Lachasse

Lachasse was a British couture and fashion house that operated in London from 1928 until 2006. It became associated with an especially British form of tailored elegance: sportswear-inspired suits, country fabrics, restrained decoration, and precise cutting adapted for urban life. Although its name sounded French, Lachasse was a deliberately constructed house name rather than the surname of a founder. The firm developed as an offshoot of the Berkeley Square couture business Paulette, later connected with Gray, Paulette & Shingleton, and was strongly shaped by Fred Shingleton. The original designer, Digby Morton, is credited with devising the name and with establishing the house's early creative direction. Lachasse emerged during the 1920s enthusiasm for practical, smart sportswear. Morton transformed materials such as Donegal tweed, traditionally associated with country clothing, into sophisticated city garments. His early women's collection used unexpected colour combinations and minimized surface decoration so that the cut of the suit became the principal feature. This approach helped make tweed fashionable in London and gave Lachasse a distinctive identity based on elegant daywear rather than overt theatricality. After Morton departed to establish his own label, Hardy Amies succeeded him. Amies initially had little formal experience as a fashion designer, but his tenure at Lachasse became an important stage in his career. His 1937 'Panic' suit, made in green Linton tweed with a cerise-pink check, used padded hips, a narrowly defined waist, and corsetry. Cecil Beaton photographed it for Vogue, helping to establish Amies and the house internationally. By the outbreak of the Second World War, Amies was responsible for the complete Lachasse collection. Michael Donnellan became associated with Lachasse during the war and was appointed head of operations in 1941. After his return from wartime service, he served as chief designer, producing work under the label 'Michael of Lachasse'. His designs emphasized simplicity, architectural form, and exact tailoring. Lachasse's profile during this period was sufficiently high for the house to be included among London's leading designers in contemporary international fashion coverage. Donnellan left in 1953 to establish an independent career, after which the designer known as Owen continued the house's tailoring tradition. Clive Evans was also part of the design team during this broad post-war period before becoming associated with the Swinging London fashion scene. The house participated in British fashion export initiatives, showing collections in New York, Venice, St Moritz, and other international settings. Its suits and tweeds benefited from American interest in London fashion, particularly when British prices compared favourably with Parisian couture. Lachasse was also prominent in coronation-era promotion of London design and belonged to the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers, commonly known as IncSoc. In 1965, Peter Lewis-Crown, who had joined Lachasse as an apprentice in 1948, became its director and later acquired the couture house. He combined ownership and design responsibilities during a period when traditional London couture faced competition from ready-to-wear and younger designers such as Mary Quant and Jean Muir. Lachasse retained a loyal, generally mature clientele by maintaining a deliberately timeless style. Its collections continued to emphasize straight skirts, structured jackets, square necklines, draped bodices, and careful fit. The house remained primarily couture-focused until 1981, when it introduced a small ready-to-wear boutique at its Thurloe Place premises in Kensington. Lachasse was also notable for its educational and professional legacy. Designers who trained or worked there included Hardy Amies, Michael Donnellan, Stephen Jones, John Galliano, and others who later achieved major independent or international careers. By the late twentieth century, the house was remembered both as a source of bespoke London tailoring and as a surviving link to an earlier couture culture. Its clothes are preserved in collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Fashion Museum, Bath. A 1954 Virginia Lachasse doll, complete with a miniature couture wardrobe, was included in the V&A's 2007–08 touring exhibition The Golden Age of Couture. The house eventually ceased operations in 2006.

