Christopher Kane celebrates 10th anniversary at LFW

London – Scottish designer Christopher Kane marked ten
years in business Monday with a trip down memory lane in a London show
filled
with references to past collections — and even a print comprised of old
polaroids.

In the marble corridors of the Tate Britain gallery, Kane showcased looks
inspired by the wartime mantra “make-do and mend”, a celebration of
resourcefulness that also allowed him to remember his student days.
Dresses were built from sections of fabric held together by metal rings,
aswere off-the-shoulder cardigans, in a nod to his 2006 graduate
collection.

A photo posted by Official Christopher Kane (@christopherkane) on Sep 19, 2016 at 11:23am PDT

Leather skirts were hemmed with delicate lace and Croc shoes pimped up
with
polished mineral stones, while laser cut, embroidered satin white flowers
were
appliqued onto dresses.

“I’ve always had that ethos of ‘make it work’. I can make anything out
of a
pair of pants, and that’s what I did for my Masters degree. It was a really
nice nod to that,” Kane told reporters backstage.
“Also thinking of those wartime women — it (rationing) was really
strict,
but they had to maintain their glamour.”

Kane’s brand has been the toast of London Fashion Week since his graduate
show in 2006, and is now majority owned by luxury French group Kering.
Kering boss Francois-Henri Pinault was in the front row with his wife
Salma
Hayek, as was US Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

In another nod to history, Kane gathered up polaroids and scrapbooks from
past collections, photographed them and made them into a new print that
adorned dresses and skirts.
Some of the dresses that put him on the fashion map ten years ago also
made
an appearance.
“We look at them every season, because they’re so beautiful. They are
like
relics,” Kane said.

The designer, who runs his label with his elder sister Tammy, said it was
“pretty nice” to still be in business ten years after he started out.
“It’s been so tough over the past ten years, keeping it up,” he said.
“We actually did great business in the recession, we grew. It’s the best
time to grab people’s attention, to give them something new.” (AFP)