fashion
We Love
Bloomin' heaven
You could be forgiven for thinking that for this shiny-happy dress covered in spring blooms, Christopher Kane immersed himself in the greenery of botanical gardens and could be found digging around in flower beds. But not Kane. He pulled inspiration for the season from the most unlikely of places - dilapidated bedrooms and the girls who used to rule the school.
Kane stumbled upon images of well 'ard girls lounging in their bedrooms, the wallpaper peeling from the walls. Out of what could have been a bleak picture of council estate life, the designer conjured his metallic floral number. It's not the first time a more sinister edge has bubbled under the pretty surface of collections. For SS10 religious cultism and the Jonestown mass suicides in Guyana in 1978 formed the starting point for gingham slitted skirts and tailored waistcoats. A reminder that the very best of designers are able to spin beauty out of anything.
The eyewear, by Cutler and Gross plays on the theme of youth, much like Kane's initial inspiration. You could imagine the popular girl leaning on the school gates popping her bubble gum, resplendent in her pink frames. The next pair on and she's grown up slightly with a classic shape in pale purple. The last, with their thick rimmed round frames, nod to sixties girls testing out their new found freedom and rising hemlines, trailing rock stars around. Spring time, the teenager, lost youth and nostalgia are all bound in a tight knot, woven into the dress and hidden behind the tinted lenses. Roll on endless summer.

















