Christopher Kane Spring Summer 2023
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: A model walks the runway at the Christopher Kane show during London Fashion Week September 2022 on September 18, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Tim Whitby/BFC/Getty Images)

Christopher Kane has a long and well-documented fascination with anatomy. This is, after all, the designer who created the famous bodies-entwined gown FKA Twigs wore to the 2015 Met Gala, and the designer who popularized sweaters with large illustrated drawings of the anatomy of botanical flowers. Spring/Summer 2023, however, may be his most body-conscious outing to date.

Kane unveiled his latest collection in London last night, in a dimly-lit sprawling space at the Roundhouse, an iconic performing arts venue in Camden. The front row was as joyful and energetic as any this London Fashion Week, from the Drag Race megastars A’Whora and Aquaria, through to the Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, and supermodel Jourdan Dunn. 

The show’s soundtrack highlighted S/S ‘23’s preoccupation with female anatomy, a booming medical voice seemed to be dissecting human cadavers (example: “in the case of the female, in the abdominal cavity we find the ovaries”). Kane later said he was inspired by conversations taking place about women’s bodily autonomy following the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in the United States in June. A billowing beige silk gown features two hands crossed over the pelvis. Code for: hands off.

Lingerie motifs were a key element, be it the little pastel lace-trimmed slip skirts, or the evening gowns with bralette cut-outs. A sheer PVC-style material was fashioned into a skin-hugging gown that evoked a body covered in water (@Kim Kardashian), and that sheer plastic appeared again under sharply tailored suits and harness-style crop tops. Some of the most compelling elements balanced traditionally seductive styles with references to kink culture: plastic harnesses were fastened along the torso, and suit trousers were slit up the side and fastened back together with tie detailing.

Kane long ago popularised the mantra ‘More Joy’, and with this—his first runway outing in two and a half years—he delivered just that.

Christopher Kane Spring Summer 2023
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: A model walks the runway at the Christopher Kane show during London Fashion Week September 2022 on September 18, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Tim Whitby/BFC/Getty Images)
Christopher Kane Spring Summer 2023
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: A model walks the runway at the Christopher Kane show during London Fashion Week September 2022 on September 18, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Tim Whitby/BFC/Getty Images)
Christopher Kane Spring Summer 2023
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: A model walks the runway at the Christopher Kane show during London Fashion Week September 2022 on September 18, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Tim Whitby/BFC/Getty Images)