Lou Dalton

London-based men's wear designer Lou Dalton was born in Shropshire and grew up in Hodnet.[1] She was inspired to become a fashion designer after seeing an episode of "This Is Your Life" starring Zandra Rhodes when she was 12 years old. She left school at age 16 in 1989 to start an apprenticeship at Pardie Clothing, a tailoring business in Market Drayton, where she worked as a bespoke menswear tailor[2] making shooting garments.[3] She returned to education in 1996 to study menswear at the Royal College of Art, where she became friends with womenswear designer Holly Fulton.[4] She worked at Charlie Allen as a design assistant while studying for her Master of Arts at the RCA,[4] graduating in 1998.

After graduating from the Royal College of Art with a Master's degree in Fashion Menswear in 1998, she held design roles at Cruciani knitwear,[2] Stone Island, Iceberg and Japanese brand United Arrows, until she launched her own brand in 2005. She is currently a teacher at the Royal College of Art in London on the Menswear and Accessory Design courses[5] and shows her eponymous collections during London Fashion Week: Mens.

In 2015, Dalton created a short fashion film with Italian label Cerruti. Directed by Nick Leary, the black-and-white film was shot at the Lanificio Cerruti textile mill in Biella, Italy, and at Dalton’s studio in London. It depicts Nino Cerruti's work with wool, and illustrates the bonds between Nino Cerruti, the mill and Dalton.[6]

In January 2016 she collaborated with Jaeger on a men‘s collection for autumn 2016.[7] The collection was shown during the London Fashion Week: Men's shows and was inspired by items from Jaeger’s archives, including some that Ernest Shackleton wore for his famous 1914 Endurance Expedition to Antarctica. The partnership continued for a second spring 2017 collection in June 2016.[8]

She collaborated with British high street retailer River Island on a 13-piece menswear collection in 2016.[9]

In January 2016, Dalton collaborated with British knitwear brand John Smedley on a collection for fall 2016[10] that included a sweater featuring a topographical map that was promoted by Dalton's friend and actor Russell Tovey.[11] The partnership was still in place as of the fall 2018 shows in London in January 2018.[12]