The hyper-sophisticated graphic sense that sparks Christopher Kane's womenswear translates brilliantly to men's T-shirts. No irony there. Spring 2015 showed why. The fabulous 3-D flipbook effect from Fall's finale was strikingly reinterpreted for knits and shirts, as well as T-shirts. Then Kane pushed it into the tailoring that is an increasing strength in his menswear, though here, too, it was a suit from his Fall 2012 collection for women that dictated the silhouette.
Maybe that hint of reuse was one of the things he had in mind when he was talking about the "economy" of his men's collections, but that wasn't to suggest that he was skimping in any way. The oddities that are such a distinctive part of Kane's design personality have now worked their way into the bloodstream of his designs for men. One sweatshirt rendered the turning-page motif in a collage of screen-printing, flocking, and metallic foil. Reversible outerwear, a new development for the designer, flipped pinstripe and neon. Ah, yes, neon. Between his Resort collection and this one, Kane well and truly exercised—and maybe exorcised—his love of fluoro shades. But here's hoping he never loses his appetite for bad taste: Polos woven in harlequin or checkerboard knit were, he said, "shirts for darts players." Exactly. And only Kane could get away with that.
