CANDY KANE

A SWEET DEAL FOR THE CHRISTOPHER KANE LABEL

Oh how the skinny lattes and the faux fur were strewn aside! In a manner worthy of an Olivier award-winning performance, the fashion world stood aghast this morning as news broke of PPR aquiring a majority stake in Christopher Kane’s eponymous label.

But surely we saw it coming? Wasn’t it only a matter of who would be the first?

The chief executive of PRR (the French luxury goods conglomerate with ownership of brands such as Gucci and Saint Laurent) revealed plans to take the budding label to new heights and become an international brand in its own right. I can’t help thinking that part of the Christopher Kane charm is its incongruous nature- the idea that such artistic beauty could be borne out of this one unassuming workshop in Dalston. Take the fact that a previous collection was inspired by squidgy childhood pencil cases- can this singular vision survive the hands of a multinational organisation? Christopher Kane himself has freely admitted that his creativity has previously been constrained by the limited budgets available to an emerging designer. So with PRR on board production and marketing expenditure is set to soar allowing him full creative potential. Exciting times for the label. But the implications of this deal are far reaching and signify a new step in the emergence of British fashion- will Saunders, Kantrantzou or Erdem be next to reach the world stage? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…