Giles Deacon

In the past four years, Giles Deacon has built a flourishing fashion business in London—no small task in a country brimming with design talent but without the money or manufacturing facilities to help nurture it. Although Deacon’s fashion certainly isn’t for the meek—ostrich-feather bodies, 3-D dancing-skeleton prints and S&M-theme caftans have all been featured in recent collections—his business has grown steadily each season. His creations range from the sculpted, couture-inspired designs for his signature collection to the utterly accessible concoctions he makes for the British fast-fashion retailer New Look.

Unlike so many of his contemporaries, who’ve swapped London for the higher-profile catwalks of Paris, New York and Milan, Deacon is committed to showing in his home city. Indeed, all his presentations take place at the Rochelle School, a converted studio space in London’s East End that he shares with fellow designers including Luella Bartley and Katie Hillier. Deacon has proven that homegrown designers can remain in London and still be commercially successful.