Category: Designer Brands
Vita Kin x
I’m a sucker for a boho dress with a folksy feel..the bigger the sleeves, the more intricate the embroidery, the greater my little heart beats.
And Vita Kin with her vyshyvanka dresses hits all the spots.
She’s become an fashion sensation purely through her instagram account, marrying the craft crush of her native Ukraine with artisanal cool and easy, wearable bohemian chic.
It’s a bit like wearing your great-grandmother’s favourite linen (particularly if she was Ukranian) down the street. But the pin tucks are edible, the lengths are to die for with en pointe colours and glorious needlework…and the pockets are perfectly placed.
When asked if she wanted to build a fashion empire Vita Kin is reputed to have replied ‘Of course, not. What I want to do is to lie on the beach on a sunny warm day and sell my creations through Instagram. My terms are 100% payment pre order, a 21-day wait for production, paid shipment, and 2 sizes to choose from. I don’t really care about anything else, I really don’t… I can’t even imagine having a factory or anything like that … I’d rather spend my time thinking of new designs...’ How refreshing.
It’s a high risk way of telling a story – there are many opportunists out there more than ready to jump on the band wagon and copy her designs. But no-one can deny it’s her works that fly out of show rooms and have long waiting lists..it’s rumoured that Matches will have some in in August – but chances are they’re sold already. Sometimes less is more and quality can stand for itself. And why does everything have to result in world domination? Sometimes the greatest power to dazzle is with what is simply there, beautifully done.
I don’t just likey. For me it’s the fire pit of timeless love. Forever…
Laters, Kate x
Patullo-Jo Copeland x
This wasn’t the post for today..but there’s a gremlin in my computer that won’t allow me to upload new photos – one of the burdens of working by yourself is there’s no IT department to demand help from. The internet is also proving cranky..there’s a storm brewing outside and I’ve noticed when the air gets thick, so does the wi-fi. And it was a Bank holiday in the UK yesterday so everything’s a bit upside down..Charlie’s school bag never made it into school and I’m convinced today is Monday…which I’ll probably be grateful for when Friday comes..
These are photos of the work of designer Jo Copeland, working under the label of Pattullo-Jo Copeland. She worked in New York from the 1916 all the way through the major fashion decades till she closed her label in 1970 and for me, is one of fashions forgotten heroines.
She had an impeccable eye for detail and effortlessly understood the female form, knowing exactly what to exaggerate..and what to skim. These shoulders are a sculptural delight..
and make that waist look tiny.
She proves that good design stands the test of time even when the fickle finger of fame passes on..
Laters, Kate x
Banjooli x
There are three things that caught my roving eye with this remarkable collection of garden furniture designed by Sebastian Herkner for Moroso..
1. They’re brilliantly inspired by the mating dance of male ostriches – (or ‘banjooli’ in Wolof tongue) – who stretch out their wings to show off to the ladies.
2. They’re produced by African craft weavers using fishing net yarn.
3. They make me smile.
Herkner says, they may be based on birds, but they are human in their perfections and flaws. Mi piace.
Laters, Kate x
With a wink and a grin x
Perfect timing..we’re on a sandy beach under the blazing sun, so a cossie to make you smile!
One that makes you look twice..
(All costumes by Marysia Swim)
Because the beauty is in the detail..
Laters, Kate x
Delicious Denim x
Delicious denim is having it’s moment and even the classic jacket is being taken for a creative ride…say hello to Sibling bling..
Acne (still such a dodgy name..) boggles with toggles.
Preen explores the bomber…
and the traditional.
(All jackets and photos from Net-a-porter.com)
Whilst Maison Margela wants you to pay for deconstruction..
Which one floats your boat? Or will Levi’s classic always have that place in your heart?
Laters, Kate x
Eclipse x
As I’m writing this we’re close to a partial eclipse in London – unfortunately the weather is not co-operating, the clouds are thick and low. With minutes to go it’s definitely darker…the sort of dark that precedes a cracking thunder storm..or the moon cutting out the sun..and I can just imagine these boho babes from Etro SS15 somewhere green and verdant, dancing barefoot in the grass..because the green is always brighter on the other side..
Laters, Kate x
Bag of tricks x
Valentino is Maria Callas singing Casta Dive from Norma, at sunset on the cliff tops of Cinque Terre. It’s where the magic happens…(and it rips my heart out that Jean Paul Gaultier got their first…)
How unrepentantly this dazzles and drips with impeccably luxury..it’s exclusive enough to buy a true designer handbag..how very, very to buy a matching skirt as well..and what a stroke of genius to create the art of illusion between them, the designs responding to context with no limits to the possibilities.
Those little touches, like the initials of the models, quietly embossed on..
(All photos Valentino)
It’s that moment when the clouds part and a golden ray of sunlight streams down.
Laters, Kate x
Vive Vivetta!
To be humorous and chic takes real talent. Something designer Vivetta Ponti, through her label, Vivetta has in spades..handfuls of them…a detail I particularly like. 
In fact ironic, clever embroideries are the leitmotivs of the brand..
Is it a ruffle?
Or something else..
That skirt..pink on black?..or black on pink?
A peeping face and a clasped waist..
It’s fun, joyful..and it’s beautifully made, firmly deserving a place on the list of lust.
Laters, Kate x
Craig Green x
It’s taken a while to track down the designer of this coat..
Not surprising: It’s from an SS15 menswear collection…and is a rather nice – rare? example of an element of power women have in fashion…we have the most choice clothes-wise, nothing is forbidden or taboo..and then, when a talented, new menswear designer does turn up…we snuffle him up as well..
Wise women that we are…
This is all the work of 27 year old Central Saint Martins graduate Craig Green who debuted his first solo runway show in London..where the unthinkable happened..tears and cheers from the notoriously fickle fashion pack..and women running after him waving their gold-plated credit cards..
It’s easy to see the appeal..his work conjures up such contradictions as mesonic and pagan, protective yet vulnerable..layers versus movement..
But I just like it when functional clothes are plundered – fencing uniforms, riding clothes, army uniforms..let’s face it, any uniform..and the fact that it’s padded. I also revel in the joy that women know exactly what they like, and have no qualms stealing it as their own..
I just wish I had one…
Laters, Kate x
Chloe x
Chloe fall 2015 delves into the deep satisfaction of beautiful tailoring and boho chic. This coat: I lust. The soft retro cut, the wide lapels, the longer arms, the burnished brass buttons, the subtle height on the shoulders..the length (a pain to walk in, but oh-so elegant to see). Simple, exclusive, fashion gold.
It’s 70’s but it’s cultured 70’s – the tiny covered buttons, the thin neck scar..it’s elegant campari drinking on a balcony in Italy rather than bronzed beach babe with a bottle of beer.
There were dresses for the barefoot comtessas.
But my heart was beating for the tailoring: I could’ve easily eaten more and felt disappointed every time the music stopped.
But when you see Chloe and Burberry plundering the same creative vein, you know there’s something in the air: patchwork and ponchos are obviously the mind-candy of the moment.
The boho vibe is strong between them: But I still think it’s the cuts and tailoring where the true riches lie.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 