To celebrate the worldwide release of Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in March 2017, British luxury fashion brand Christopher Kane has created a limited edition capsule collection of women’s and men’s ready-to-wear pieces and accessories.
Having watched Disney’s timeless tale ‘Beauty and the Beast’ from a young age, Christopher Kane wanted to create a modern day interpretation and wardrobe for the strong, heroic female character. The collection, inspired by the film’s characters and aesthetic, will launch in stores and online March 16th, offering an elegant and modern representation of such a beloved and classic story.
The collection’s colour palette was inspired by the film’s setting and mood, with shades of gold and fairy blue, taken from the Beast’s castle interiors, and the bold red of the enchanted rose.
The rose, a vital element from the film, was a key inspiration to the collection and was developed into a photographic organza applique on tulle, an all over lace dress, beautiful embroidery, printed onto t-shirts, as well as the brand’s signature lenticular clutch bag.
The Rose printed t-shirts, sweatshirts and dress have been illustrated following the rose that appears in the film and screen printed with a great attention to detail, surrounding the rose with a glow and adding Swarovski crystals, reminding us of its enchantment.
A world first collaboration
For the first time, Disney and Christopher Kane have collaborated with sustainable brand consultancy Eco-Age. Eco-Age’s collaborations are intended to illustrate that the marriage of ethics and aesthetics is possible and that brands can, by evaluating their supply chains and choices of materials, tell truly beautiful stories through their creations. Given Disney’s strong commitment to transparency, ethical sourcing, using resources wisely and protecting the planet, Eco-Age’s Green Carpet Challenge (GCC) program was a good fit.
The collection has been validated under the GCC Principles of Sustainable Excellence and celebrates artisanship and handcrafting, with two pieces achieving the GCC Brandmark – the organic cotton Photographic Rose t-shirt, and the Swiss Rose Lace dress.
The all over rose lace dress was manufactured in Italy, crafted from custom designed certified Swiss lace, created by one of Europe’s leading guipure embroidery factories. The dress includes a certified organic silk satin panel and Italian produced luxury tulle. The Photographic Rose t-shirt has been made in Italy from certified organic cotton, and embellished with crystals from Swarovski, who Christopher Kane has worked with for 10 years, building a strong partnership as the brand has developed. The Swarovski crystal embellishments have been used throughout the Photographic Rose jersey story.
To interpret the film’s Baroque setting, Christopher Kane selected a blue Gainsborough silk used in a coat, bag and shoes. Gainsborough Silks was awarded the Royal Warrant in 1980, producing fabrics for Royal palaces, state buildings and grand residences the world over, and its tradition of creating fabrics of enduring quality carries on today, where the fabric is woven on traditional looms.
Bow and rose tea set jewellery, made from Christopher Kane’s original artwork and produced in plated nicked with individual hand painted details, offer a nod to some of the film’s most iconic characters.
The capsule’s unisex proposal comes in the shape of a classic hoodie, jogger, sweatshirt and printed tee-shirt, where the iconic character of the Beast, his face and fur, are brought to life in a grayscale photographic woven jacquard technique.
The Christopher Kane capsule will be available from March 16th, alongside the film’s global release, in the brand’s flagship store on London’s Mount Street and its e-commerce site (christopherkane.com) as well as with select International retail partners including Selfridges, The Webster (Miami and Costa Mesa), Shinsegae, Isetan, Joyce (Hong Kong), Breuninger, and Banner
The collection can be viewed and ordered (unfortunately no stockists in South Africa) at www.christopherkane.com/za/article/beauty-and-the-beast-capsule
‘’I have loved Disney since my childhood and all of the classics, of which Beauty and the Beast is one. It is such a great theme and story, with very iconic characters and a strong female voice. Looking back at past seasons, our archive was rich with elements that support Beauty and the Beast themes, and we were very much inspired by the film’s setting and mood ‘’ – Christopher Kane
Read the SAMDB review of Beauty and the Beast.
