February 18, 2020 |
Perversion doesn’t get chicer than Christopher Kane. The Scottish designer has been building on his kinky vernacular for seasons, each time adding something slightly more twisted and unexpected to the mix. Set to the distorted tones of Dick James’ version of a 1950s hit The Garden of Eden (as mixed by sound designer Simone Halsbergh), Kane’s muses of the season demonstrated his most sophisticated take on sexuality yet.
Triangle as the ultimate shape found in both the natural and unnatural was his starting point, both literally and metaphorically. A set of opening looks saw the shape as multicoloured patchwork panels, building rhomboids and boxy cuts in shiny satins. Triangles then extended into the storyline beyond geometry as Kane interpreted the OG love triangle. “Adam, Eve and nature,” is how he set it up, explaining the duality between the good and the bad, the holy spirit and devil.
Prim, schoolgirl dresses with simplified bows, dreamy cream suits and buttoned-up shirts seduced like the angel on your shoulder, before a line-up of naughty, high-cut crystal mesh and chainmail dresses and “saucy lingerie”-inspired looks took over. Dark mohair knitwear mixed in too, adding a bit of grunge to the story. An image of Adam, Eve and the forbidden apple tree by German Renaissance painted Lucas Cranach the Elder was printed on jumpers and shirts, with Kane’s newly-coined term “Naturotica” written on top.
Christopher Kane’s skill set lies in turning terribly tacky and unsexy things into something supple and luxurious. For example, orthopedic gel implants became multicoloured harnesses worn atop dresses, knits and tops, and appeared on footwear as well as classic, granny-shaped bags. “I always believe in strong women – it’s always fundamental,” Kane lauded while trying to manage a storm of journos trying to get a quote that would help them interpret this collection, us included. But to be completely honest, when your clothes are looking this f*cking good, it doesn’t really matter what the author meant.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans.
