Today’s collection was based on the anatomy of flowers. Not just any old flowers, this being Kane: ‘Buttercups, carnations, one very unusual orchid. No roses, god no. Roses have been done to death,’ he said backstage, pinned to the spot by a circle of rabid fashion reporters, itching to know the references, fabrications, why and how he’d come up with it all.Turns out, he’d been back to visit his art teacher (a huge influence on him and chief promoter of his early talent) at his High School in Newarthill, North Lanarkshire. There, he’d been struck by botanical drawings, the science of flowers. So he’d set about dissecting them, the stamens, petals and stems and was struck by how sexual they are. He also remembered how his mum had always told his sisters running around naked to ‘cover yourself up, cover your flower’!
He also captured the sheer drama of flowers with his three-dimensional crystal blooms that encrusted necklines or trimmed the bare shoulder of a slouchy sweatshirt. Indeed, the occasional sweatshirt emblazoned with FLOWER or little sweater with PETAL retained Kane’s London street vibe; one of his biggest talents is in creating collections that no matter how fancy, still feel ultimately accessible and authentically wearable