Christopher (Kane, yes on first name terms, don't you know) and I are roughly the same age. Maybe a year out at the most.
Therefore imprinted on our childhood memories (early 90's) are those pencil cases encased in plastic filled with multi coloured saline that could be swigded, pushed and prodded by a child bored in maths class. They were very useful, not only because of the sheer time wasting opportunities they inspired but because it held your million troll pencils. (Remember those plastic trolls with funny hair that you stuck on the end of the pencil. Occasionly I still find them knocking around in old childhood boxes with similar strange items (anyway I digress)).
This visual trope appears in Kane's 2011 A/W collection. Using his childhood memories and in particular the nostalgia for these memories in such an enticing and fresh way in fashion. Intrigued to see if they were exactly as I remembered as a 10 year old. I went and had a feel while I was at Liberty the other day. I am very pleased to tell you. Yes it was.
It transported me back to maths - 10.30am on Tuesday morning with Miss Mitchell. I like the way I'm on the inside, I know the joke here. It feels like fashion for me. My generation. I'm not excluded.
But the jokes on me a bit since I can't really afford a 2,000 pound shirt with plastic saline attached to the collar. I wonder if those women who can actually afford it, understand the joke. I'm making a leap of faith here but I bet they would be over 40. They are unlikely to quite understand the pure joy of the connection to those pencil cases.
But maybe they don't really need to anyway. Kane's ability to re-interpret his nostalgia in high fashion goes beyond knowing exactly where things came from the sheer fun at knowing something feels strangely familiar.
Feeling inspired I'm off to ransack my suburban childhood memories for my own designs. I'm not feeling so excluded now. Thanks Christopher.
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