About Our Founder

Detta Knitwear was founded by Bernadette Raeside Bell, whose work is shaped by a connection to place, material, and inherited craft.

Born in Dublin, with family roots in Ayrshire on Scotland’s west coast, her early understanding of clothing was grounded in making. Her grandfather, a gentleman’s tailor, worked with precision and restraint, while her mother taught her to sew and knit. These influences established a quiet, practical relationship with garments—how they are constructed, how they wear, and how they endure.

She went on to study Textiles at the University of Derby, specialising in knit and digital print, graduating with First Class Honours, before completing an MA in Fashion Knitwear at Nottingham Trent University. Her practice developed through both technical rigour and a sensitivity to material, laying the foundation for Detta.

Detta sits at the intersection of heritage craft and modern, slow luxury design.

The brand is informed by the landscapes of Ireland and Scotland—coasts, hills, and shifting light. Colour is approached with the same consideration as construction; hues are layered and nuanced, drawn from the natural environment. These references extend beyond palette into texture and stitch, where structure reflects landscape.

Alongside Detta, RAESIDE is an evolving garment line, launching in autumn.

Where Detta focuses on knitwear and accessories, RAESIDE extends these principles into a broader wardrobe of considered pieces and capsule collections. It explores the same relationship between material, form and longevity, allowing garments to develop over time rather than exist within fixed seasons.

At its core, both Detta and RAESIDE are built on five principles: place, craft, material, longevity, and considered innovation.

Traditional knitwear knowledge underpins each piece, with a focus on hand flat techniques and time-honoured processes. Natural fibres—primarily wool—are chosen for their durability, warmth, and reduced environmental impact. Production remains small-scale and deliberate, favouring garments designed to last beyond seasonal cycles.

There is also an awareness of the wider history of textile production.

Past practices, particularly in dyeing and manufacturing, have not always been without consequence. Both brands take a measured approach, working with processes that prioritise environmental responsibility and the integrity of the material. Innovation is present, but always in balance with tradition.

The result is clothing that is quietly resolved.

Pieces that sit comfortably within a wardrobe, rather than defining it. Garments that reflect where they come from—both in landscape and in making—and are designed to be worn, kept, and returned to over time.