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Christopher Kane’s Contrasting Authority

Talk about being on message. From his invitation, to his runway carpet to his composite fabric cocktail dresses, the U.K.'s most revolutionary designer, Christopher Kane, honed his most polished aesthetic statement to date. Call it Posh Purple Power.

Or, maybe, punchy, far from languid lilac - the shade that appeared on all three aforementioned surfaces in a rather dramatic show staged in London's financial district, The City, on Monday, Feb. 20.

In a very real sense, in this fall 2012 collection, the Glasgow, Scotland-born Kane finally grew up. Kane has for too long been regarded as Europe's best "young" designer. Let's delete the youthful adjective from that from now on, seeing as Kane is now very much making clothes more targeted to cool career ladies than crafty clubbers.

"Moire with patent leather; mink with fox fur; chain mail with 3D embroidery," said Kane backstage, explaining the hyper sense of contrast that drove this show. Before then, adding that the collection's initial spark came from the imagery of photographer Joseph Szabo.

Kane did riff on some of his signature touches - hyper print flowers, teen comics graphics, but took the whole package somewhere new with alluring opening pinstripe motifs - most especially black mink black variants paired with harlequin pants, or coated dusters with modest minis. But it all felt new, and more dramatic, rather like the photography of Szabo, whose close-up black-and-white photos of American youth in the '70s were famed for their powerful sense of opposing surfaces.

Throughout, Kane dissected more or less everything with tubular leather trim, belts, ties and wraps, toughening up mesh over jacquard cocktails that came in fire engine red or imperil purple. Majorly bright combinations of blood red or fuchsia with black or anthracite added punch to a collection that will be widely imitated this coming autumn.

Kane might be long from being household name, but among fashion insiders he is regarded as a highly important designer, respected not just for the brilliance of his designs but also for his reach, impact and innovation. This, arguably, may not have been Kane's greatest collection, but it was surely his most authoritative. His time is now.

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