When beloved party wear label Self-Portrait announced the launch of a residency programme with Christopher Kane as its inaugural designer, the fashion industry let out a collective squeal of excitement.
After all, Christopher Kane is one of Britain’s brightest fashion talents of the last two decades, and when it was announced that his namesake label might be entering administration in 2023, it fed a growing fear that the economic downturn was stripping us of our creative minds. So the news of Christopher kicking off Self-Portrait‘s residency programme, which serves to invite creatives from all disciplines to reinterpret the brand, was a welcome surprise.
Han Chong, Self-Portrait’s founder and creative director, imagined the programme as a space for designers to come together and exchange ideas, and foster collaboration in a time when fashion has become increasingly isolated and competitive.
“My ambition for Self-Portrait has always been to create an inclusive brand, one that empowers with every interaction, and one that focuses on community over competition,” says Han. “This ethos was the starting point when conceiving our new Residency programme. To me, this represents the future of genuine partnership, where creatives support and uplift each other rather than seeing each other as rivals.”
Han turned his decade-old label into a global success adored by every It-girl from Gigi Hadid to Blackpink’s Jisoo thanks to his fun, flirty contemporary occasion wear offered at a relatively accessible price point. Now, the Malaysian designer opens up his Harella House studio for other creatives he’d long admired, like Christopher Kane, to create one-of-a-kind capsules that merge their unique point of view with Self-Portrait’s DNA.
Christopher and Han, both Central Saint Martin’s alumni, frequently crossed paths on the fashion circuit, but it was only when a mutual friend invited Christopher to the Self-Portrait studio, that the seed for a fruitful partnership was planted. “Han saw a post I’d shared on my Instagram about my debut Spring/summer 2007 collection and told me he found it inspiring, and he then shared his vision for the Self-Portrait residency and invited me to be the first designer,” Christopher tells GLAMOUR. Today, we get to reap the rewards of that fateful encounter.
The capsule sees Christopher mine his debut collection that put him on the map, thanks to its daring use of highlighter hues and ultra-mini silhouettes. “The beauty of working on my SS07 collection was that it was like working with an old friend, I know it inside out,” says Christopher, who reinterprets key elements like the bandage dress in knit for the Self-Portrait residency. “I wanted to bring joy and celebration for both of our successes. This collection is unapologetically feminine, with pieces in there for everyone to wear.”
Indeed, there’s something for everyone, from delicate pink lace dresses with strategic tulle cutouts to Christopher’s instantly recognisable tape dresses, this time in lilac rather than neon, and ruffles down the sides. The starting point for the collection was actually a stretch lace catsuit, one of his favourites. “It’s so wrong; it’s right.” That tongue-in-cheek, at times subversive approach to fashion (Christopher was known to take inspiration from club culture and fetish wear) is what he brings to this new chapter, stretching the boundaries of Self-Portrait’s more elegant styles.
And who better to front the campaign of the edgy collection than style icon Carine Roitfeld, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris and founder of her own bi-annual magazine CR Fashion Book and a big supporter of Christopher from the very beginning. “She commissioned a piece from my very first collection, and it was the biggest compliment ever,” says Christopher.
The residency is also part of Han’s dedication to maintaining Self-Portrait’s London roots and giving back to its home, a place that both he and Christopher take pride in. “I think there is an energy here in the fashion schools that is very liberating,” he says. “Central St Martins where we both attended, had a unique approach in that the tutors are often designers themselves, so they treat you like a colleague, and it is up to you to manage your diary, your collections, it makes you very resourceful and resilient, which ultimately prepares you for real life after graduation.”
Given Christopher’s prolific nature, we’re certain this is only the first of many more collaborations and capsules to come, but for now you can pick up one of the mini bandage dresses from the Self-Portrait Residency collection for your upcoming fetes in stores or online. See you on the dance floor.
