Scottish designer Christopher Kane is known as one of the fashion world’s most exciting talents for his modern vision and flair for manipulating textures and silhouettes to create strong feminine looks laced with attitude. Hired upon graduation from Central Saint Martins in London to work on Versace’s Atelier couture collection, Kane was subsequently named creative director of the label’s diffusion line, Versus in 2009. Since presenting his first independent show during the Spring/Summer 2006 season of London Fashion Week, Kane has been named Scottish Designer of the Year twice, received the British Fashion Awards BFC British Collection of the Year for 2009 and was the 2011 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund winner. To this day, Kane continues to receive rave reviews for his fresh take on fashion and his unique ability to transform unexpected materials and prints into objects of great desire.
Christopher Kane brings his signature aesthetic to NEONEUTRAL, a limited edition collection of unexpected shades and formulas inspired by the nature of neon and the nude shades that complement them.
Neon exists in nature as a chemical element, distinguished by its electric glow, but for Christopher Kane, neons are neutrals—basics that balance with verve and style, refreshing a look with new energy.
The Christopher Kane for NARS collection permeates the perfect balance of bold brights and natural flesh tones – together they create a new version of neutral. Eyes are enhanced with iridescent rose gold, pink lilac, and violet. Cheeks are flushed with soft beige or hot pink. And lips are saturated in high-shine shades of neon pink and coral that subtly stain after the gloss is gone.
The Christopher Kane for NARS Collection, a line of Eyeshadows, Blushes, Illuminating Multiples, and Lip Glosses showcases Christopher Kane’s unexpected and edgy design aesthetic with NARS’ iconic and bold beauty philosophy.
What was your creative process in developing the Christopher Kane for NARS Collection? Was it similar to creating a seasonal collection?
I wanted the collection to reflect key signatures from Christopher Kane and therefore based the color palette on iconic artifacts brought together from our past collections. The NARS collection was more retrospective; celebrating the history of the brand from past to present day, we wanted it to be a timeless representation of the brand, and not limited to a particular season.
We’ve noticed that neon is weaved throughout this beauty collection, why was it important for you to include this style element in the collection?
Neon is a huge part of the Christopher Kane identity, so much so that it has become a neutral. In order to truly express the nature of the brand, there was no question that it had to be an integral part of this beauty collection.
How have you utilized neon in your collections?
I’ve worked neon into the collection in such a way that it complements the face while still communicating the bold neon impact. It was very important that we make the products wearable, for example the lip glosses in neon shades – you can see they are brightly coloured in their glass bottles, then once on the lips they have a high translucent shine with a subtle neon stain. I wanted a harmonious balance between the bold and beauty.
Do you have a favorite product and colour?
The Violet Atom Illuminating Multiple, because I love the NARS multiple as a product for its versatility, and the Violet Atom has an unusual ethereal/celestial beauty, it is very unique.
I love the Violet Atom Illuminating Multiple, the colour has this unusual ethereal, celestial beauty that makes it so unique and the multiple is so versatile.
You used the Violet Atom Multiple as part of the beauty look for your Spring/Summer 2015 Runway show, why did you decide to use that product? How did it contribute to the overall look of the show?
I really liked the luminous and almost transparent quality of the Violet Atom Multiple – when the light hits the face it really glows and feels very fresh and modern.
Do you have a go-to inspiration source, something that inspires you again and again?
I have always worked on instinct and with what surrounds me on a daily basis. I have never searched for inspiration, as I don’t feel this works, I like for inspiration to find me – it’s a very natural and personal thing.
How has the Christopher Kane brand evolved over the past few years? Where do you see the brand in the next 5 years?
The brand has grown so much over the last years, most significantly since we partnered with KERING. There is still a lot of work to be done but we are working hard to achieve these goals and are certainly on the right path and with the right partners. KERING has been such an enormous support to us and now with the opening of our first-ever store in London this March, it is such an exciting and huge step for both the brand and me personally.
How has your upbringing contributed to your artistic creativity?
The landscape of my childhood and my upbringing have certainly had an influence on my work. I love that I can call on certain characters from my childhood as a source of inspiration but most importantly, it is the strong work ethic which was instilled in me by my family from a very young age that I am grateful for; I was raised knowing that in order to succeed you have to work hard and fight for what you want and believe in.
You are in the process of opening your first boutique in London, what has that experience been like?
I am so excited to be opening our very first store and in London – this is the first time we will be able to interact directly with our customer and really get to know and understand them. The entire process has been amazing, and I have really enjoyed it every step of the way. We worked with John Pawson, a brilliant British minimalist designer whose work I love and admire, and who made me feel extremely comfortable throughout. John and his team are wonderful and so lovely to work with and instantly understood what I wanted to achieve with the store, which has made for a wonderful experience.
You are known for producing clothing that is “wickedly original” with unexpected concoctions and playful patterns—do you think this collection portrays your signature aesthetic?
Every season I like to do something that feels new and different, whether that be through the innovative use of textiles, a cutting technique or experimental fabrics…this has become signature to the brand and to how I work –the Spring Summer 15 collection very much reflects that approach and me.
Why did you decide to work with Nars? Why now?
NARS has been a long-standing and valued partner of ours, so this collaboration was an obvious fit. NARS has the same bold and creative aesthetic that is signature to the brand and I’m excited to share what we’ve created together.
Can you tell us about the colour palette for the collection, are these signature Christopher Kane colours?
The colour palette is based on artifacts brought together from our past collections, like our signature safety buckle and bolt fastenings. These artifacts naturally communicated three Christopher Kane colour themes; our classic bold neons, our brand shade of nude and futuristic iridescence. These colours are signatures of the brand and we wanted to represent that in the purest sense.
Can you tell us about the final products you selected for the collection?
It is a full colour collection featuring products for eyes, lips and cheeks and combines NARS’ iconic and bold beauty philosophy with our design aesthetic.
Products
Outer Limits Single Eyeshadow: Iridescent rose gold
Starscape Blush: Neon pink
Silent Nude Blush: Soft beige
Mezmer Lip Gloss: Sheer Neon Pink
Nebulous Lip Gloss: Neon Coral
Nucleus Lip Gloss: Seashell pink
Glow Pink Lip Gloss: Sheer fuchsia
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