Ever since that body-con lace and chain Central Saint Martins MA collection, Christopher Kane has been a name to know - quickly establishing himself as a rising star on both the London and international fashion scenes. Since launching his eponymous label in 2006, Kane has been delighting fans with his progressive collections that have made him a firm fashion favourite.
His graduate collection landed him the highly coveted Harrods Design Award.
The same collection got him noticed by Donatella Versace . In 2007 she told Colin McDowell, "Christopher Kane is my favourite designer. He and Tammy remind me so much of me and Gianni-brother and sister, working together."
Glaswegian-born Kane presented his first independent show in September 2006 at London Fashion Week. So eagerly anticipated was it, that even top fashion editors found themselves crouching in the aisles and on the stairs to see it.
Since then, Kane - who works in tandem with his sister Tammy (collaborator and business partner) - has developed his label into being one of LFW's regular highlights.
While synonymous for his original body-con aesthetic, Kane always manages to surprise us each season with another fresh approach.
In 2007 Kane created limited-edition jewellery for Swarovski. His Purple Rock necklace and pendant set design was modelled by Naomi Campbell. At the time he described the colour produced from the crystals as looking like, "graphic equalizer on my stereo, with lights going from dark to light in a purple and lilac UV colour. As soon as I became aware of the Swarovski crystal mesh I wanted to use it."
Well known for being down to earth, in 2007 Kane spoke about the downside of being one of fashion's most celebrated young designers. "You have to talk to folk you'd rather not talk to (at after parties). Sometimes people can invade your privacy so much, it's like, 'Look, I'm not going to be your best pal.'I'm pretty private. So I suppose sometimes you talk a lot of crap."
In 2007 he launched a capsule collection for Topshop.
The same year he revealed he was "devastated" to have had 23 collection pieces stolen a matter of days before his autumn/winter 2008-09 show.
He has been named Scottish Designer of the Year twice - in 2007 and 2008.
In 2008 and 2009, Kane joined Erdem Moralioglu and Marios Schwab as a recipient of the Fashion Forward scheme - the British Fashion Council's annual talent support scheme.
In May 2009, he launched a line of T-shirts with what has now become his iconic monkey print. This was followed by his first resort collection.
Kane launched his third collection with Topshop in 2009. It was the high-street store's largest ever designer collection - consisting of 39 pieces including women's ready-to-wear, bags and shoes.
Kane started designing for Versus in 2009. He was instrumental in the relaunch of the label - which had showed for the last time in 2004 following the death of Gianni Versace in 1997. He showcased his first full collection for the brand in Milan in September 2009.
He was asked to design a dress inspired by Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland film at the end of 2009 to be displayed in the windows of French department store Printemps.
The designer received the BFC British Collection of the Year Award at the British Fashion Awards in 2009.
His spring/summer 2009 collection completely sold out within 24 hours of being launched onNet-A-Porter."I am so thrilled with the sell out at Net-A-Porter.com on launch day," Kane told Vogue.com. "It's our first season together so I am very pleased with the reaction from their customers! I had anticipated that sales might be slow especially with the economy being the way it is, but I am ecstatic with the reaction and the support the buyers have given us with the front page."
In January 2010, he was nominated for the first ever BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund award - but lost out to Erdem.
He then won the 2011 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund. "I am delighted that Christopher has won the second BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund Award," British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman said. "The shortlist was very strong and we were impressed by the level of talent which was inspiring. Christopher and Tammy have worked immensely hard and it is wonderful to see a designer with his vision and commitment rewarded."
In May 2011 he gave a fleet of London cabs a makeover, designing a taxi-wrap inspired by his Resort 2011 galactic galaxy print. "The black cab is such an iconic part of London's landscape," Kane said at the time. "I am honoured to have the opportunity to put my own distinctive stamp on it. Looking forward to seeing one on the street and hailing it down!"
When Kane won the fashion fund he enlisted his older sister Sandra to help him and his sister and business partner Tammy run their growing business. "Sandra used to be a nurse matron managing 140 people, but we've just hired her to look after HR," Kane said. "We have been able to employ more people after winning the Vogue Fashion Fund."
In August 2011 he collaborated with Scottish cashmere label Johnstons to create 50 limited-edition, crochet biker jackets."When you start working with the hand knitters the possibilities are endless" Kane told the Telegraph. "I don't think I've ever seen crochet done with cashmere before-in skirts and tight dresses with a peekaboo of skin-it's not so granny." he said.
