‘There’s this little icon called the Tweenie Devil,’ says Dunhill creative director Simon Holloway, reaching for a small metal statuette. ‘Alfred Dunhill was one of the first people in England to be given a fine for speeding. So he made this, a little devil literally thumbing his nose at the police.’ On examination, the red figure is attached to a radiator cap, and Alfred apparently screwed this on to the front of his car to send a message to the constabulary.

This was pure Dunhill, explains Holloway, who came into his role about a year ago and whose first collection, for this autumn/winter, has just gone on sale. ‘The man was a character, a maverick. And a visionary. He took over his father’s business, a saddlery firm, in 1893, aged 21, and bet the house on the brand-new technology of the motoring industry. He had this big shop on the Euston Road that made all the bits for cars – we’ve got catalogues that show headlights, instruments that went on dashboards, luggage, hood ornaments and everything in between. In those days the cars came completely raw and you had to fully accessorise them.’ Dunhill’s motto was “Everything but the Motor”.

It was a short step from car accessories to car coats, and before long Dunhill was moving into clothing and what Holloway calls ‘hard products’. These included the Windshield Pipe, one you could smoke in your car because it had a shield to protect the flame in the bowl and, ever mindful of those policemen, a pair of “Bobby Finders”, essentially driving goggles that were binoculars, so the wearer could identify the lurking law up ahead.

Simon Holloway is clearly inspired by this level of inventiveness and creativity, and as part of his mission he’s developing a whole raft of luxe board-game sets and puzzles, desk accessories and even a nesting “Russian” doll in polished silver plate with a Dunhill lighter at its centre.

Dunhill used to equip the modern gentleman for life, according to Holloway. So his goal is to do the same today: ‘It’s important to rebuild a masculine playground of objects as well as outerwear, tailoring and eveningwear.’

However, although there are new bags, canes, shoes, cufflinks and tie pins, the real action is in the wardrobe. And here Holloway has some surprises. As well as the elegant tailoring there is a more casual side to the collection: ‘We have things like a knit jacket with a polo coat all in camel and ivory… a shearling aviator jacket with an Aran sweater,’ explains Holloway. ‘In the early days Dunhill was outfitting aviators alongside motorists – the two modern sports, if you will, for the wealthy. I want to get the same sense of masculine outerwear and find a way for that to be relevant – like combining with cashmere jogging pants and wool-cashmere denim jeans, for example.’

Car coats in leather and wool pay homage to the house origins, and key is the Gurkha trouser style, a tailored trouser with a long waistband fastening that delivers a distinctive look – a little old-school and military. These in flannel and suiting fabrics anchor the collection, where you can combine them with cashmere navy double- breasted blazers with antique brass buttons, fine knits and denim shirts. And matching jackets to make a suit.

Because there’s traditional tailoring here too. ‘Tailoring is obviously one of the most important parts of Dunhill’s history,’ confirms Holloway. ‘What I’ve tried to do is retain that sense of an English silhouette; so we have a slightly wider shoulder, a suggestion of a rolled sleeve head but done in a much lighter weight with a more natural drape against the body. And the fabrics are developed with either English mills, or Italian mills that get the English taste. But importantly, all the cloths have a comfortable, modern, lightweight handle.’

Smart or sporty, Simon Holloway has a Dunhill spirit that is very much “Englishman at home or abroad”, but with a twinkle in his eye that speaks of the maverick. Alfred would approve.

dunhill.com