The deck is moving towards Savile Row

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Much ink has been spilled about the supposed demise of Savile Row, but The Deck, Daisy Knatchbull’s women’s tailoring brand, proves there’s still plenty of life on London’s Golden Mile. Such is the demand for bespoke suits from Knatchbull, whose fans include Lauren Hutton, Elizabeth Hurley and Gillian Anderson, that she not only expanded her team from three employees to 20 and moved into one of the biggest stores on the high street (the first dedicated exclusively to women), but now also launches Knatchbull, a ready-to-wear line. “It seemed like a very natural progression,” says Knatchbull, who only founded The cover in 2019.

We want a woman to be able to buy her entire wardrobe with us

The first collection, which will launch online and in stores next month, aims to complement the brand’s bespoke offering, which has grown 111 per cent year on year. There are everyday staples, including cotton poplin and sand-washed silk shirts, cashmere sweaters and vests in pastel shades of lemon yellow, dusty pink and sky blue, navy jumpsuits and a trench coat, as well as a selection of exclusive tailored pieces, including simple jumpsuits. jackets and vests with buttoned waists and matching pants in wide-leg or cigarette silhouettes. “Eventually we want a woman to be able to shop her entire wardrobe with us,” says Knatchbull, who used many of the same fabrics and Savile Row fabric merchants for the collection as she does for custom suits.

Although the pieces, which range from £295 to £2,295, may be ‘off the shelf’, they have been designed with their customers’ needs in mind. Rather than using traditional size charts, the fit has been based on data taken from 2,000 women measured by the team’s in-house tailors, to reflect “what the real woman actually looks like”, while all pieces come with generous inlays. . so that they can be modified in the years to come. There are also bespoke details and nods to the Savile Row heritage throughout, from the side adjusters and the V-shaped cut at the rear waist of the trousers, which reference the traditional fishtail trousers of men, even the pockets of their vests. “It’s taking the essence of Savile Row, but making it exceptionally modern and feminine,” says Knatchbull.