‘Colours that make you feel a bit sick.’ That is how Central Saint Martins golden boy graduate, Christopher Kane, described the palette for his Spring/Summer 2013 collection. Of course, Kane’s signature style is not in a particular garment, fabric or print but rather in the way he subtly undermines and subverts the at-a-glance appearance of his collections.

Ranging from pristine white, to candy coloured stripes and delicate lace, on the surface this collection seems to be the epitome of feminine elegance. But look a little closer. Isn’t that white a little too white? Isn’t it almost eerie in its blankness? Aren’t those candy coloured pastels a little too sheer? And why are they fastened with plastic bolts? Doesn’t the lace in fact form the shape of a vampire bat?

Well, the answer is ‘yes’ because for SS13 Kane was inspired by classic horror films (check out the not-so-subtle appearance of Frankenstein’s monster). What appears to be black gaffer tape holds pieces of suggestively placed lace to saccharine shades of organza in a recreation of the decayed elegance of the haunted house and dazzling bejewelled insects climb sleeves and shirt fronts. Beautiful but sinister – in the world of Christopher

Text: Zoe Dickens

Photography: Kirill Kuletski