London collection is one of the four dominant fashion weeks in the world, and particularly, it is influencing the world fashion as the center that leads the 21st world fashion with experimental, creative, and unique design. One of the designers that are highly noteworthy among the new designers of fashion in England is Christopher Kane. He studied in Central Saint Martins, England and is famous as a designer that well reflects the characteristics of fashion education in England and also the characteristics of London collection with his own experimental and unique design.
The purposes of this study are to examine the current trends of fashion in England with fashion designer Christopher Kane who is receiving attention in England these days and practicing the most English-like design and provide support to vitalize Seoul collection in Korea. This study has analyzed collection images and reviews from the S/S season of 2010 until the F/W season of 2015 and investigated the actual cases mainly.
Christopher Kane’s design shows largely four characteristics, and this works as the keyword of current trends in English. The first is to use new technology such as digital printing technology and laser cutting which have been recently introduced. With the collections issued from 2010, we can see that he designed with either digital printing or laser cutting for five wears at the smallest up to for thirteen wears at the largest. With this tendency, we can see that Christopher Kane tries to accept newly introduced technology to apply it to his collection. Second, he is freed from stereotypes and tries experimental design that feel free of the formality. Especially in 2015 FW Ready-To-Wear Collection, we can see that he was inspired by the bags not with zippers or buttons and introduced unique design by applying bags’ accessories or unique closing patterns to clothes. Third, he pursues classiness by using handcraft techniques like embroidery or appliqué. He introduces classy design combining new materials and new technologies with handcraft techniques as well as sensuous design reflecting England’s unique Old & New properly. The last one is to develop unique textile design. In each season, he uses natural elements like splendid flowers up to geometric, unique textile designs to contain the philosophy that the designer intends to show in them.
Like this, Christopher Kane can be said to be a designer who expresses his own design by exquisitely combining various techniques well harmonizing the past, present, and the future as one of the fashion designers representing England. Also, he is a designer representing England as he is constantly applying new technology based on his own philosophy and making experiments restlessly.
Seoul collection in Korea which has already become a field of competition among fashion brands in the world also should be equipped with its own unique sense differentiated with Korean designers’ unique identity in order to be one of the fashion collections that is recognizable in the world fashion market, and it is needed to make creative design based on the restless combination of new technologies and the spirit of challenge and experiment. Also, it is necessary to establish a creative fashion education system connected with industries to cultivate competent persons, and it is needed to provide much support and pay attention to design and fashion in the entire society recognizing fashion as a high value-added industry to create national brand image.