Lachasse was founded in London in 1928 as an offshoot of the Paulette couture business, associated with Gray, Paulette & Shingleton and Fred Shingleton. The house's name was intended to sound French, reflecting the conventions of luxury fashion at the time, although there was no individual named Lachasse behind the label. Digby Morton became its first designer and built the brand around a modernized interpretation of British sportswear. His use of colourful Donegal tweeds and simplified construction helped reposition tweed suits from country clothing as fashionable urban dress. The tailored daywear suit became the house's enduring signature. Hardy Amies followed Morton after approximately five years. His appointment marked the beginning of a career that would later make him one of Britain's best-known couturiers. Amies's 1937 'Panic' suit, photographed by Cecil Beaton for Vogue, was a landmark in the house's pre-war history. The garment combined green tweed, a contrasting pink check, a sharply drawn waist, and padded hips. Amies eventually directed the full Lachasse collection before the Second World War. Michael Donnellan was appointed head of operations in 1941 while serving during wartime and became chief designer after returning. His work, sold under the name Michael of Lachasse, made the house's post-war style more sculptural and restrained. Donnellan was praised for simplicity of form and exact tailoring and was later compared with Balenciaga in discussions of London design. Lachasse appeared in international coverage of the leading London houses, including a 1953 Life feature connected with the coronation of Elizabeth II. Donnellan left the same year to take over the Peter Russell couture house. The designer known as Owen succeeded Donnellan and maintained the label's emphasis on fit and formal tailoring. Clive Evans was also associated with the design team before developing his own reputation in the fashion of Swinging London. During the 1930s and post-war years, Lachasse took part in export shows aimed particularly at American buyers. Its London suits and Scottish or Irish tweeds benefited from the perception that British fashion offered strong tailoring at lower prices than Parisian couture. The house showed in New York, Venice, and St Moritz and participated in wider IncSoc export activity. Peter Lewis-Crown, who had entered Lachasse as an apprentice in 1948, became director in 1965 and later took ownership. His stewardship coincided with a difficult period for London couture. Ready-to-wear, youth-oriented designers, and changing social habits weakened the market for traditional bespoke houses. Lachasse nevertheless retained customers by presenting clothes as timeless rather than trend-driven. Contemporary criticism often described the collections as conservative or almost museum-like, but that continuity was also the source of the house's appeal to established clients. Lachasse remained devoted mainly to couture until 1981, when it added a small ready-to-wear boutique at Thurloe Place in Kensington. Bespoke clothing continued to dominate its identity. Late twentieth-century accounts described the house as a destination for natty, carefully made tailoring and linked it with earlier customers such as Princess Marina and the Countess Mountbatten. Its premises also served as an important training environment. Stephen Jones and John Galliano spent time there, while fashion writer Hamish Bowles recalled an internship at the house in the 1980s. Lachasse finally closed in 2006. Its surviving garments, archives, and the Virginia Lachasse doll preserve the history of a long-lived London couture institution.

• 2007

  Virginia Lachasse doll is exhibited

  [1]Lachasseen.wikipedia.org

  The 1954 miniature mannequin and its wardrobe appear in The Golden Age of Couture touring exhibition.

• 2006

  Lachasse closes

  [1]Lachasseen.wikipedia.org

  The London couture house ends operations after 78 years.

• 1981

  The house adds a ready-to-wear boutique

  [1]Lachasseen.wikipedia.org

  Lachasse opens a small ready-to-wear boutique at its Thurloe Place premises while retaining couture as its principal business.

• 1965

  Peter Lewis-Crown becomes director

  [1]Lachasseen.wikipedia.org

  A former Lachasse apprentice becomes director and later takes ownership and responsibility for design.

• 1953

  Michael Donnellan leaves to work independently

  [1]Lachasseen.wikipedia.org

  Donnellan departs Lachasse and takes over the Peter Russell couture house.

• 1951

  Lachasse receives strong export-show attention

  [1]Lachasseen.wikipedia.org

  American buyers praise the house's autumn collection, while a chenille coat receives applause at a Venice fashion show.

• 1941

  Michael Donnellan is appointed head of operations

  [1]Lachasseen.wikipedia.org

  Donnellan is named to the role during wartime service and later becomes chief designer.

• 1937

  The 'Panic' suit becomes a notable success

  [1]Lachasseen.wikipedia.org

  Hardy Amies's tweed suit is photographed by Cecil Beaton for Vogue and brings significant attention to the house.

