LONDON — Purdey has embraced fashion, and it isn’t looking back. The Richemont-owned gunmaker and luxury outdoor brand has tapped Giles Deacon as its new creative lead, succeeding Simon Holloway.
Deacon’s first collection is for spring 2025, and it will debut in February. Purdey describes the relationship with Deacon as a “creative partnership” that will see the designer create seasonal collections for men and women inspired by the brand’s archives at Audley House in Mayfair.
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In an interview, Deacon said the new collection is packed with performance fabrics and details, including technical tweeds, fleeces and bonded seams meant to keep rain and wind at bay. There are soft touches, too, such as Nottingham lace on a white blouse.
Deacon described the collection as a “timeless, elegant, country wardrobe” for hunting, shooting, and fishing types. Dog walkers and city dwellers can easily wear them, too, he said.
“It’s not about fashion, but about elegant product,” said Deacon, “and most importantly, the pieces are fit for purpose.”
Despite their robust construction, the pieces have Deacon’s elegant fingerprints all over them.
A long, hooded olive cape has the feel of an opera coat, while military-style jackets have dramatic, stand-up collars that frame the face.
The fabrics are all luxe: cashmere for a cape; linen and cotton for a field jacket, and a bird’s eye tweed for a Norfolk jacket. Deacon said the fabrics are bespoke and represent “the best of British manufacturing.”
Purdey chief executive officer Dan Jago said Deacon’s 30 years of experience in the industry complements “what we do here at Purdey: valuing and supporting quality craftsmanship, upholding and celebrating these skills, and honoring design that is able to evolve while staying true to its roots. We are really glad to be working together.”
It was Deacon who originally sparked the conversation with Purdey, texting his friend and fellow designer Holloway, Purdey’s former creative director, when the job opened up. Last year, Holloway left Purdey for Dunhill, which is also in the Richemont portfolio.
Deacon, who grew up in England’s Lake District riding horses and whiling away the hours outdoors, said he’s always admired the brand, which has recently had its long-standing royal warrant renewed by King Charles.
Before designing the first collection Deacon spent a lot of time in the Purdey archives and studying customers’ lifestyles, which he said involve Land Rovers — and lots of dogs.
“Mostly labradors and spaniels — the more the better,” said Deacon, who also conjured an appropriate color palette for the new collection. “I’ve used the tones of the countryside. There are symphonies of green, like loden and moss,” he said.
Customers, he added, hail mainly from the U.K. and the U.S., but they also come from continental Europe, the Middle East and South America, “and they want quality,” he said.
The collections will continue to sell at Audley House, home of Purdey’s flagship, and at stores including Harrods, Mr Porter, Net-a-porter and El Corte Inglés.
Deacon stepped off the London runways years ago and since then has been making ready-to-wear and couture pieces for private clients around the world. He’s been using collaborations to stretch in new directions, and most recently designed an array of wallpapers and fabrics for Sanderson, the historic English home furnishings brand.
Purdey was founded by James Purdey as a London gunmaker in 1814 and has been pushing into fashion gradually over the last few decades. The company tapped Holloway, whose résumé includes stints at Agnona, Jimmy Choo, Hogan and Ralph Lauren, as creative director two years ago.
His brief was to transform it into a complete luxury lifestyle brand.
Before Holloway’s arrival, it had made forays into the lifestyle and apparel arena, but the main focus was always on guns, rifles, countryside sporting equipment and purpose-built clothing. It also offers luggage, glassware, leather goods and other accessories.
Richemont acquired Purdey in 1994 and it sits within the group’s fashion and accessories portfolio, along with Alaïa, Alfred Dunhill, AZ Factory, Chloé, Montblanc, Peter Millar and Serapian.
