Even before his first vivid-orange, elastic-bandage micro dress hit the runway today, 25-year-old Scot Christopher Kane was an international sensation in the making. In the six months since delivering his award-winning graduate Central Saint Martin's show in March, he has not only snagged a consultancy with Donatella Versace, but also found time between trips to Milan to whip up a further 50 fluorescent, frilled, crystal-trimmed, ring-jingling, zip-spliced dresses for his official debut.
What is this look? Certainly the most intense and best-articulated example of the Versace/Alaïa nineties mania coming out of the London club scene. Driven by lust for eye-socking color and allover decoration, it zings with an amazing new energy and optimism. Or as one wag in the audience put it, "Oh! Hervé Léger meets disco poodle!"
Virtually every dress featured the same body-clinging shape and the same length. But Kane had the conviction of thought to run through extraordinary color combinations—red with pink, lime with beige, royal blue with black, flesh-on-flesh, violet with green—not to mention dozens of pattern variations, encompassing stretch lace, chain mail, crystal mesh, brass rings and boudoir ruffles. All this had been accomplished in Kane's rented living room in the East End with his sister, model, and business manager, Tammy—and a little help from Donatella. Before the show, a consignment of shoes arrived from Versace with a massive bouquet wishing him every success. Looks like he's going to get it.