In 2011 Kane spoke about the Duchess of Cambridge's style. "It's a shame she doesn't wear more designers," he said. "I don't really like the high street getting so much of the credit. I understand that there would be an array because you need to relate to so many people in the market, but she is a princess. If I were a princess, I'd be like, 'Oh yeah, bring it on'." The same year he spoke of her Royal Wedding dress to the Evening Standard,"I thought Kate Middleton looked great - so demure, like a fairy tale princess," he said. "I am so happy she wore McQueen."
In November 2011 he collaborated with J Brand. "J Brand is the go-to company for fashion denim, so I could not think of anyone better to work with on this," Kane said at the time. "Collaborating with them enabled me to work with neon bright denim as well as classic washes to offer something different for this season that complemented my Resort line."
In March 2012 he spoke at the Fashion Fringe Roadshow at Edinburgh University. "I had such a great experience at college," Kane said during his talk, "I was there for six years and I was sad to leave. Now I'm doing it and enjoying it and yeah I'm extremely lucky. People say it is the best years of your life and I had a great time."
For his autumn/winter 2012-13 show he chose to scent his show space with Feuille de Lavande fragrance to contrast with the tough femininity of his collection.
In November 2012 he parted ways with Versus. In a press release at the time Kane said, ""I am so grateful to Donatella Versace for her support and the incredible opportunities she has given me. I respect her enormously and have learned so much from her. I have loved and appreciated working with her and will always be indebted to her. I am excited about the new Versus strategy, but the time has come to dedicate all my focus to the future of the Christopher Kane label."
In January 2013 he sold a 51 per cent stake of his label to luxury conglomerate Kering (formerly known as PPR). "We are very excited and honoured to be partnering with PPR for the next stage of development for our brand," said Kane at the time. "PPR has an incredible reputation for 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."
Explaining how he came to buy a controlling stake in Christopher Kane the brand, chairman and chief executive of Kering, Francois-Henri Pinault, said: "We were looking for young talent and at names that could be interesting, so we met Christopher and saw him in Paris and London. There was something so touching about him and his sister."
He told the BFC his ideal client would be, "a real individual and a keen follower of fashion. She maybe works in the industry or another creative field. Age doesn't really concern me; I'm more interested in personality and the way a woman carries herself."
Kane's pieces are stocked in some of the best stores worldwide including: Barneys, Browns, Harvey Nichols, NET-A-PORTER.COM to name a few.
In June 2013, Francois-Henri Pinault revealed that the company was looking for a flagship store in London, with the view to rolling out standalone stores all over the world.
The same collection got him noticed by Donatella Versace . In 2007 she told Colin McDowell, "Christopher Kane is my favourite designer. He and Tammy remind me so much of me and Gianni-brother and sister, working together."
Glaswegian-born Kane presented his first independent show in September 2006 at London Fashion Week. So eagerly anticipated was it, that even top fashion editors found themselves crouching in the aisles and on the stairs to see it.
Since then, Kane - who works in tandem with his sister Tammy (collaborator and business partner) - has developed his label into being one of LFW's regular highlights.
While synonymous for his original body-con aesthetic, Kane always manages to surprise us each season with another fresh approach.
In 2007 Kane created limited-edition jewellery for Swarovski. His Purple Rock necklace and pendant set design was modelled by Naomi Campbell. At the time he described the colour produced from the crystals as looking like, "graphic equalizer on my stereo, with lights going from dark to light in a purple and lilac UV colour. As soon as I became aware of the Swarovski crystal mesh I wanted to use it."
Well known for being down to earth, in 2007 Kane spoke about the downside of being one of fashion's most celebrated young designers. "You have to talk to folk you'd rather not talk to (at after parties). Sometimes people can invade your privacy so much, it's like, 'Look, I'm not going to be your best pal.'I'm pretty private. So I suppose sometimes you talk a lot of crap."
In 2007 he launched a capsule collection for Topshop.
The same year he revealed he was "devastated" to have had 23 collection pieces stolen a matter of days before his autumn/winter 2008-09 show.
He has been named Scottish Designer of the Year twice - in 2007 and 2008.
In 2008 and 2009, Kane joined Erdem Moralioglu and Marios Schwab as a recipient of the Fashion Forward scheme - the British Fashion Council's annual talent support scheme.
In May 2009, he launched a line of T-shirts with what has now become his iconic monkey print. This was followed by his first resort collection.
Kane launched his third collection with Topshop in 2009. It was the high-street store's largest ever designer collection - consisting of 39 pieces including women's ready-to-wear, bags and shoes.
