KA WA KEY A/W21’THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS’
Through The Looking Glass, KA WA KEY AW 21 collection observes the duality of the imagination and reality inspired by larger than life characters and their dual personalities. Characters like Willy Wonka, Moira Rose, Peter Pan, Mad Hatter just a few to mention. KA WA KEY is a London-based gender-fluid label by design duo KEY CHOW and JARNO LEPPANEN. The designer duo re-imagines traditional textile crafts using sustainable materials to rework everyday casual wear.
Through their AW 21 collection, KA WA KEY reflects the imaginative worlds they’ve visited and characters they’ve met during the past year, which has been rather different and even scary at times. TV and music have been a HUGE inspiration and has offered an escape from reality, opportunity to meet different personalities who have given us hope and a variety of amazing places to visit. KA WA KEY wants to thank all the creatives and artist who have created content and entertainment to get us through these unexpected times. Without you, the times would have been much darker.
KA WA KEY NYMD & NYFW digital presentation comments on the controversy of the journey of growing up and the pressure which comes along with it. So often we desire the things we don’t have, things we dream about and on the contrary the things we used to have, the things we’ve now lost. This presentation is inspired by the works of Tim Burton and was made by a young filmmaker Cecilia McAloon Wolff and the music is by Robin Appelqvist .
Through The Looking Glass, KA WA KEY AW 21 collection is a playful and romantic combination of soft and fluffy knits using mainly RMS mohair and uniquely cut swirl patterns. The collection includes 7 pieces designed in collaboration with Japanese fabric manufacturer TORAY using their sustainable fabrics from their Primeflex product line.
KA WA KEY are H&M Design Award Finalist, International Woolmark Prize 2018 semifinalist, Center of Fashion Enterprise Fashion Pioneer Program graduate, Royal College of Art’s Creative Brand accelerator program graduate and currently part of Sustainable Fashion Accelerator by The Trampery.
PATRICK MICHAEL HUGHES SENIOR FASHION EDITOR
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JARNO LEPPANEN
VIDEOGRAPHY BY CECLIA MacALOON WOLFF
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Patrick Michael Hughes is a fashion and decorative arts historian. He writes about fashion culture past and present making connections to New York, London and Copenhagen's fashion weeks with an eye toward men's fashion. He joined IRK Magazine as a fashion men's editor during winter of 2017.
He is often cited as a historical source for numerous pieces appearing in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, LVMH, Conde Nast, Highsnobiety and others. His fashion career includes years as a fashion reporter/producer of branded content for the New York local news in the hyper digital sector. Patrick's love of travel and terrain enabled him to becoming an experienced cross-country equestrian intensively riding in a number of locations in South America Scandinavia,The United Kingdom and Germany. However, he is not currently riding, but rather speaking internationally to designers, product development teams, marketing teams and ascending designers in the US, Europe and China.
Following his BA in the History of Art from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York he later completed graduate studios in exhibition design in New York. it was with the nudge and a conversation in regard to a design assignment interviewing Richard Martin curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art he was encouraged to consider shifting his focus to the decorative arts with a concentration in fashion history and curation.
Patrick completed graduate studies 17th and 18th century French Royal interiors and decoration and 18th century French fashion culture at Musée Les Arts Decoratifs-Musée de Louvre in Paris. Upon his return to New York along with other classes and independent studies in American fashion he earned his MA in the History of Decorative Arts and Design from the Parsons/Cooper Hewitt Design Museum program in New York. His final specialist focus was in 19th century English fashion and interiors with distinction in 20th century American fashion history and design.
Currently, he is an Associate Teaching Professor at Parsons School of Design leading fashion history lecture-studios within the School of Art and Design History and Theory,
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