Who Is Scanlan Theodore? The Melbourne House Behind Crepe Knit

Scanlan Theodore is the Australian fashion house most likely to be on the woman running the meeting. It was founded in Melbourne in 1987, it is still privately owned by one of its founders, and it built its reputation on one fabric. This is the short version of who the brand is, what it makes, and why it belongs in a working wardrobe.

The founders and the Chapel Street boutique

Fiona Scanlan and Gary Theodore opened the first Scanlan Theodore boutique on Chapel Street in South Yarra, Melbourne, in 1987. The interior was by Don McQualter, with metalwork, custom tiles and bespoke furniture, and the store set the tone for every boutique since: quiet, considered and a little bit formal. Scanlan sold her share of the business in 2003 and works as a design consultant. Theodore stayed. He remains creative director, and every collection is still designed in-house at the Melbourne studio.

Crepe Knit, the fabric the brand is known for

In 2001 Scanlan Theodore introduced Crepe Knit to ready-to-wear. It is a dense knit of 68 percent viscose and 32 percent polyamide, made from Italian-sourced yarn and developed exclusively for the house. The point of it is structure without weight. A Crepe Knit jacket holds a tailored shoulder and a clean hem, it does not crease in a suitcase, and it goes from a 9am presentation to a dinner without a change. The brand cuts it into jackets, pencil and A-line skirts, dresses and the singlets and tanks that go underneath.

What else the house makes

Crepe Knit is roughly one in eight pieces in the current collection. The rest is Italian denim, sold by inch waist and cut into barrel leg jeans and cargo shapes, silk shirting with mother of pearl buttons, cashmere and merino knits, cotton sateen tailoring, and leather produced in Italy. Evening is a real part of the range: the turban neckline, a gathered ring at the throat, is a house signature, and the beaded and tinsel gowns sit at the top of the price list. The poppy, developed with photographer Justin Ridler in 2023 as a good-luck motif, turns up as buttons, crochet and jacquard.

The United States and the working woman

In 2018 the brand opened its first international boutique in the Flatiron district of New York, followed by further US locations. That expansion was led by two former finance professionals, Melinda Robertson and her business partner, who approached Theodore with the idea of taking the brand stateside. The customer they had in mind is the one the brand has always dressed: a woman who needs clothes that work through a full day, that read as polished in a boardroom and that do not need ironing on a Tuesday night in a hotel.

Price, sizing and where to buy

At the brand’s own boutiques, ready-to-wear runs from roughly AUD 300 for a Crepe Knit singlet to AUD 3,500 for a beaded gown. Scanlan Theodore sizes in AU, which reads the same as UK: an AU 8 is a UK 8, a US 4, a French 36 and an Italian 40. The brand’s fit notes say true to size across the range, with the denim cargo cuts the one place it recommends sizing down. Luxury Handbags carries the current collection on the Scanlan Theodore brand page and ships worldwide. If you want to see how the pieces work together, read how to style Crepe Knit, and if you are weighing it against other Australian houses, see brands like Scanlan Theodore.

Read next: the Scanlan Theodore size guide, where to buy Scanlan Theodore and is Scanlan Theodore worth it.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Scanlan Theodore?

Fiona Scanlan and Gary Theodore, in Melbourne in 1987. Scanlan sold her share in 2003. Theodore remains creative director.

Is Scanlan Theodore an Australian brand?

Yes. It is designed in Melbourne, with boutiques across Australia and in the United States. Leather and selected tailoring are produced in Italy.

What is Scanlan Theodore famous for?

Crepe Knit, its exclusive Italian-yarn fabrication introduced in 2001, and polished workwear built around it.

Where can I buy Scanlan Theodore outside Australia?

From the brand’s US boutiques, from its own online store, and from Luxury Shoes , which ships the current ready-to-wear collection worldwide.