A story of eccentric English style, embroidered wit and the aristocratic world that inspired FUND.
The 11th Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth estate library.
Our jumpers are inspired by the infamous truckful of old woollen jumpers hand embroidered for the 11th Duke of Devonshire.
The Duke, who married Deborah Mitford, the youngest of the infamous Mitford sisters, commissioned this collection of hand-embroidered jumpers with statements that ranged from the cheeky (“Never Marry a Mitford”) to the unmentionable.
The 11th Duke and Duchess on their wedding day, 19 April 1941.
Keeping in the spirit of the late Duke, we have designed our own collection of humorous heritage knitwear. Knitted, embroidered and hand-finished in England from superior soft lambswool spun by a mill on the banks of Scotland’s Loch Leven.
Few families embody the spirit of our eccentric English aristocracy more vividly than the Dukes and Duchesses of Devonshire and the legendary Mitford sisters, whose world revolved around Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, one of the great houses of England.
The Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire.
For centuries, Chatsworth has stood at the centre of English cultural life — a place where art, politics, literature and fashion intertwined chaotically beneath painted ceilings and amongst sweeping Derbyshire parkland.
Home to the Cavendish family, the Dukes of Devonshire became synonymous with a kind of relaxed grandeur that was unmistakably British: elegant but irreverent, refined yet wonderfully eccentric.
Punch magazine, 1882 — Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.
Perhaps no figure captured this spirit more than Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, the celebrated 18th-century Duchess whose charisma, style and influence shaped English society. A political hostess, fashion icon and notorious rule-breaker, Georgiana became one of the first true aristocratic celebrities — adored for her intelligence, wit and fearless individuality. Her legacy still lingers through the halls of Chatsworth and throughout English culture itself.
Generations later, that same world of aristocratic eccentricity found new life through the infamous Mitford sisters — six women whose glamour, scandals, politics, humour and sharp wit fascinated Britain throughout the 20th century. Their lives represented an England that was glamorous, rebellious and deeply idiosyncratic; an England of country houses, long lunches, sharp tongues and unapologetic individuality.
The infamous Mitford sisters, 1932.
The Devonshire family’s connection to British history also reaches directly into the story of the monarchy itself. Through centuries of marriages, politics, patronage and royal friendships, Chatsworth became closely entwined with the English royal family and the wider aristocracy. Kings, queens, prime ministers, writers, artists and statesmen all passed through its doors, making the house not merely a home, but a living chapter of English history.
The now legendary “Duke of Devonshire jumpers” reflected this uniquely British attitude toward clothing — luxurious yet humorous, understated yet deeply personal. Embroidered phrases, private jokes and irreverent statements transformed knitwear into something more than fashion: they became expressions of personality, confidence and belonging.
William Cavendish, 11th Duke of Devonshire.
At FUND, we carry forward that tradition. Our jumpers are inspired by the idea that clothing should tell stories — stitched with wit, memory and meaning. Handmade in Britain using Scottish wool, each piece celebrates a world of English eccentricity that stretches from Georgian drawing rooms to modern country houses; from the Mitford sisters to Chatsworth itself.
“It’s not just a jumper — it’s a piece of history you can wear.”
— FUND