Kane started designing for Versus in 2009. He was instrumental in the relaunch of the label - which had showed for the last time in 2004 following the death of Gianni Versace in 1997. He showcased his first full collection for the brand in Milan in September 2009.
He was asked to design a dress inspired by Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland film at the end of 2009 to be displayed in the windows of French department store Printemps.
The designer received the BFC British Collection of the Year Award at the British Fashion Awards in 2009.
His spring/summer 2009 collection completely sold out within 24 hours of being launched onNet-A-Porter."I am so thrilled with the sell out at Net-A-Porter.com on launch day," Kane told Vogue.com. "It's our first season together so I am very pleased with the reaction from their customers! I had anticipated that sales might be slow especially with the economy being the way it is, but I am ecstatic with the reaction and the support the buyers have given us with the front page."
In January 2010, he was nominated for the first ever BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund award - but lost out to Erdem.
He then won the 2011 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund. "I am delighted that Christopher has won the second BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund Award," British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman said. "The shortlist was very strong and we were impressed by the level of talent which was inspiring. Christopher and Tammy have worked immensely hard and it is wonderful to see a designer with his vision and commitment rewarded."
In May 2011 he gave a fleet of London cabs a makeover, designing a taxi-wrap inspired by his Resort 2011 galactic galaxy print. "The black cab is such an iconic part of London's landscape," Kane said at the time. "I am honoured to have the opportunity to put my own distinctive stamp on it. Looking forward to seeing one on the street and hailing it down!"
When Kane won the fashion fund he enlisted his older sister Sandra to help him and his sister and business partner Tammy run their growing business. "Sandra used to be a nurse matron managing 140 people, but we've just hired her to look after HR," Kane said. "We have been able to employ more people after winning the Vogue Fashion Fund."
In August 2011 he collaborated with Scottish cashmere label Johnstons to create 50 limited-edition, crochet biker jackets."When you start working with the hand knitters the possibilities are endless" Kane told the Telegraph. "I don't think I've ever seen crochet done with cashmere before-in skirts and tight dresses with a peekaboo of skin-it's not so granny." he said.
In 2011 Kane spoke about the Duchess of Cambridge's style. "It's a shame she doesn't wear more designers," he said. "I don't really like the high street getting so much of the credit. I understand that there would be an array because you need to relate to so many people in the market, but she is a princess. If I were a princess, I'd be like, 'Oh yeah, bring it on'." The same year he spoke of her Royal Wedding dress to the Evening Standard,"I thought Kate Middleton looked great - so demure, like a fairy tale princess," he said. "I am so happy she wore McQueen."
In November 2011 he collaborated with J Brand. "J Brand is the go-to company for fashion denim, so I could not think of anyone better to work with on this," Kane said at the time. "Collaborating with them enabled me to work with neon bright denim as well as classic washes to offer something different for this season that complemented my Resort line."
In March 2012 he spoke at the Fashion Fringe Roadshow at Edinburgh University. "I had such a great experience at college," Kane said during his talk, "I was there for six years and I was sad to leave. Now I'm doing it and enjoying it and yeah I'm extremely lucky. People say it is the best years of your life and I had a great time."
For his autumn/winter 2012-13 show he chose to scent his show space with Feuille de Lavande fragrance to contrast with the tough femininity of his collection.
In November 2012 he parted ways with Versus. In a press release at the time Kane said, ""I am so grateful to Donatella Versace for her support and the incredible opportunities she has given me. I respect her enormously and have learned so much from her. I have loved and appreciated working with her and will always be indebted to her. I am excited about the new Versus strategy, but the time has come to dedicate all my focus to the future of the Christopher Kane label."
In January 2013 he sold a 51 per cent stake of his label to luxury conglomerate Kering (formerly known as PPR). "We are very excited and honoured to be partnering with PPR for the next stage of development for our brand," said Kane at the time. "PPR has an incredible reputation for 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."
Explaining how he came to buy a controlling stake in Christopher Kane the brand, chairman and chief executive of Kering, Francois-Henri Pinault, said: "We were looking for young talent and at names that could be interesting, so we met Christopher and saw him in Paris and London. There was something so touching about him and his sister."
He told the BFC his ideal client would be, "a real individual and a keen follower of fashion. She maybe works in the industry or another creative field. Age doesn't really concern me; I'm more interested in personality and the way a woman carries herself."
Kane's pieces are stocked in some of the best stores worldwide including: Barneys, Browns, Harvey Nichols, NET-A-PORTER.COM to name a few.
In June 2013, Francois-Henri Pinault revealed that the company was looking for a flagship store in London, with the view to rolling out standalone stores all over the world.
