Aspinal links with Giles Deacon for whimsical makeover of bestselling pieces

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 19, 2018

Aspinal of London and Giles Deacon have unveiled their collaboration collection with an event at Aspinal’s Regent Street store to show off the 25-piece collab that features topselling handbag and accessory items with a Deacon edge.

The company invited Deacon to “dress” his favourite products, “to bring couture design elements to a playful collection.” The result is “a fresh and colourful capsule,” Aspinal said. The original connection with Deacon was made as Aspinal owner Iain Burton’s wife is one of his fashion clients.

The company decided not to introduce any new items for the collab but chose the pieces most synonymous with the brand. That makes commercial sense because the makeover of these items is undeniably eye-catching in itself.

The collaborative collection adds “unexpected materials and prints to traditional styles and includes a luxurious and stylish array of embroidered, illustrated and printed bags, clutches, silk scarves, and small leathers,” we’re told.

Star items include the mini Trunk bag, the Regent tote bag, the Micro Lottie style, and the Hepburn bag, all featuring prints based on hand-drawn illustrations of Aspinal women as imagined by Deacon.

The women illustrated are quintessentially English but also have global appeal, which also makes sense given the brand’s targeting of key markets such as China and the Middle East.

Deacon said: “The most important part for me in designing the collection was not to reinvent the wheel. Aspinal has got so many iconic and beautiful shapes which are already well known, such as the Trunk and the Hat Box. I wanted to play on those and put my own individual stamp of creativity on them.”

It’s not Apsinal’s first collaboration this year with the luxury company in the spring linking with model David Gandy for a capsule accessory offer called the Aerodrome Collection. That collection is still available. The 18-piece line features travel and business accessories inspired by Britain’s aeronautical heritage, particularly by the Spitfire fighter aircraft.