June 21, 2017 |
Could we call this Christopher Kane’s love letter to our friends north of the border? Granted, it’s not the first time we’ve seen Mr. Kane draw inspiration from his home country, nor is it likely to be the last, but this was a collection that specifically paid homage to the Glasgow School, a movement spanning both art and design, which, in the words of the man himself, “made me feel very proud and patriotic of this highly important movement which originated in Scotland and I wanted to celebrate that.”
And celebrate he did – not just via the slightly well-trodden symbolism of Scottishness – the touch of tartan that peaks out at various points of the collection, or the Lion Rampant print knitwear, but also through the celebration of some of Scotland’s finest minds, namely, Margaret MacDonald and husband Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Bright flowers, not dissimilar from those seen in Margaret MacDonald’s famed gesso panels, adorn delicate lace and latticed dresses, the former a recurrent theme throughout the collection and another nod to Scotland and her once thriving lace industry. Elsewhere, MacDonald’s elegant, elongated shapes are reflected by modest silhouettes – loose crochet fabric and tiered lace dresses bring an ethereal quality to this collection that we’re sure Mrs. MacDonald would have been very proud of.
