How Giles Deacon Became A Fashion Legend

Charlotte Metcalf interviews Giles Deacon about his glittering career in fashion and new creative partnership with Purdey.

Interview: Giles Deacon

Giles Deacon’s career has been so prodigious and varied that it’s difficult to know where to start the conversation except at the beginning. He’s lived in Paris and Milan, and today lives and works in London, but he retains strong roots in the Lake District. ‘I was lucky to grow up near Ullswater at a time when you could vanish from eight in the morning till eight at night in an idyllic, bucolic environment,’ he says. ‘It gave me a natural perspective which I’ve gone on to utilise and develop in my designs.’

His aesthetic sense developed further at school in Barnard Castle in County Durham. ‘We were next to The Bowes Museum so sometimes went there for English or History lessons. It was pretty inspirational learning about Henry VIII surrounded by Canalettos, but it was going to art college and then to London that really had an impact on my creative process.

‘In 1989 I went to Saint Martins with Alexander McQueen, Luella Bartley and Katie Grand, friends who went on to great careers,’ he continues. ‘It was the best time, a knock on from the sixties and seventies when Saint Martins was still very much an art school with an emphasis on self-development. I absolutely found my feet as a designer. I felt so lucky to be in such a brilliant, healthily competitive, creative environment. I’d always known I wanted to do something creative but I wasn’t one of those people who, aged four, admired my grandmother’s style and longed to be in fashion.’

One of Giles’ external tutors was the artist Richard Nott, later one half of Workers for Freedom. He suggested Giles show his portfolio to ‘a gentleman in Florence’ – Tom Ford, who’d just moved to Gucci. ‘I hadn’t even graduated at this point,’ remembers Giles, ‘but I was lucky enough to get some work in London.’ From there Giles worked for Jean-Charles de Castelbajac in Paris, returning to London in 1994. ‘It was an exciting time to be back. My friends were working for Dazed & Confused in Old Street and new galleries like Sadie Coles were opening up. I started freelancing here, in Milan and in New York, doing jobs ranging from illustration to making props for TV, getting lots of experience in different worlds.’

Katie Grand then asked him to work with her reinvigorating Bottega Veneta. They did that for four seasons until it was bought out by Gucci. After a stint at Gucci with Tom Ford, Giles felt he had enough know-how to set up his own business. He introduced his first collection at the end of 2003 to a rapturous response and went on to show at London Fashion Week every year until 2016, when he decided to focus on couture and private clients.

I interrupt Giles to remind him just how many prizes he’s won, including Best New Designer at British Fashion Week 2004, the 2006 British Fashion Council Fashion Forward Award and the French ANDAM Fashion Award Grand Prix and GQ Designer of the Year Award, both in 2009. Yet he modestly waves these aside. ‘I’m not being self-deprecating but can we just talk about the work? That’s always the most important thing.’

He’s excited about his latest role as creative director for the legendary gun-maker Purdey, overseeing clothing and accessories. ‘Growing up in the countryside I was always familiar with Purdey and I’ve always loved visiting all those iconic stores like Lock or John Lobb in their exquisite Mayfair properties. I did a consultancy with a very prominent European ski brand a few years ago and what appealed to me was all the technical knowledge from that I can bring to outdoor clothing.  Very respectfully moving certain aspects of the heritage brand forward while keeping to those timeless countryside codes is something I’ll very much enjoy, building the ultimate country wardrobe that’s both elegant and functional.’

Giles is no newcomer to collaboration, most recently designing wallpapers and fabrics for Sanderson. ‘I’ve always relished the opportunity to use the very best British fabrics, like those Suffolk weavers and printers that do the kind of exquisite handwork that aren’t found anywhere else. Take Stephen Walters & Sons that’s been going 300 years and Gainsborough silk weavers who’ve been making fabrics for embassies and royal palaces all over the world for over 100 years. At Purdey, I’ll continue work with the best manufacturers and materials, sourcing tweed, wool and cashmere from suppliers from Scotland to Somerset and afar.

‘Saint Martins made me realise what I wanted to do within my own practice, which is to make exceptional, beautiful, timeless pieces. So, yes, I’m a fashion designer but my clothes are not about fashion.’ It should come as no surprise that some of Giles’ pieces are in permanent collections at the V&A and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. So, what next? ‘For now, and 30 years after leaving Saint Martins, I just feel privileged being able to bring my designs to an iconic brand like Purdey,’ he says.