Tatler UK - 07.2019

PHOTOGRAPHS: ALAMY; MARCUS DAWES; GETTY IMAGES; RICHARD YOUNG

tatler.com Tatler July 2019 45

and Hollywood. There was though

a culture of male dominance on

Savile Row; despite bespoke be-

ing available for both men and

women, there was a clear lack of

a tailoring house specialising in

women’s suits.

It was summer 2016 that altered

the world for me. I was lucky

enough to be in the beating heart

of tailoring at what was the best

time in history to be a woman,

just when a broader trend of

BYS TA NDE R

suiting was building behind the

scenes. Lately, we’ve seen Meghan

at public engagements looking

beautiful and powerful in suits

• once a rare sight for a duchess.
  My first bespoke suit changed
  everything – a tuxedo, something I
  believe every woman should own.
  The craftsmanship, the process, the
  fit, the quality, the choice: it was
  my first experience of fashion that
  genuinely empowered me. I felt
  a sense that I could walk into a

not simply a fashion statement;

they are also a state of mind and

have become shorthand for power

and independence.

It took a lot of work, staying

up late into the night trying to

understand the financial, legal and

production details – everything

that goes into a strong business.

But it was worth it. Now, I operate

out of the King’s Road and have

one of the most prestigious ateliers

in Europe to tailor the garments.

It’s a given that I turn up to every

occasion in a suit, whether it’s a

wedding, a christening or Goodwood

• except that recently someone
  asked me if I’d ‘stopped wearing
  boys clothes’ after I donned a
  dress at a party. That did make
  me laugh. I liked the dress – but
  nothing gives me more pleasure
  than being able to add my own
  suits to the wardrobe of fabulous
  women around the globe. (
  thedecklondon.com

meeting and command the room.

I knew I wanted more.

Really great entrepreneurs always

attribute their success to ‘timing’,

to being lucky enough to be in the

right place at the right time, and

that is certainly true for me. That

summer I headed out to Royal

Ascot in a top hat and tails, the

first woman to do so in the history

of the Royal Enclosure. I couldn’t

have had a more positive response.

That’s the moment when I could

see the suit-shaped ‘gap’ in which

to operate.

And so my company, The Deck,

was born. As with a deck of cards,

we offer four silhouettes: the single-

breasted, the double-breasted,

the boyfriend and the safari,

accompanied by a choice of either

straight-leg, wide-leg, flared or

cigarette trousers. Clients are able

to interchange and personalise the

styles to suit their needs. Masculine

has become feminine. Suits are

‘My great-grandmother supposedly

wore military uniforms and underwear

embellished with Cartier jewels’

Right, Daisy’s

great-grandparents,

the Viceroy &

Vicereine of India

in 1947

Daisy and her father, the

Hon Philip Knatchbull, at

the launch of The Deck.

Left, Daisy in one of her

signature suits, 2016

The Earl and Countess

Mountbatten of

Burma with the

Queen Mother and

Princess Margaret

on HMS Surprise

in 1953

FASHION

07-19BYST-FashionDaisyK.indd 45 03/05/2019 15:30