It might be a world away from the big four fashion weeks, but Goodwood Revival is proving the unlikely runway for one of autumn/winter’s most ladylike propositions: ladylike elegance. The mood was written across the major shows for autumn/winter ‘25 - Miu Miu, Gucci, and beyond - where bras met brooches and faux fur was piled high. A return to ‘50s silhouettes, to hair perfectly set, to the brisk etiquette of gloves and hemlines. And nowhere does that trend find its natural stage quite like Goodwood, where vintage cars are polished to a mirror shine and dressing up isn’t optional - it’s the ticket.
Every September, the Duke of Richmond’s estate in Chichester becomes a time machine. Goodwood Revival, founded in 1948, is ostensibly about motorsport - the cars, the motorcycles, even the planes swooping overhead - but the real spectacle is what happens off the track. Stirling Moss once tore through here in the heyday of Formula 1; now, the glamour is reconstructed by spectators who look as if they’ve been plucked straight out of a Pathe newsreel. In truth, it is the fashion and the setting that take pole position. Which is precisely why we chose it as the backdrop for our September fashion story, shot just weeks before the crowds arrived, with photographer Buzz White capturing the dreamlike blur between fantasy and history.
This year’s guest list only added to the theatre. Richard E. Grant, all raconteur charm, regaled the crowd with stories of his favourite race-day looks. Dita Von Teese, the eternal hourglass, swept in draped in vintage-inspired tailoring, proof that a nipped waist and scarlet lip never lose their charge. Gabriela Hearst brought modern polish in a burgundy pinstripe suit, her designer’s instinct for heritage refracted through sharp tailoring. Together, they underscored Revival’s peculiar magic: half motor show, half fashion carnival.
Jacket, £590, jeans, £490, and belt, price on request, all Victoria Beckham; hat and googles, both vintage
Dress, price on request, Calvin Klein; bra, £47.50, What Katie Did; gloves, £216, Paula Rowan; gold necklace, £4,575, De Beers
For the insider experience, there is ‘Revive & Thrive’, a village within the village, where sustainability is stitched into glamour. Talks from industry notables, workshops in rethinking, repairing and re-wearingyour clothes, and the always-fierce best dressed competition - which is less about outlandish costume and more about who can carry off the most convincing step back in time. (Tip: plan your look months in advance; the veterans always do.)
And should you be tempted for 2026 - the dates are 18–20 September - consider a stay at The Goodwood Hotel. Perched on the edge of the South Downs National Park, it channels the same easy British polish as the Revival itself. Not so much a pit stop as an extension of the theatre: gin and tonics in the bar, tweeds slung artfully over chairs, and a sense that dressing for the occasion is not a burden but part of the fun.
Faux-fur coat, £14,120, and bag, £3,090, both Gucci; shoes, £540, Emporio Armani; socks, £330, Miu Miu
Goodwood Revival isn’t just about nostalgia. It’s about the performance of it - the chance to escape, to slip into a silk scarf and kitten heel, and be transformed into the woman you always suspected you might have been in another life. Ladylike elegance, it turns out, was waiting not in Paris or Milan, but on a racing circuit in Sussex.
Molly Haylor is a fashion stylist and creative consultant based in London, and is currently the style director of Grazia Magazine.