One-on-one with Ungaro designer Giles Deacon

One-on-one with Ungaro designer Giles Deacon

High fashion hit a new low last year when the house of Ungaro handed over its coveted creative reins to the infamous Lindsay Lohan, whose stint, thankfully, was short-lived. Since founder Emanuel Ungaro hung up his sketch pad in 2004, the house hasn’t been able to recapture its former magic, though five different design teams have tried.

Now, though, it seems that Ungaro’s owners have come to their senses, appointing one of British fashion’s brightest lights, 41-year-old Giles Deacon, as head designer. Deacon, whose own label is known for its playful approach, trained at the prestigious Central St. Martin’s fashion school. He then worked for Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, headed up Bottega Veneta and assisted Tom Ford at Gucci.

There is little doubt that he has what it takes to revive the label. His first line for Ungaro, staged in a greenhouse pavilion at Paris’s André Citroën Park last month, was bang on: romantic, coquettish and very French. A pink shaggy sheep purse was the pièce de résistance. Deacon was at The Room in Toronto recently for a salute to British design talent.