Khaite kicks off urban romance for spring – with coveted shoes and bags – WWD

If Donna Karan, Helmut Lang and Tom Ford were the torchbearers of sensual, feminine and urban style in the 90s, Catherine Holstein de Khaite is here to take over the legacy.

On the one hand, the designer knows how to create a parade atmosphere. Sunday afternoon, from her black, underground, overgrown garden, beauty emerged in a dark and romantic collection in the black, white and metallic silver of the New York skyline.

“This is the quintessential New York woman – and to be in a city that is constantly changing and rebuilding,” Holstein said backstage. “But I also think people always want to be treated kindly,” she added of the precarious period of the pandemic.

So the clothes had one foot in the glamor of the re-emergence of the Roaring Twenties and the other in the comfort and softness of familiarity.

Voluminous satin coats and organza skirts backed by layers of horsehair had a practical romance, as did the coolest hand-sewn silk ribbon harnesses she compared to textile jewelry, worn on white T-shirts with rolled up sleeves. (These should sell, sell, sell.) The sparkling dresses inspired by the chain curtains designed by Marie Nichols at the Four Seasons were the epitome of New York City, while the final dress in sheer, shimmering black mesh (worn over a thong , natch) was called for a Hollywood red carpet.

Khaite jeans are already cult, and the offering of shiny leather bombers, biker jackets, miniskirts and sparkling metallic trench coats are set to expand into the heart of the brand’s classics business. Featherweight nylon coats, which Holstein compared to comforters; long sleeveless dresses; Sheer organza skirts, along with hoodies and layered bra tops, were also easy everyday wardrobe pieces.

There were also plenty of new things to fuel his burgeoning accessory business, including chic rounded toes, 1940s-inspired low heels, Teva-style sandals and clogs suitable for city streets, and a hobo bag. oversized. “Because a New York woman always feels like she may need to escape at any time,” Holstein said with a laugh.