(Photography by Kate Rodgers for Dazed Digital)
To say that Christopher Kane's S/S 10 collection is a slow burner is an understatement. I had a mere inkling that I liked it when I saw it at the show in September. Then the inkling got bigger and more apparent because I was subconsciously being drawn to anything soft, nude, pale blue, with unexpected slits and of course gingham. The latter two though are hard to come by though in a vintage or high street context (I had of course long written off the idea of actually coming even an inch close to buying anything from the real McCoy). Therefore, it's a make do with what you've got situation and thankfully, the one item of clothing I owned, a wrapover vintage skirt, did sort of remotely nudge towards the subverted ginghams by Mr Kane. Ok, maybe not so much subverted, but it is gingham and are the right colours. A pair of re-discovered limited edition Converse beige gingham trainers with frilly edges was another renegade piece to start my quest for a Kane-nudging outfit, that sadly doesn't come a fraction close to the real thing but is satisfying in another way.
Then I revisited this 50s' teal lace dress that I bought in Manchester as a Prada A/W 08-9 substitute but unfortunately have never since worn it due to the strange fit of the dress. I opted to chop it into two and use the top to begin my slow burning beading project. I'm not normally a fan of hacking into genuinely old clothes but this was literally gathering dust on the shelves and happens to pick out the exact shade of teal on the skirt. So with a lot of different sized white beads, a fair number of finger pricks, a return Eurostar journeys and a flight to and from Florence, I beaded like a crazy woman. I say crazy because I hadn't a clue what I was doing and also because the people next to me on the Eurostar looked at me like I was doing some kind of provincial, spinster-esque work in some defunct small-cottage industry. I poked and threaded, following the shapes in the lace but not necessarily knowing whether I was doing it right. To be honest, it may all unravel in a heartbeat leaving me looking like a fool in the streets surrounded by miniscule white beads but for now it semi-completes my Kane nudger of an outfit. I may add more beads if I feel like whiling away an evening watching old episodes of Mock the Week. I'm not gonna lie. This isn't a quickie DIY but that could be down to my lack of beading experience. It was strangely comforting though threading through beads and seeing them err... somewhat staying attached to the top.
The final piece de resistance fortunately doesn't carry the risk of small objects that could choke a baby. I caved and bought myself the vintage 80s Valentino duvet-like gingham coat from Claire Incorruptible. It is pleasingly oversized and despite its lack of waterproofing, I'm basically going to be living in this through April showers. Possibly sleeping in it too. That it completes the Kane puzzle that I've been piecing together with my slow-ass beading is a bonus.
Belinda from Claire Inc also very kindly threw in this 90s Karl Lagerfeld brooch that very neatly pins up the skirt to reveal a Miss Sixty netting skirt that I found in a vintage store in Manchester... another indication that 90s throwaways are being bracketed as vintage. It's really telling me "Bonne Chance" at keeping those beads on that top... thanks brooch, I'll need it...
(Valentino vintage gingham coat, DIY beaded vintage teal lace top, vintage wraparound gingham skirt, second hand Miss Sixty white netting skirt, Converse gingham trainers, vintage Karl Lagerfeld brooch)
