Christopher Kane: Kardinally Kane

His notorious neons and schismatic silhouettes have elevated him as one of Britain’s best. His unorthodox design aesthetics began right from childhood, when he started drawing nudes and later won acclaim from Italian veteran Donatella Versace. What has truly accelerated his brand towards such unmatched progress? Christopher Kane reveals his secrets.

What is your relationship with your sister Tammy, who is also your business partner?

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It’s great to work with my sister Tammy. We collaborate really well and have done so since we were children; being able to bounce ideas off each other. For example, she tells me directly what she thinks, without any hesitation. We come from a really straighttalking and honest family. I never understood how positive a thing that was; it allows you to work faster and not ponder over things.

How do you think a woman is empowered, while wearing a Christopher Kane design?

Our customer is daring, creative, and an original thinker. It’s about a certain attitude rather than boundaries of age. The client is both confident and playful, has a love for subversion and really understands fashion.

Your brand is under the umbrella of Kering. How do you think that has helped your brand in furthering its goals?

Kering has enabled the brand to accelerate its expansion, by providing the support we need to grow to the next level, sharing their expertise and know-how, while providing the space for us to further develop our own creative identity.

What is your relationship like with the conglomerate?

The Kering Group has an incredible reputation of building some of the very best luxury brands in the world. They respect our creative vision and they have the expertise and experience to help us build the Christopher Kane brand globally.

For ‘Lover’s Lace’, you decided to get your entire team to go through a live nude sketching session.

I have always done live drawing, from a young age, and actually did my foundation in fine art. I wanted to do something fun with the team, some of who had never really drawn, or done live drawing, and the results were so great. I really wanted to explore the body and that feeling of romantic love in a beautiful and sensual way, developing our signature lace to create real pieces of art.

How was it working with Versace?

I grew up following Versace and other brands like Helmut Lang and Christian Lacroix. I was young and literally sucked it all up like a sponge. Gianni and Donatella created clothes like no other brand. They were geniuses. They hooked you with their modern vision of a new kind of woman who is strong, bold and unique. I met Donatella after my graduation and worked with her on a consultancy basis. Then I went on to work with Versus. I love and admire Donatella so much. She is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. Her strength and work ethic is inspirational. Donatella has done it all and has the best advice to give. I learnt a lot from working with her. I was very lucky to see the insides of such a big house like Versace, and how it functions.

What was it like growing up in Scotland?

The landscape of my childhood and upbringing, have certainly had an influence on my work. I love, that I can call on certain characters from my childhood as a source of inspiration, but most importantly it is the strong work ethic which was instilled in me by my family, from a very young age, that I am grateful for. I was raised knowing that in order to succeed you have to work hard and fight for what you want and believe in.

Your collections often have a provocative undercurrent.

I will always do things that challenge me and keep me on my toes when it comes to being creative. Every season, I like to do something that feels new and different. Innovation in design, technique and craftsmanship are paramount, whether it is through the innovative use of textiles, a cutting technique, experimental fabrics, or the use of contrasting themes that mix both the sinister and the sweet and unexpected materials. This has become the signature of the brand and also how I work.

Why do you prefer working in a close-knit team?

It’s important that my ideas at sketch stage are in a private atelier, and nothing has changed in this department. I sketch and then Tammy and I edit and give it to the pattern makers in our own atelier. We have grown a lot in the last years and are now around 60 people in the company, which feels good. I like employing people. I like to hear the studio buzzing with people talking, laughing and challenging each other. It makes me feel good. It is also a reminder of how important those first sketches are.

How do you see your brand treading forward?

I want to continue developing and building all of our categories and be recognised for each individually. Continue to build on the women’s RTW offer, organically develop our growing menswear collections, expanding on increasingly important pre-collections and further develop our exciting launch into leather goods and shoes. E-commerce is becoming second nature in how people shop, and we’re planning to launch our global flagship store online by the middle of next year, which will be a great opportunity to build a closer relationship with a more global customer. We’ve further developed our exclusive sneaker project for both men and women, and will be launching our first campaign for the brand. We are also expanding our business in the Middle-East, America and Asia, with key partners.

Have you visited India?

India is a beautiful, colourful and vibrant country. I visited Mumbai a few years ago and loved the energy of the city. Its history was compelling too. I met with clients and the Indian woman seems clued in and fashion-forward. They love colour, texture and aren’t afraid to try out new things; perfect customers for my brand. I would love to visit the countryside.

Indian talents that you appreciate...

I attended the Lakme Fashion Week when I was in Mumbai. I did a small show of my SS ’10 collection. It was a great platform for me to show and learn about new talents in India. I know Indian models like Lakshmi Menon and Bhumika Arora.

What are your thoughts on plagiarism?

It’s really hard to stop; it bothers me more when copying happens in high fashion. In the high street world, it can be hard to track down copies unless you see it for yourself. They can get away with it sometimes by calling something a trend. I don’t like it, but I have to move on with my work. New ideas and concepts keep me going.

Do you make your own textiles?

I love creating my own textiles and embroideries in the collection. The more the anatomy of certain clothing belongs to me, the better it is, as it gets my emotions and personality across.

From the February 2016 issue of L’Officiel India.