subscribe to style file blog via RSSKai Kühne Sees Other Women
February 18, 2009 2:37 pm
“No grunge! C’est fini!” It’s a pronouncement straight out of Funny Face, but characteristically, Kai Kühne is hamming it up to make a point about his new collection. Working off inspirations like Charlotte Rampling in The Night Porter, Princess Anastasia, and Nick Hooker’s trippy video for the Grace Jones track “Corporate Cannibal,” Kühne has conjured clothes with a whiff of desperation about them for Fall. But true to his word, there’s no grunge in sight. “I was intrigued by this idea of an elegant lady taking flight,” he explained at his studio on Monday, as a model in a chopped-off wig tried on a pair of high-waisted wool trousers. “There’s devastation everywhere, but her clothes are still perfect. You know, she’s a vision, but it’s off.” In order to express this conceit, Kühne has introduced a new textural variation to his usual clean, architectural look—Mongolian lamb comes in for a geometric treatment and a dress is cut out of fake fur. Chunky jewelry by Patricia von Musulin will complement Kühne’s looks, along with the three bags that mark his accessories debut. Kühne has also described a wider range of silhouettes this season, which he says comes from his desire to show “more kinds of woman.” “Spring was about one woman,” he notes. “One hemline, one tone. This season, I wanted to create many women, many experiences. Maybe it’s still the same woman,” he adds, “but now she’s
in transit.”
tags: Kai Kuhne
