Daisy Knatchbull is on a mission to change tailored clothes for women, and to offer successful, style conscious women a compelling alternative to fast fashion.
She founded The Deck in early 2019, and the brand has since received glowing reviews in the fashion press, including Vogue and the Financial Times, dressed some of the most influential female actors, entrepreneurs and creatives working today, and opened the first women’s-only shopfront on Savile Row.
Before The Deck came to be, Knatchbull worked for five years as the Communications Director at Huntsman, one of Savile Row’s oldest and most prestigious bespoke tailors. It was here that she realised the traditional world of bespoke tailoring lacks a contemporary alternative for women. Prior to Huntsman, Knatchbull worked with the fashion director at The Sunday Times.
Today, The Deck is growing fast, with a loyal international customer base and press coverage in titles ranging from Vogue, to Vanity Fair, to FT How To Spend It magazine. Red carpet clients
include Gillian Anderson, Elizabeth Hurley and Charlotte Tilbury, among other inspiring women.
Keen to continue to grow, Knatchbull has bold plans for the future.
The Deck is determined to establish itself as the leading tailoring house for women internationally, and to stand alongside its neighbours on Savile Row as a respected and innovative tailoring house. “This brand is all about empowering women to feel confident, sexy and like they’re making the right wardrobe choices,” Knatchbull says. “We’re here to make an impact on women’s fashion and create clothes in the right way.”
Her appearance in top-hat and tails caused a stir at the time, and it also inspired Knatchbull to take the bull by the horns: “I wanted to challenge the antiquated view that suits are only for men – The Deck is about giving women the opportunity to be heard and understood in the world of tailoring.”
“I have always been inspired by the pioneers of androgyny; Marlene Dietrich, to whom wearing a top hat came naturally; Katharine Hepburn, who daringly donned trousers at a time when masquerading as a man was a criminal offence; Lauren Hutton, who, at the age of 75 is still my all-time favourite suit-wearing, kick-ass chick. And of course there’s Bianca Jagger, whose 1971 white wedding suit will forever inspire me, not to mention Julia Roberts’ exquisite Armani Oscars’ suit.
“Despite these extraordinary women, there has always been a culture of male dominance on Savile Row, despite bespoke tailoring being ostensibly available for both genders. When the idea settled on me to found The Deck, it was painfully obvious that the bespoke world needed a compelling, inclusive option for women.
“I am incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved since 2019, but we will always have more women to reach, more suits to cut and – as a young business – more challenges to overcome. I very much hope you’ll join us on this journey, and that we’ll meet in our Savile Row atelier very soon.”
Daisy x