Meet the Luxury Womenswear Designer Behind Chase's Fashion Makeover

Deidre Jefferies has been named Chase’s Banking on Style competition winner, earning a $10,000 cash award towards advancing her luxury clothing line, ESPION Atelier. Also, Jefferies' Chase-tailored workwear collection will be available in nearly 5,000 bank branches around the country. She joins a shortlist of prestigious designers including Jason Wu and Zac Posen who have created capsule collections commissioned by Chase.

The competition, led by a powerful partnership between Essence, Chase, and American lifestyle brand Lands’ End, was created to bring exposure, access and opportunities to emerging black designers. This program comes at a pivotal moment in our country when we are faced with racial injustice and systemic barriers to success. The push for more diversity and inclusion in the fashion community has been met with the industry’s surging efforts to display what black designers are capable of….EXCELLENCE!!! The Banking on Style design competition included Jefferies and two other accomplished Black designers, Undra Duncan and Sergio Hudson.

For several months, Jefferies and her fellow designers worked alongside a skilled design team from Lands’ End and advisors in the fashion industry to create a Chase workwear capsule collection. Jefferies’ collection prevailed and will now hang among the apparel included in Chase Style, the professional wardrobe worn by over 40,000 Chase employees in consumer bank branches nationwide. “This isn’t just about clothing, but also helping our employees look and feel their very best everyday they come to work…so they are confident and give their best to their customers,” says Roxann Cooke, regional director of consumer banking and wealth management at Chase.

Jefferies, whose luxury womenswear line, ESPION Atelier, is empowered by heritage and legacy, was inspired by Chase’s wealth-building pursuit specifically through their efforts to provide access to capital-enhancing resources for Black businesses. This idea guided her approach for a classic collection for the financial institution’s employees. Jefferies’ collection displays timeless neutral chic tones elevated with smart detailing. “Chase and what it represents is the hallmark of this collection especially in the details, which holds the trademark of good design,” says Jefferies.

Deidre Jefferies’ Chase Collection, produced by Lands’ End, will be available to branch employees early 2021. Check out a preview here.