• 1933

  Hardy Amies succeeds Digby Morton

  [1]Lachasseen.wikipedia.org

  Amies becomes Lachasse's leading designer after Morton leaves to establish his own label.

• 1928

  Lachasse is founded in London

  [1]Lachasseen.wikipedia.org

  The house begins as an offshoot of the Paulette couture business and focuses on fashionable sportswear and tailored clothing.

British couture centered on refined tailoring, durable country fabrics, understated elegance, and bespoke service. Lachasse occupied a traditional London fashion position, serving a loyal and generally mature clientele while also functioning as a respected training environment for designers.

• Sportswear and daywear · 1928

  Tailored tweed suits

  Tweed suits were the foundation of Lachasse's identity. The house used Donegal and Scottish tweeds in unusual colour combinations and cut them with enough precision and restraint to move country fabrics into fashionable London daywear. The style was refined by successive designers and remained central to the brand's reputation for practical but elegant tailoring.

• Couture · 1928

  Couture daywear

  Lachasse produced bespoke daywear for a loyal clientele, including structured jackets, straight skirts, formal suits, and tailored ensembles. The clothing emphasized fit, durability, and understated refinement rather than rapid seasonal change, helping the house maintain a recognizable look across several generations.

• Signature garment · 1937

  The 'Panic' suit

  Designed by Hardy Amies in 1937, the 'Panic' suit used green Linton tweed with a cerise-pink check, padded hips, and a tightly defined waist. Its Vogue appearance, photographed by Cecil Beaton, made it one of the best-known individual garments associated with Lachasse.

• Post-war couture · 1941

  Michael of Lachasse collections

  Michael Donnellan's collections for Lachasse were labeled 'Michael of Lachasse'. They developed a post-war language of simplified form, controlled volume, and exact tailoring, and included formal jackets and skirts adapted to the house's established British couture clientele.

• Ready-to-wear · 1981

  Ready-to-wear boutique collections

  From 1981, Lachasse offered a limited ready-to-wear selection through a small boutique at Thurloe Place in Kensington. Ready-to-wear supplemented rather than replaced the bespoke couture business.

• 1953St Moritz London fashion export drive

  Switzerland · International

  Lachasse joined IncSoc members and British wholesale houses in a St Moritz presentation organized as part of a London fashion export initiative during the coronation year.

  Outcome. The event promoted London as a source of distinctive tailoring and new fabric treatments rather than only conventional British craftsmanship.

  Source
• 1951IncSoc autumn export shows

  United Kingdom · United States · Italy

  Lachasse participated in export-oriented presentations associated with the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers. Its collection received strong praise from American buyers, and a chenille coat was applauded at a Venice fashion show.

  Outcome. The shows reinforced Lachasse's reputation for internationally marketable British tailoring.

  Source
• 1936Queen Mary New York fashion show

  United States

  Lachasse presented Scottish tweeds at a small New York fashion show marking the arrival of the ocean liner Queen Mary. A new blue-and-red tweed was singled out among the show's novelties.

  Outcome. The event formed part of the house's early international export activity and helped present London tailoring to American buyers.

  Source

• 2006

  Cease operationsOther

  Background

  Lachasse had survived for decades as a traditional London couture house despite the long-term contraction of the couture market.

  Action taken

  The house closed after operating from 1928 to 2006.

  Aftermath

  Its garments and archival material continued to be represented in museum collections and fashion exhibitions.

  Source

• 1981

  Add limited ready-to-wear alongside coutureStrategy

  Background

  Traditional London couture houses faced pressure from ready-to-wear and changing consumer habits, while Lachasse still relied primarily on bespoke clothing.

  Action taken

  The house opened a small ready-to-wear boutique at its Thurloe Place premises in Kensington.

  Aftermath

  Couture remained the main business, so the move supplemented rather than fundamentally repositioned the brand.

  Source

1. 1Lachasseen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Lachasse hat, 1940s, Victoria and Albert Museumcollections.vam.ac.uk