least five outfits already in your wardrobe. Most importantly, consider whether you will still want it when the social-media cycle has moved on.
Davies makes a compelling argument because dunhill specifically designed its patina calf and suede to acquire character through wear. That is an important philosophical difference between disposable fashion and genuine luxury: one is at its most desirable the day you purchase it; the other can become more personal over time.
My Perspective: The Return of the Grown-Up Shoe
What I find most interesting about Davies is not simply the shoe itself, but what it tells us about where luxury menswear is heading.
The luxury customer does not necessarily want to return to rigid formal dressing. Nor does he want to surrender the comfort gained during the sneaker revolution. He wants both worlds.
He wants tailoring that moves. He wants knitwear that feels extraordinary against the skin. He wants a coat that can travel. And he wants footwear that provides sneaker-level practicality without making him look as though he is headed to the gym.
That is the opportunity for AW 2026/27.
For me, the next phase of men’s luxury footwear is about maturity without conservatism. It is a return to beautiful leather, elegant proportions and craftsmanship, but informed by everything brands have learned about ergonomics, performance and modern lifestyles.
dunhill is particularly well positioned to participate in that conversation because mobility has been embedded in the House’s identity for more than a century.
Alfred Dunhill understood that the arrival of the automobile was changing not only transportation but the way men lived, dressed and consumed luxury. More than 120 years after Motorities, mobility has changed again. Men move between offices, airports, hotels, restaurants, events and increasingly fluid professional and social environments. Their clothing has to keep pace.
The Davies sneaker feels like an answer to that reality.
It does not abandon the driving shoe. It evolves it.
And perhaps that is the most compelling luxury proposition for AW 2026/27: not choosing between heritage and innovation, tailoring and sneakers, beauty and comfort—but creating products sophisticated enough to deliver all of them.
In an era saturated with products designed to capture attention for a few seconds on a screen, I increasingly value luxury that reveals itself gradually. The hand-burnished calf, nappa lining, engineered speedlace, lightweight construction and subtle motoring references of Davies are details the wearer discovers rather than advertisements for everyone else.
That, to me, is where men’s luxury is heading.
The future of the luxury sneaker may not be louder.
It may simply be better made.
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