That Christopher Kane is fashion’s favourite hedonist is a fact few would dispute. Since bursting onto the scene in 2006, his weird and wonderful designs have routinely twisted the unexpected into the curiously sexy, spanning black rubber raincoats and aquamarine gel bodices. Early collections served as an ode to the stretch lace, bandage dresses and extra short neon minis of London’s party scene in the mid-late aughts. More recently, he’s turned his eye to fetish gear, using leather, rubber and latex to pay tribute to looners, rubberists and ecosexuals. But whether he’s celebrating the joy of clubbing or the joy of sex, optimism is at the heart of his work — presenting playful themes that feel like a breath of fresh air during dark times.
The Glaswegian designer first captured the attention of some of fashion’s most influential tastemakers in 2005 when he won the Lancôme Colour Award while studying at Central Saint Martins. He was subsequently noticed by Donatella Versace with whom he later collaborated on Atelier Versace – the Milanese house’s couture line – accessories and the Versus line. His 2006 MA graduate collection of maximalist frilled mini dresses was also bought up by stockists around the world, and since then, his work has accrued fans including Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and FKA Twigs.
Often citing nature as a key inspiration, Christopher has always been critical of the fast-paced fashion cycle and its impact on the planet. “My plan is to step off the hamster wheel and go all the way back to how it was when I was designing clothes in a bedroom in Dalston,” he said last year. To mark his return to the IRL runway to show his Spring 2023 collection at London Fashion Week, we look back at his evolution, from playful party dresses to More Joy vibrators and freaky fetishwear.
The Graduate Collection
Closing the 2006 CSM show, Christopher Kane’s MA collection was a maximalist clash of frills and lace tied together by clattering gold rings. The over-the-top, extremely short mini dresses pushed the boundaries of good taste, showcasing Christopher’s eclectic magpie eye for mixing seemingly discordant fabrics. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive and he was awarded the Harrods Design Award while stores in London, Paris and Milan all immediately put in orders. One of London fashion’s brightest young stars of the 21st century was officially introduced to the world.
The SS07 Fluoro Minidress collection
“Neon gets me going. Every other colour is so banal,” Kane declared in 2011. However, his love affair with acid brights began years earlier. In his first collection since launching his own label with sister Tammy, Kane doubled down on his vision of vivid partywear. The series of fluoro bandage mini dresses encapsulated the hedonism of post-Y2K dancefloors, paying homage to the vintage Versace and Alaïa aesthetics that dominated London’s nightlife at the time.
The Topshop Collab
Cast your mind back to 2009 when Topshop’s despotic rule over the high street set the tone for everything that was considered cool. At a time before high street x high fashion collabs were par for the course, Christopher Kane’s link up with the British high street giant was big news – and their largest designer collaboration ever at the time. With embellished party dresses and platform heels galore, all enriched with gaudy metal eyelets and mesh, it essentially preempted the looks you’d typically see teens pulling on nights out in provincials town across Britain in the mid-late 2010s. It’s an era we’ve not quite hit nostalgia for yet, but it certainly captured the fashion zeitgeist of the time.
Pleats and Satin at Versus Versace
Christopher Kane and Versace were a match made in hedonism. The young Scotsman first caught Donatella’s eye in 2005 when he won the Lancôme Colour Award while studying at CSM. She offered him an in-house job at Versace right after his 2006 grad show, but he turned it down to set up his own label. That didn’t deter Donatella, however, who, In 2008, invited him to resurrect the Versus diffusion line. This time he accepted and resurrect it he did, with a six-season tenure that saw him design sexy cut-out minis, flippy satin pleats, and head-to-toe plaid numbes. “He doesn’t stop moving and innovating,” Donatella said of Christopher. “He respects women and loves working with them.”
The SS11 Preppy Neon Collection
“Princess Margaret on acid” is how Kane’s sister and business partner Tammy described the Spring/Summer 2011 collection. The designer revisited neons once more, but this time from a preppy rather than a party point of view. Lace-look fabric was crafted from lurid vinyl coated leather, a finish that teetered on the edge of tackiness – a Christopher Kane staple. The reference points were chaotic, ranging from the luminous dance attire of Camden’s Cyberdog crew to Japanese yakuza mafia tattoos and British designer Norman Hartnell, mid-century dressmaker to the queen.
The Crocs
Love them or hate them, Crocs have become a runway mainstay. But before Balenciaga launched their iconic chunky platforms, Christopher Kane released his range of earthen-toned marble and animal print versions of the controversial rubber clogs to accessorise his Spring/Summer 2017 collection. Sparkling rock and crystal Jibbitz grounded them in nature, affording the once derided shoe a stylish, yet still subversive, fashion status.
The Life Drawing Dresses
CK’s Autumn/Winter 2015-16 show closed with multi-coloured lace midi dresses depicting writhing naked bodies reminiscent of a Klimt painting. The daring lace prints were in face inspired by sketches Christopher had made in a life drawing class, and quickly became It girl faves, worn by FKA Twigs at the 2015 Met Gala and Alexa Chung at the Serpentine Gallery Summer Party the same year. Perhaps most interestingly from a timeline perspective, these anatomical dresses signalled the start of a new chapter designer, an era in which he began to depict sex more literally in his work.
More Joy
Don’t we all need a little more joy in our lives?” Christopher asked with the launch of his More Joy diffusion line in 2018. Well, we did then, and we damn well do now, as has become glaringly apparent in the years since its launch. It hinted at his desire to step away from the traditional fashion calendar and craft comfy, functional clothes – tees, sweaters, flip flops and all. The line felt increasingly prescient as the pandemic prompted a monumental shift to loungewear in 2020. These pieces may be practical, they still tap into the brand’s signature sexy undercurrent, whether through bold ‘Sex’ slogan prints or the inclusion of a branded vibrator. More sex = more joy!
The ‘Rubberist’ Dress
Balloons, rubber, liquid, food. These might not be the first materials that come to mind when you think of sex, but Christopher Kane’s Autumn/Winter 2019-20 collection was a dive into the wacky world of niche fetishists. Leather and latex carried the erotic tone, giving sleaziness a high fashion update. The ‘Rubberist’ dress garnered mainstream attention when Lena Dunham wore it to the 2019 Met Gala for the opening of the ‘Notes on Camp’ exhibition.
The SS20 Gel-bust Dress
As we’ve established, Kane is no stranger to experimenting with unpredictable materials. First used to craft collars and clutches for AW11, the gel motif returned for the Spring/Summer 2020 ecosex collection which was inspired by those “who love to make love to the planet.” The gel-bust dress exemplifies Kane’s unique eye for blending the alluring with the odd. Once again, he questioned what we find sexy through his signature uncanny lens.