John Smedley Puts Knitwear in Poetic Company

John Smedley pairs poets Kit Clarke and Robert Montgomery with its signature knitwear for “The Original Muse.”

The Fashionisto

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Published September 2, 2026

Robert Montgomery and Kit Clarke walk along a beach at dusk for John Smedley, Montgomery in a long brown overcoat over a patterned scarf and wide trousers, Clarke in a dark green zip-through knit with a scarf draped over the shoulders and grey pleated trousers, holding a small vintage film camera
Robert Montgomery and Kit Clarke walk the shoreline for John Smedley’s “The Original Muse.” Photo: John Smedley

John Smedley places knitwear in the company of nature and intellectual pursuits with “The Original Muse,” starring poets Kit Clarke and Robert Montgomery. Moving between shoreline and countryside, the pair read, play chess, handle a film camera, and converse while dressed in the British brand’s fine-gauge knits and rich earth tones.

John Smedley “The Original Muse”

Kit Clarke leans against a bare tree in open countryside, wearing a brown ribbed zip-through knit over a striped T-shirt with pale wide-leg trousers and suede loafers for John Smedley
Kit Clarke leans into a low branch in a brown ribbed zip-through knit for John Smedley’s fall 2026 campaign. Photo: John Smedley

There is something rarefied about the proposition, but the campaign remains warm enough to make its world inviting. Clarke and Montgomery help enormously, presenting two generations of the John Smedley man. They share an appreciation for culture, beautiful clothes, and a life apparently afforded enough time to enjoy both.

Robert Montgomery crouches on a beach at dusk in a brown shawl-collar wrap coat over a light T-shirt with a gold pendant necklace, holding a vintage cine camera
Robert Montgomery crouches on the sand in a shawl-collar wrap coat for John Smedley’s fall 2026 campaign. Photo: John Smedley

After more than 242 years of manufacturing in Derbyshire, John Smedley could easily make tradition the entire story. Instead, the clothes become an accessible piece of a larger fantasy. Perhaps you cannot spend your days wandering the landscape discussing poetry, but you can dress as though that life remains within reach.

Black and white image of Robert Montgomery seated with a folded newspaper in a piqué polo shirt while Kit Clarke stretches his arms overhead behind him, a chess board and teacups on the table between them in a field
Robert Montgomery reads the paper while Kit Clarke stretches behind a half-played chess game, both in John Smedley polo shirts, for “The Original Muse.” Photo: John Smedley

More familiar knitwear styles takes the spotlight in John Smedley’s Icons campaign.

Kit Clarke reclines on a white wrought-iron garden bench reading a worn hardcover book, wearing a dark sleeveless knit and dark tailored trousers with black loafers for John Smedley
Kit Clarke relaxes on a wrought-iron bench with a worn book, in a sleeveless knit and tailored trousers, for John Smedley’s fall 2026 campaign. Photo: John Smedley

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