Dedicated to the memory of Louise Wilson, Christopher Kane SS15 reflects on the past in order to look to the future

Coming of age

SS15 Christopher Kane served a welcome ‘coming of age’ aesthetic, moving forwards as a brand but also revisiting some of the the tried and tested elements, that have shaped the labels past. Taking reference from the uniform at his secondary school, Taylor High, Kane centred the collection around a ‘back-to-school’ colour palette, dominated by Bordeaux. But it wasn’t all school-girl vibes, this collection was sophisticated – channeling the house’s trademark perversely proper femininity. Think architecturally structured dresses with exposed cage-like boning and lavish layers of tulle exploding beneath, so termed ‘controlled explosion’ dresses; and geometric bags along with Kane’s infamous trademark fastenings.

Rope revival

Ever autobiographical in his approach, this season sees the revival of some of Kane’s earliest design experiments: the binding cord motif and the juxtaposition of structural and decorative design. Said to be a subtle nod to bondage, the cords bind the collection of brutal and minimal contrasts as one fluid Kane package.

A tribute to Louise Wilson

Whilst some design elements were driven by the past, so was the whole collection. Paying homage to his teacher and later friend, the late Professor Louise Wilson OBE – a woman whose influence was so vital in shaping Chistopher and Tammy’s creative visions – Kane looked back at photographs of his time spent with Louise and some of his old drawings, in order to look forward. “Because of those eighteen months on the MA, because of meeting and being taught by Louise, I am where I am today,” says Christopher. “There were dresses that I was making then, things that were not shown, that featured coils, cords and ropes. I decided to revisit them, that simple cord idea sparking other thoughts.”

Words: Brooke McCord.

Photography: Jamike-Latif.