EXCLUSIVE: A First Look at Christopher Kane’s Collaboration With Self-Portrait
The sparkly, party-ready range, which is based on the Scottish designer's Central Saint Martins MA graduate collection, goes on sale Thursday.
By Tianwei Zhang
November 21, 2024, 12:01am
LONDON — Thanks to Self-Portrait, Christopher Kane‘s signature crystal-trimmed, zip-spliced bandage dresses that he first showed in 2006 will be widely available for the first time from Thursday.
As reported by WWD in September, Kane is the first guest designer of Self-Portrait’s new residency program based at Harella House, its studio and headquarters near the Barbican in East London.
Self-Portrait has provided Kane with the infrastructure, resources, teams, distribution networks and creative freedom to create a one-off collection based on his Central Saint Martins MA graduate show.
That show rocket-launched his career, and turned Kane into one of London’s most celebrated designers of the 2000s.
The collection also marks Kane’s return to fashion design. He shuttered his business, which he ran with his sister Tammy Kane, in June 2023. The siblings later repurchased the company, but Kane has not shown or sold a collection since then.
The new range will be available from Thursday online and at Self-Portrait’s Mayfair and Chelsea locations. It will also be available at 40 key retailers worldwide including Harvey Nichols, Mytheresa, Selfridges, Revolve, Forward, Bloomingdale’s and Club 21.
In an exclusive interview, Kane said the residency has been a learning experience on agility, supply chain management and bringing democracy to fashion.
When he first launched the dresses for spring 2007, only five retailers — Barneys New York, Brown’s, Maxfield, Maria Luisa and 10 Corso Como — stocked the collection and the prices were eye-watering, given that he was just out of fashion school.
Some of the pieces, such as a multicolored, lace-meets-chainmail dress with a buckle belt and a prominent crystal zip at the front, cost close to 10,000 pounds at the time. They were hand-assembled in the studio by Kane and Tammy.
With access to Self-Portrait’s sophisticated China-based manufacturing, Kane has been able to produce new iterations of the chainmail dresses, frilly lace gowns, neon knits, playful hosiery, rhinestone bags and jewelry that capture the essence of his forward-thinking approach.
The new styles are also price-capped at 650 pounds.
The collaboration came about after Self-Portrait’s founder Han Chong contacted Kane in April, via a mutual friend, and offered him an opportunity to get back into the fashion game almost a year after he closed his company.
Shortly after filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators, the designer and his sister were able to repurchase the Christopher Kane and More Joy fashion labels in July 2023.
“In hindsight, it was tough, but I don’t see it as a failure. It was 18 years of phenomenal prestige and industry respect. Money can’t buy that.
“I see this as the next chapter, and putting my feet back in the water,” said Kane, who, during his long career, worked with Donatella Versace on the Versus collection and partnered with Kering between 2013 and 2018.
He eventually bought back the 51 percent stake that Kering purchased, and returned to life as an independent designer. He also launched a second, stand-alone line called More Joy, and did a high-profile collaboration with Crocs.
Kane said that returning to the studio after such a long time — and especially one that was not his — was nerve-wracking. “But everyone was so easy to work with, and quick with the sketches and fittings. It was done super-fast,” he added.
Ahead of the collaboration, Chong traveled to China and returned with a very precise tech pack with all the materials Kane could possibly need for collection development.
In the studio, Chong told Kane to let his imagination roam free and later asked his merchandisers and buyers to build a diverse range based on the designer’s creations.
“It was great because we had all the ingredients. We’re just in the corner, cutting up, pinning, and then — all of a sudden — a dress,” Kane said. Chong’s Chinese factories take two weeks to turn drawings into samples, shipping time included.
“You don’t see this opportunity I’ve been given very often. Compared to the collaborations I’ve done in the past, this is just different. We have a synergy, we love and respect each other, and fashion is in the forefront. This collection, ultimately, is very wearable and very good fashion at a great price point,” Kane added.
Fellow CSM alum Chong said that since news of the partnership broke in September, people have been asking how they can get ahold of a piece of the collection.
“He has a diehard following who is obsessed with his designs. They are so excited to be able to get their hands on a 2025 version of his iconic designs,” Chong said.
Maintaining close ties with Chinese manufacturers has been one of Chong’s talents, one that has enabled Self-Portrait prices to stay at a competitive range while maintaining a healthy margin in an environment where so many independent brands here struggle.
“The manufacturers he has are magicians. They’re on a different continent in a different time zone, but they are so agile,” Kane said. “Every brand uses manufacturing in China. They may say they don’t, but I don’t know why you wouldn’t say it. I think it’s prestigious.”
According to the latest Companies House filings, Self-Portrait’s U.K. business logged a turnover of 66 million pounds in the year ended Sept. 30, 2023, a 28 percent increase year-over-year. Operating profit jumped 78 percent to 11.7 million pounds, and gross margin improved by 5 percent.
Self-Portrait’s China operation is a joint venture with the Shenzhen-based apparel group Ellassay and has existed since 2019. According to Ellassay’s annual report, the joint venture saw a 50 percent increase in turnover to more than 400 million renminbi, or $55.2 million, in fiscal 2023.
Chong said he has spent the past decade training staff in factories across the Pearl River Delta region, which includes mega-cities such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong and world-leading manufacturing hubs such as Dongguan and Foshan.
He said it’s important for those factories to understand his expectations regarding quality and cost efficiency.
“When I’m designing, I know exactly which factory is doing what, and how I can be more accessible to my audience. For example, if we want to use good-quality chainmail for this collection, then the other materials are going to be cheaper to bring the overall cost down. So [Christopher’s] fans who could not afford his collection before, can now,” Chong added.
With those resources, Chong believes it’s his responsibility to provide “a home for creativity to thrive and prosper.”
He has also been working on the M&A front. He acquired Roland Mouret’s loss-making brand in November 2021, and is always looking for opportunities.
Following the inaugural collaboration with Kane, the residency will see Self-Portrait open the doors of Harella House to more creatives, from all disciplines.
“I want [the residency] to reflect the way my customer interacts with the world, so the opportunities for it are broad and very exciting. I love the idea of exploring different aspects of lifestyle. It could be an experience, a single item, a piece of music, a book or even multiple creators contributing in unexpected ways,” Chong said.
Kane, too, said he is open to new, exciting projects, and potentially a return to the runway when he feels the moment is right.
