Sinead Gorey usually trades in a certain side of London’s nightlife: hectic and eccentric raves, an environment idyllic to some and unreachable to others. But the brand’s latest collection comes from a more mundane part of the city’s nocturnal ecosystem, the pub.
“Nothing beats being wedged round a sticky table with your girls on a Friday, pint in hand, pretending you’re good at pool,” said Sinead Gorey.
“Maybe it’s the half-Irish thing, maybe it’s just in my DNA – some people meditate, I go to the boozer.”
The pub is perhaps the superior third space. There is no archetype of person for whom the pub is unsuitable. When attending a rave, we know we ought to conform to a certain aesthetic, a vibe, a specific taste. None of that applies to the pub, a nonchalant, low-effort communal space that unites people of all lifestyles. And such (stylish) nonchalance is exactly what transpires from Sinead Gorey’s latest collection.
Low-waisted, baggy and straight-leg jeans feature in numerous looks. Sometimes that’s just what you happen to have on when you decide to meet up with your girls last minute for a quick pint and gossip. Knowing you’ll realistically spend most of the evening in the smoking area when it is no more than 3 degrees outside, you’ll throw on a statement jacket – partly for fashion, partly for the bite. The beautiful fur jackets styled over double-denim looks perfectly convey this balance between effortless comfort and impeccable taste for styling.
Some people’s night, however, won’t end at the pub; they’ll merely start there. Sometimes the pub is the first stop on your way to a glamorous party or event.
And if that’s true, low effort won’t cut it. Colourful, patterned tights layered under micro shorts, miniskirts and minidresses appear on the runway, styled with cowl-neck tops, corsets, and bold jewellery and makeup. Skin-tight leather trousers, skirts, and dresses also feature prominently, often matched with sunglasses – recalling Gorey’s roots in rave culture and nightlife.
These latter looks bring an elegance and refinement that is both contrasting with, and a continuation of, Sinead Gorey’s earlier nightlife-inspired work. The contrast lies in these looks recalling a polished, office-job-appropriate style more than they’d remind us of warehouse raves. The continuation, however, is evident thanks to Gorey’s ability to style such mature looks in a way that they still belong to a facet of UK nightlife, albeit a different one.
The pub, though, is not only the place where all these different characters find themselves at the end of their day (or perhaps, at the start of their night). The very aesthetic essence of British pubs transpires through the colour palette, fabrics, and silhouettes used by Gorey in her collection.
Stepping foot in a pub, one is often encountered by Victorian architecture, deep shades of green and red, velvety carpets and the occasional plaid pattern – perhaps on some cushions, or on some old, padded chairs.
Within this context, Sinead Gorey’s signature corset looks not only signal the designer’s roots in nightlife culture, but also take us back to a silhouette that we often associate to Victorian fashion.
Similarly, the colour palette and plaid patterns are a direct reference to a pub’s classic interiors.
In AW26, Sinead Gorey trades the spectacle of the warehouse for the slow burn of the boozer, proving that British nightlife doesn’t just live under strobe lights, but also under nicotine-stained ceilings and faux-Victorian sconces. Her models map out a full night’s itinerary, from a rushed post-work pint to a 3am stumble out of a smoking area. The result is a collection that doesn’t glamorise the pub so much as it recognises it for what it is: the unpretentious, low-effort, chaotically democratic heart of UK nightlife.
