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| Photography by Lucas Seidenfaden |
Interviewed by Grazia, along with Henry Holland
and Liberty London Girl, Kate Wallis is one new designer that is gaining quite
a reputation. “It was crazy, I was so nervous, the interview was streamed
online and it was so strange to have my Uni friends watch it.” When talking
about it she was so animated it was contagious. She beamed with excitement
about her experiences and the day so far. She was full of life and vitality,
which mirrored her collection, pieces that even she deemed as ‘fun’.
“I wanted to have fun with fashion, I wanted
party pieces that people would get excited about wearing.” Instead of making
her collection about an art object or abstract idea, Kate based her collection
on strong women such as Anna Dello Russo. Admiring her sense of adventure and
ability to freely enjoy the creativity that fashion offers. It was this
attitude towards clothing that she took forward when putting pen to paper and
illustrating her ideas.
Dripping in giant hand stitched layers of sequins,
that caught all the light in the busy exhibition hall, these dresses glimmered.
Above the polka dot layers lined rows of feathers in deep violets and rich
(almost metallic) emerald greens.
The layers built up until the shoulders were topped in thick fur-like
fabric in black or cream. Dress shapes were all with short skirts and strong
boxy shoulders. To enhance this strength one piece even had metal cubes embedded
into the full shoulders, while some had simple solid collars sunken into the
neckline. Yet, Kate was not content for these strong party pieces to be
ordinary, she wanted them to ooze luxury. So, all metal work is plated in 24ct
gold and the delicate printed material that forms the ripples of one skirt had
her fly to a couture fabric house in Switzerland. A fabric house linked to many
of the well know luxury fashion houses. Each piece has a quality couture like
finish.
If you feel like you have seen these dresses
before, chances are you have. Kate is building a celebrity following that has
seen the likes of Diana Vickers running around town in one of these spectacular
party pieces with a difference.
Text: Samantha Farr