For S/S 09, the Karen Walker girl; international, always cool, eccentric, defiantly original and feminine took a walk on the wild side in leopard printed dresses and shirts printed with rams heads and spiders. Drawing from a range of references, Karen mixed it all up masterfully to come up with another winning collection, equal parts sweet, groovy and modern. Dazed spoke to Karen backstage after the show.
Dazed Digital: What was the inspiration for the season?
Karen Walker: Cults, communes, religious sects and a bit of voodoo. You find inspiration from everything and you wait for the one that really speaks to you. And with this one, about 5 months ago when that whole Texas polygamist cult (Yearning for Zion ranch) came out, I just thought, ‘that’s crazy’. I cut out a picture and put it on a wall and started adding things around it. And it went from there.
DD: You’ve been working with stylist Heathermary Jackson and your husband for many years. How is it working in such a close knit group?
KW: It’s really great. We started working with Heathermary about 13 seasons ago. For about 4 months before the show, we email her inspiration ideas. Then when we get to fitting stage, we email her fitting photos and we talk, at least once a week, maybe even twice a week. When we arrived here, she had the collection styled in her head already! Because she was so familiar with everything.
DD:How does showing in New York differ from showing in London?
KW: New York is about let’s do the business. So working in New York is so much easier, just because stuff gets done. The pressure is bigger because the audience is bigger. But we’re not doing it just for kicks, but because we want to do something good.
DD: How does having a baby change the way you design?
KW: It makes you more efficient. I noticed my design has gotten faster and more efficient because there’s no spare time. You make a decision, get on with it, be single minded, don’t overlabour or overlove it. It hasn’t changed about how I think about wearing clothes at all.
DD: You started in 1989. Next year will be the 20th birthday of your brand. How are you going to celebrate it?
KW: I haven’t even thought of it. We’re just gonna keep getting on. We’re not gonna put out a piece of commerative China! Maybe we should actually!
