YOU can’t predict Kane – though he is always about embracing “the now”. He keeps things interesting. For his SS19 collection, he was inspired by David Attenborough’s documentaries and Marilyn Monroe – a strange mix, yet he pulled it off well. The collection was presented at the Tate Modern to a mechanical soundtrack of clips from nature programmes that boomed into the vastness of the show space.
Signature Kane lace detail dresses, crystal embellished coats and the buckle trainer returned. Jewel pattern fabric used for dresses and geometric blazers were also shown during the collection, with a touch of femininity in pleated long white skirts and bands of crystals outlining seams and silhouettes.
Following last seasons’ collection inspired by Chris Foss and Charles Raymond’s The Joy of Sex, he continued to allude to sex in nature with a print of two praying mantises with the phrase Sexual Cannibalism printed on above them. The use of the praying mantis is that the female eats the male, she is the dominant one. This is what Kane wants. He designs for a woman who wears his clothes for herself, and not for anyone else. This links to his inspiration of Marilyn Monroe, a confident and sexual lady however was despised to an extent for it.
Female empowerment has been a key element to Kane’s collections. The woman for SS19 is tough yet feminine, a woman not to be messed around with.
by Imogen Clark