Style News: The Unexpected Giles Deacon

For 34 year old Giles Deacon (or just Giles, as fans have taken to calling him now), all the hard work is finally paying off.  In 2006 the English born designer debuted the second collection from his own label, which was a bigger success than even the super confident Deacon himself could have imagined.   With Linda Evangelista by his side to headline his latest ready-to-wear collection, everyone noticed a change was in the air.  Giles Deacon was becoming a star.

After training at London's St. Martins School of Art in the 1990's, Giles Deacon began doing apprentice work at both Gucci and Bottega Veneta.  After that experience, which Deacon often describes as fraught with drama and disappointment, a bold decision was made to strike out on his own.  This decision came as a huge surprise to everyone in the fashion industry in London, because Giles Deacon was a completely unknown designer at the time.  That risk paid off.  Shortly after making the decision to start his own label, 'Giles', Deacon made his solo debut for the 2004 Autumn runway shows. The clothing designs, and the ideas behind them, were such a breath of fresh air that Deacon was immediately booked for a meeting with designer Tom Ford after the shows.  The meeting was a success, giving Giles Deacon a golden opportunity to work with many of the most successful fashion houses of Europe.  In 2000 he became head designer for Bottega Veneta, and his designs catapulted the fashion house into a previously unreached level of success.  Upon leaving Bottega Veneta, Giles Deacon began designing once again for Gucci (but not as an apprentice this time), and the rest is fashion history.