Who Is 16Arlington? Marco Capaldo, Kikka Cavenati and the London House of Feathers and Sequins

16Arlington is the London fashion house founded in 2017 by Marco Capaldo and Federica Cavenati, known to everyone as Kikka, two graduates of the London campus of Istituto Marangoni; the brand itself dates its launch to 2018. Its name is the address of the Mayfair flat the two shared. In eight years it has gone from a graduate idea to the London Fashion Week schedule, a British Fashion Award, a Marks and Spencer collaboration and a final show with Antony Price, and it has done it on one idea: going-out dressing, cut with real tailoring and finished with feathers, sequins and satin. Luxury Handbags carries 211 16Arlington pieces from $500 to $9,940, every one authenticated, with express shipping worldwide.

The founders

Capaldo is Italian by family and London born and bred. Cavenati came from Bergamo, near Milan, and arrived in London after a foundation course in Bournemouth. They met at Istituto Marangoni and, on graduating in 2017, started a label of their own that combined his taste for European couture with her knowledge of tailoring. The division of labour was clear from the start: Capaldo, minimal in his own clothes, had a taste for exuberance on the rail; Cavenati was the pattern cutter, precise and quieter in her work. Early pieces landed on Adwoa Aboah and Jorja Smith, and by 2019 the label was on the official London Fashion Week schedule.

In October 2021 Cavenati died suddenly, aged 28. Capaldo showed the Autumn/Winter 2022 collection as a tribute to her and has designed the house alone since, as creative director. In 2024 the British Fashion Council gave him the award for New Establishment Womenswear at the Fashion Awards.

What the house makes

The signature is a sharp, often minimal silhouette carrying one extravagant material: ostrich and marabou plumes along a hem, a cuff, a neckline; sequins woven into a column gown; Japanese satin trimmed with scalloped lace; crystal embroidery on tulle. The Spring/Summer 2026 collection was built from a woman’s wardrobe across the decades, twenties lingerie and forties sleepwear and nineties pencil skirts, collaged with embellishment. Autumn/Winter 2025, titled Lights On and photographed in a Brooklyn studio by Ethan James Green, leaned into 1980s power dressing with lurex, clashing sequins and puffball skirts. Autumn/Winter 2026, shown in London in February, returned to draped evening silhouettes, animalier print, pony hide, velvet devore and bugle-bead embroidery, with wraps, scarves and satin ties designed to detach.

The clothes are made close to home. Of the 211 pieces at Luxury Shoes , 180 are made in the United Kingdom and 26 in Portugal, with a handful from India and China. The brand runs its atelier in East London and describes each special project as crafted there.

Who wears it

Kate and Lila Moss wore 16Arlington on the cover of British Vogue in December 2023. Amal Clooney chose a white 16Arlington column for the King’s Trust Awards in 2025 and Sheila Atim a 16Arlington gown for the Olivier Awards the same year. Lily Allen walked the Antony Price show in November 2025 and wears a custom crystal-embellished 16Arlington mini for her West End Girl performances at the London O2. Erin Doherty wore a custom ruched gown to the BAFTA Television Awards. The brand’s own special-projects roll call adds Hunter Schafer, Emma Corrin, Venus Williams, Alexa Chung, Alva Claire, Jorja Smith and Angel Reese.

Where it is sold

16Arlington sells from its own site in pounds sterling and through Net-a-Porter, SSENSE, Farfetch, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols. It publishes no standalone boutique. Luxury Handbags stocks the label across dresses, gowns, tops, skirts, trousers, knitwear and outerwear, priced in US dollars and shipped by DHL Express and FedEx; the where-to-buy guide compares the routes and the price guide sets out what each category costs.

Three pieces that explain the house

1. Hodi Mini Dress in Black, $1,770

A long-sleeved georgette mini with an ostrich-feather hem, the shape that put the house on the map: sheer, short and finished with plumes.

2. Electra Gown in Black, $1,900

A woven-sequin column gown, slim through the body, that shows how 16Arlington uses sequins as a fabric rather than a decoration.

3. Clio Top in Black, $1,020

A Japanese satin camisole with scalloped lace and silver rivets, from the satin-and-lace family that carries the brand’s lingerie references into daylight.

Key facts

• Founded in London in 2017 by Marco Capaldo and Federica “Kikka” Cavenati, Istituto Marangoni graduates; the brand dates its launch to 2018; named after their Mayfair flat
• On the London Fashion Week schedule since 2019; British Fashion Award for New Establishment Womenswear, 2024
• Cavenati died in October 2021, aged 28; Capaldo has been sole creative director since
• 211 pieces at Luxury Handbags from $500 to $9,940; median $1,675; 180 made in the United Kingdom, 26 in Portugal
• Marks and Spencer capsule of 43 pieces launched 30 October 2025; 16 Looks collaboration with Antony Price shown November 2025

Read next

Is 16Arlington a luxury brand? How to style 16Arlington. The feather dresses. The Antony Price collaboration. The Marks and Spencer capsule.

Frequently asked questions

Who owns 16Arlington?

It is an independent, privately held London house led by its co-founder Marco Capaldo, who has been creative director since Federica Cavenati’s death in October 2021. It is not part of a luxury group.

Where does the name 16Arlington come from?

From the address of the flat in Mayfair, London, that Capaldo and Cavenati shared when they started the label.

Is 16Arlington a British brand?

Yes. Both founders are Italian by background, and the clothes carry an Italian taste for embellishment, but the house was founded in London, shows at London Fashion Week and makes most of its pieces in the United Kingdom, with a second production base in Portugal.

What is 16Arlington known for?

Feather trims, sequins and satin on sharp, wearable silhouettes: the feather-hemmed mini and midi dresses, the woven-sequin gowns, the satin-and-lace camisoles and cardigans, and, more recently, animal-print pony hide and crystal embroidery.

Has 16Arlington won any awards?

Yes. It received the British Fashion Award for New Establishment Womenswear at the Fashion Awards in 2024.

Does 16Arlington make menswear?

No. It is a womenswear house, with occasional accessories such as scarves.