Kit Willow was recently in London, a guest of the Queen at Buckingham Palace, where Eco-Age’s Livia Firth organized a showcase of sustainably minded designers highlighting the indigenous crafts of British Commonwealth nations. Willow’s dress featured bias-cut, hand-pleated Australian wool embroidered with Solomon Islands shells. “In the Solomons, they use shells as currency,” marveled Willow. “They see the resources of the planet as so valuable that they trade with them.” Willow’s own respect for the earth is deeply felt, and she goes to great lengths in her business to reflect it. At a showroom appointment in Paris, she pointed out the coconut buttons and the zipper tape made from upcycled plastic bottles. If you doubt how such a tiny detail could make such a huge impact, count the number of zippers in your closet, then multiply that by 7.5 billion.
Of course, none of those special considerations would matter a stitch if Willow’s clothes weren’t engaging in the ways that really count for women. Is it flattering? Does it feel good? The answer to those questions is a definitive yes. First, the materials: Willow used a striped silk handwoven in Varanasi, India, via the organization Loom to Luxury. A simply cut shirtdress in the stuff looked like spun gold and was just as weightless. From hardier ikats cut into rectangles, she pieced together jackets and skirts with an elegant drape that she accented with wide waist-cinching belts. That geometric patternmaking is a Kitx signature and it makes for body-enhancing shapes, many of which are cut sexily low in back. Nicole Kidman, a fellow Aussie and a big fan of the back reveal (judging by her red carpet choices at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards), would look excellent in them.
