Mood board: The fetishisation of clothing is prescient at fashion week. Just look to the industry’s seasonal obsession with a purse, a pocket, with what’s new. For A/W 2019 Kane had been thinking about human being’s obsessions with objects. The ‘rubberists’ – latex obsessives. The ‘looners’ – balloon addicts. The people with culturally unacceptable compulsions. Kane’s clothing explores the boundaries of taste. Sexuality and secrecy explored using leather, lace and ladylike embellishment. Metallics, fuchsia, forest green and scarlet were showcased for A/W 2019, within a range of naughty/naive, sensual/saccharine silhouettes. This meant flouncy cupcake hemline skirts, rubber lapel overcoats, colourful balloon print dresses and shirts draped with crystals. Which piece will be your obsession?
Finishing touches: Kane’s clothing has a greatest hits element. His fans note nods to previous collections: a buckle, a shred of neon lace, a botanical pattern. His A/W 2011 collection featured plastic inserts filled with colourful liquids, and this detail was seen for A/W 2019 in squidgy fluid-filled collars and pocket flaps. There was something medicinal about the accompanying clutches, which resembled IV bags, or long earrings, hanging like test tubes filled with a sticky substance. ‘Fluidity,’ Kane said of their meaning. ‘It’s alright to be as fluid as you want.’
Best in show: The ‘More Joy’ T-shirts which accompanied Kane’s A/W 2018 collection have been a hit, and no doubt his balloon emblazoned ‘Looner’ T-shirt will attract fans. Those gooey accessories will also be on the wish list of Kane customers old and new. Elsewhere, rubber detail tuxedo jackets bought eroticism to eveningwear, while a series of loose dresses draped with gems had a Delphic glamour. §
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