Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane is fashion’s Willy Wonka, his mad factory churning out curious concoctions of lace and leather, gingham and rubber, crochet and plastic. His knack for “wickedly original” pairings of strange materials and references has earned him a reputation as a playful conjurer who, as Vogue’s Sarah Mower wrote in 2012, “taps into teenage naughtiness while also tickling the antennae of serious international chic.”

The young Scot first caught the attention of the fashion world—in particular, of the Italian design diva Donatella Versace—with his work done as a student at Central Saint Martins in London. Just six months after his graduation show (and having turned down a juicy full-time position at Versace in favor of a more modest consulting gig for the designer in order to focus on his own line), Kane introduced his signature label of colorful body-con looks to the world.

Showered with awards from the start, Kane made his mark with sexy little Lolita dresses: neon bandage minis trimmed in lace and peekaboo numbers in gingham. Though fans know that he isn’t afraid to stray from his pop-bright formula. For instance, his surprising Spring 2009 collection included simian photo prints inspired by Planet of the Apes; his third collection for Topshop also featured images of savage beasts.

His impressive and quirky range has won him an equally diverse roster of devotees, from Diane Kruger to the Duchess of Cambridge—and has not gone unnoticed by the bigwigs at French fashion powerhouse Kering, which announced early in 2013 that it was purchasing a majority stake in his growing label. It was a massive coup for the young upstart, putting him the company of such titans as Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Alexander McQueen.

As a kid growing up in bleak, postindustrial Newarthill, Scotland, Kane had always known his fashion dreams would become reality, he told Vogue in 2012: “Just didn’t realize how fast it would be.”