“I remember my sister watching Rainbow Brite,” says Kit Neale, at the launch of his first womenswear collection. The capsule six looks in greys, greens and off-white, feature cartoon monsters, teddy bear fur and Rainbow’s magical horse Starlite, and hats are a collaboration with Bernstock Speirs.
“Hallmark [the makers] approached us. It’s their 30th birthday and they wanted to do something to celebrate it. We wanted to do a womenswear collection – we’ve had some items before and some women buy our menswear. Some of the looks are leading more into what Kit Neale womenswear would be. The textures, the embroidery.”
So who’s the Kit Neale girl? “We created a big moodboard, figuring out, and came up with all these buzzwords, but they were really cringey!” Neale laughed, saying he wouldn’t reveal what. “We had muses. Charlotte Free was in there, and Susie Bubble. It’s tomboyish, feminine, strong and tough girl – oh no! Those are my buzzwords!”
With his menswear stocked in places like Opening Ceremony and Colette, we imagine the same will go for this playful collection.