Kate Hundley’s Runway Debut Show Inspired by Surrealism
Resort 2024 marks Kate Hundley’s first year back since putting her namesake line on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, so the New York designer decided the timing was right to tackle another first: making her runway debut at Brooklyn’s Wythe Hotel on Wednesday evening.
Her collection, titled “Witches and Goddesses,” paid homage to female surrealists and their interest in magic and the occult. “There are so many incredible female artists in the movement, but you don’t ever hear about them,” Hundley said backstage. “They aren’t really recognized for who they were as individuals.”
More from WWD
Hundley has favored private appointments in the past citing their intimacy, but said that, “to create the entire picture of the brand, you have to do a show.”
“I’m finding the things that feel special and unique to me and I’m building on them,” the designer, who has recently seen her clothes on Sam Smith and Katie Holmes, added. Those things fuse gothic romanticism with touches of Americana as seen in leather utility jackets and evening dresses with the same off-kilter eyelet lace details she introduced last season.
Hundley looked to the Italian painter Leonor Fini in particular, describing her as “the Helena-Bohnam Carter of the ’30s.” Fini loved to drape herself in caftans, so there were two, one in black and another in lavender was worn over straight-cut pants. Fini was also the mind behind Elsa Schiaparelli’s “Shocking” perfume bottle shaped like a Stockman dummy, which was mirrored through woolen floor-length coats with exaggerated boning.
Although Fini is often grouped together with Salvador Dali and Henri Cartier-Bresson, she fancied herself too much of an eccentric to be confined to a single art movement. Hundley took on a bit of that freewheeling individualism with a scarlet red charmeuse shirtdress worn back-to-front and a bustier top made of weathered vintage belts. “I love an upcycling project,” she said.
The designer, whose formal training is in accessories, also expanded her bag assortment, showing off an XL version of her patchwork shopper and a new underarm style she described as “bitchy,” with gold snakes winding around the handle.
Asked whether she’s seen interest from wholesalers yet, Hundley said, “I don’t want to jinx anything.”
Best of WWD
