Barbour will join the official British Fashion Council London Fashion Week schedule this September with a takeover of Saatchi Gallery exploring the brand’s tartan heritage, AW26 collection and approach to craftsmanship.
Titled Tartan Reimagined: The Barbour Way, the exhibition will open with an exclusive press event on Thursday 17 September before becoming a public experience at Saatchi Gallery on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 September 2026.
The project continues the tartan story presented by Barbour during London Fashion Week in September 2025, focusing on the brand’s family sett and Scottish heritage while introducing new interpretations through its AW26 collection.
From Scottish Heritage to AW26
The exhibition draws on the journey of founder John Barbour, who travelled from Kirkcudbrightshire in south-west Scotland to South Shields, where he opened the first Barbour store in South Shields Marketplace in 1894.
Barbour’s distinctive tartan sett — the sequence and arrangement of coloured threads through its crossing points — remains a central design code for the brand. Seasonal interpretations continue to use different colour palettes and designs while retaining the original sett.
Taking over the ground floor of Saatchi Gallery, the exhibition will begin with the origins of Barbour and its tartan heritage before moving into the craftsmanship behind the AW26 collection.
Visitors will then encounter work from the winners of Barbour’s Tartan Reimagined competition with the British Fashion Council. Students taking part were asked to reinterpret tartan in their own style while remaining true to the original Barbour sett.
Re-Loved and Craftsmanship on Display
The final part of the exhibition will focus on Barbour’s craft and circularity initiatives, including a display of Re-Loved creations featuring collaborations with Gucci, Erdem, Glastonbury x Oxfam, Paul Smith and Aardman.
A working representation of Barbour’s South Shields factory will also form part of the experience, including a re-waxing table and the live creation of a Re-Loved jacket.
Introduced in 2019, Barbour Re-Loved is designed to extend the life of existing wax jackets. Garments are cleaned, repaired and re-waxed by craftspeople at the South Shields factory before returning to use with either their existing owner or a new one.
The initiative forms part of Barbour’s wider Wax for Life programme.
Limited-edition event pin badges will also be available to purchase during the exhibition.
Public Exhibition Information
Tartan Reimagined: The Barbour Way will be open to the public at Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, London SW3 4RY.
- Friday 18 September: 12pm–9pm
- Saturday 19 September: 10am–6pm
Tickets can be booked through the Saatchi Gallery exhibition page.
Terry Clark is the Publisher and Content Director of 365 Retail, with more than a decade of experience covering retail design, technology innovations, store openings and the wider retail industry. He also works closely with leading retailers, suppliers, agencies, events and industry awards across the UK.
