X-RATED illustrations and lace for days, Christopher Kane has never been one to shy away from expressing sexuality through his work and his AW18 show at LFW was no different. Opening the runway with seemingly conservative looks, Kane begins with a series of camel and black leather looks featuring ballooning, oversized sleeves and cinched waists. Not far in, we begin to realise the sexual undertones in the collection as lace is introduced exposing bare skin underneath. Although lace comes with its own sexual connotations, it is only amplified once remembering his AW15 Lovers Lace collection.
Silk pyjamas with lace trims only contribute to the seductive vibes the collection radiates, followed with suggestive slogan jumpers. Special and More Joy is spotted knitted into classic style jumpers, seemingly innocent upon first glance, but references The Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort, a illustrative book depicting sexual positions published in ‘72. The sketches from the book also purposed as inspiration and decoration for Kane’s collection, as the final looks are a series of nude dresses and tops adorned with enlarged erotic illustrations.
Feathered trims line the hems of dresses for an elegant finish but also nod to the lingerie aesthetic much of the collection encompasses joined by lace garters visible through dress cut-outs to amplify sexuality. Double-ended zippers are a feature of multiple looks, adding practicality and adjustability to the collection as well as pushing the sexual attributes further. To bring the show to a close, Kane exposed more skin than before with a series of sparsely panelled garments strung together with beading, arriving amongst the illustrative dresses.
by Todd Burns