THE KING'S STYLE

Reiss celebrates the Coronation of King Charles III with a look at his style signatures.  

2023 is a year of new beginnings for the United Kingdom. And this change has a scheduled inauguration: the Coronation of King Charles III. While His Majesty’s reign began last year, the Coronation is a symbolic formality that signifies his appointment as the King, confirms his role as Head of the Church of England, and marks the transfer of his title.  

To many, this is a moment of celebration and the revival of tradition. Reiss joins the festivities with a look at King Charles’ style journey.

King Charles, then Prince of Wales, has acknowledged and light-heartedly commented on his style consistency during an interview in 2012: “I have lurched from being the best-dressed man to being the worst-dressed man,” he said. “Meanwhile, I have gone on — like a stopped clock — and my time comes around every 25 years.”    

His consistent wardrobe is a collection of garments of infallible elegance worn under well-defined codes dictated by a sense of duty and dedication to his role. It evolved almost undetectably over the years and reached the iconic status limited to historical figures.    

Duty and sartorial resilience aside, His Majesty occasionally revealed a knack for casual elegance in looks of incidental cool and a pioneering embracing of sustainable dressing.

THE JACKET

A double-breasted jacket as part of a suit or worn as a coordinated blazer has been King Charles’ most recognisable signature from a young age. Born and raised in the public eye in a family of strict dress codes, His Majesty allegedly took inspiration from his great-uncle, The Duke of Windsor, the first public figure to embrace the look for formal and casual occasions throughout the year, ignoring beliefs that the garment was for colder months.  

The King’s jackets vary in patterns, weight, and suiting fabric to adjust to the season and dress code of the occasion, but never to fit in: he remained resiliently loyal to the look, showing no signs of wanting to give it up.

OFF-DUTY MOMENTS

Sportive man, a country gentleman, and a heartthrob, pre-throne King Charles flexed his elegance to suit the occasion, perfectly embracing practicality and unquestionable appropriateness in waxed jackets, kilts, deep v-necks and eye-catching safari jackets, which he sported dashingly during his travels.  

He was also captured in t-shirts and polos worthy of the coolest of wardrobes, worn over his sportive physique, often paired with white polo trousers in post-game pictures that still inspire menswear experts, stylists, and designers. Another distinctive trait of His Majesty’s style is his homage to different cultures during state visits - a diplomatic habit inherited from his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

A PERMANENT WARDROBE

HRH’s consistent wardrobe is as elegant as it is responsible. By staying true to his signatures without succumbing to trends, he prolongs the life of each garment, transcends fashion and navigates life in a style league of his own. This enduring, non-fleeting approach to dressing that promotes the reuse of garments and high-quality investments is The King’s most meaningful style signature - a philosophy we live under at Reiss and inspires our design and production.

We join the celebrations of His Majesty King Charles III’s Coronation and look forward to a long reign of iconic style and uncompromising elegance.