One of our favourite pastimes here is having a gander at whatever Gander are up to. And usually, that’s a pretty easy thing for us to do. They’re from Manchester. We’re from Manchester. and Manchester isn’t all that big. But recently, when we fancied having a look at what Gander were up to for AW25, we couldn’t find them. Nowhere. Vanished. Turns out they’d only gone and moved about 15 miles up the road to Bolton. Bit dramatic, but fair enough.
And what were they doing in Bolton? Well, mucking in on a farm. With hay bales, cows, and a couple of jackets hanging off fence posts. As it happens, this countryside backdrop feels tailor-made for a collection that’s warm, woolly, and outright cosy.
The range itself feels like Gander’s taken a tractor up a gear. Familiar silhouettes, but ploughed through with more contemporary ideas: universal fabrics, natural fibres – plenty of wool and cotton – and enough seasonal heft to see you through a winter spent outdoors, whether you’re commuting to the city or checking on the hens before dark.
There are the returning workers of the field – the Dean Shirt, the Stevenson Smock and Pant, and the Castle Duel Jacket, now properly winterised for the Northern frost. But there are also new additions to the herd: the Cottonopolis Jacket and Pant set, the Pennine Shirt and Pant set, and, for anyone with cold ears, the Togo Beanie.
The Cottonopolis Jacket has been rooted in old workwear, but also nods to Manchester’s days as Cottonopolis itself – part textile titan, part woolly mammoth. The Pennine Shirt, meanwhile, rides in from cowboy country and sets up shop in Lancashire farmland. Cropped, pocketed, and ready for both rodeo and ramble, it’s a shirt that’s as happy leaning on a gate as it is leaning on the bar.
Then there’s the Peveril Jacket – but not quite as we’ve known it. What started life as a fishing-inspired waterproof has spawned two new offspring for AW25. First up, the Peveril Down Jacket: hood gone, body packed with premium down, and looking a lot more like a flight jacket than something you’d sling on for a day’s angling. Then there’s the Peveril Wool Jacket – same shape, different pasture – swapping technical fabric for wool and giving the whole thing a sturdier, heritage feel.
All in all, it’s Gander settling into themselves: part workwear, part outdoor, part whatever they want it to be. Still Manchester at heart, even if Bolton’s claiming them for the time being.
The Gander AW25 collection is now available to be purchased from Gander.
