The hip illustrator has hooked up with the
upbeat fashion house for a hot new collection InStyle got the first peek
What happened when playful New York label
Kate Spade (known for its eye-popping colour palette) met über-chic illustrator
and blogger Garance Doré? An utterly delectable capsule collection, channelling
Garance’s signature spidery illustrations into a set of prints that are pure
fashion Prozac.
Garance
Dore
The range is yet another stylish coup for Garance,
whose blog has shot her from unknown French artist to one of fashion’s
front-row elite. She counts Karl Lagerfeld among her fans and her chic sketches
mean she’s catnip for brands; when she designed a set of T-shirts for Gap, they
sold out in hours.
Little wonder then, that when Kate Spade
decided its a/w 2012 collection would have a French theme, Garance was its
first call: “I’ve followed Garance’s blog for a long time and love her
illustrations,” says creative director Deborah Lloyd. “She began by sketching
scenes from a Parisian cocktail party, which we then worked into a print.”
Already a Kate Spade fan, Garance was
chuffed to be asked. “It’s such a joyful brand,” she says in her thick French
accent. “I wanted to do something that captured that sense of fun, but also
told a story.” The finished ten-piece collection mixes the US designer’s bold
and cheery aesthetic with a shot of Garance’s Left-Bank charm.
New
collection
Sketches of Parisian partygoers and Phrases
in her swirly signature script — “Toutes les filles sont folie? (“All girls arc
crazy”) — adorn pale yellow Fifties frocks, black silk shirts with scarlet
Peter Pan collars and bow-trimmed box clutches. And a range inspired by Paris
wouldn’t he complete without a classic belted trench.
“The pieces are all very flexible,” says
Garance. “I’d wear my favourite, the printed skirt, with a white T-shirt to
break up the cuteness and make it very French, though someone else might want
to dress it up with a bustier.”
“The
pieces are all very flexible,” says Garance
Most of all, we love the collection for its
sense of humour — as the witty musings and sketches on her blog prove, Garance
has a knack for making fashion fun. “I’ve tried to stay true to my own vision
in everything I do. I like that my illustrations allow people to sec the world
through my eyes.”
