Christopher Kane has reacquired his own brand

UPDATE 24.07.23 According to an announcement by FTS Recovery management, Christopher Kane and his sister Tammy have bought back the company, repaying creditors. Gaining the ownership of More Joy, the brand with eye-catching graphics inspired by the 1970s literary series, The Joy of Sex, the two changed the company's name from Christopher Kane Ltd. to K Realisations 2023. It has not yet been revealed whether Kane will show during London Fashion Week in September. Whether the British designer really managed to take back what was his due, saving his brand from oblivion, is yet to be determined. What is clear is that, in these times of constant turmoil and change in the fashion industry, Kane's choice represents a breath of fresh air.

Scottish fashion designer Christopher Kane, Central Saint Martin's enfant prodige and absolute pioneer of the cosmic prints that have made our Tumblr era kitschier than expected, is closing its doors. According to WWD, the company confirmed the news on Wednesday, saying that the board of Christopher Kane Ltd has applied for the appointment of liquidator FTS Recovery to close the brand's business. «This difficult decision has been made to allow the company sufficient time to implement a recovery plan - the company said via WWD - Major shareholders have been informed. A period of accelerated marketing activity will now follow with the aim of finding potential suitors to refinance the company's existing debt or alternatively find a buyer for the business and assets.» This is a huge loss for the London Fashion Week calendar and for British fashion itself, which often struggles to retain its oldest talent in a sea of emerging brands.

Christopher Kane FW18

Christopher Kane SS20

Christopher Kane SS20

Christopher Kane FW23

Christopher Kane FW19

Christopher Kane resort 2017

Kane, who founded his eponymous label 17 years ago, quickly became famous for his unpredictable and provocative collections such as Liquid Ladies, Sex in Nature and More Joy, which often featured sci-fi themes and tongue-in-cheek prints. It's a project she started in 2006 with her sister Tammy Kane, who studied at the Scottish University of Textile Design. She looks after the financial side of the business and helps with fabric development and the design process. Her first independent fashion show, presented in 2006, consisted of super-short bandeau dresses in neon shades, which were so successful that they started the neon trend. During the same period, Kane also rose to prominence in the music industry: He designed the costumes for Kylie Minogue's video clip "2 Hearts" and in 2007 he collaborated with Beth Ditto for the Fashion Rocks show of the luxury brand Swarovski, earning much acclaim. In 2009, he also collaborated with Versace, designing a capsule collection of accessories for the Versus line, which was admired by Donatella Versace, who later compared him to her late brother Gianni. Romantic elements such as the ostrich boas of the FW18 collection or the orchids turned into bags (a pun on the English term "pansy") are combined with bold prints, explicitly sexual inscriptions and stylised portraits of women caught having sex. The sci-fi inspirations of the Galaxy collection SS17 and SS20 with planetary patterns on oversized jumpers are also a masterful example of wearable eccentricity.

Christopher Kane resort 2017

Christopher Kane FW19

Christopher Kane SS22

Christopher Kane FW15

Christopher Kane FW18

Phoebe Waller Bridge in Christopher Kane

More Joy line

Christopher Kane's crocs

Christopher Kane FW18

On 15 January 2013, Kering and Kane jointly announced that they had signed an agreement under which Kering acquired 51% of the designer's luxury brand to develop the company in collaboration with its creator, but just six years later the group sold the shares back to its founder. In 2019, in an attempt to revive the brand that had long since lost its mainstream appeal, the designer launched a second line, More Joy, which included T-shirts, hoodies, swimwear, rugs and gifts with graphics such as 'Sex' and 'Special', but without the sales success he had hoped for. A great loss for British fashion, which is proving incapable of promoting and protecting its talents.