Ferocious. Khaite SS24

September 12, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

At Khaite, yet again you could barely see the clothes, but could definitely get the vibes of a coherent vision of a contemporary New York woman. The lighting theatrics on the very darkened runway emphasized the sharp silhouettes Catherine Holstein has in offer for spring. She called them “ferocious“. “I think every woman in New York has to handle herself with a real fearlessness,” said Holstein, indicating that that’s what she had to do while operating as her label’s top creative and, until recently, CEO. “And that’s always something that I bring forth in the brand.” At this brand you won’t find novelty, but rather elevated wardrobe staples that never get out of style: exaggerated masculine coats, big-shouldered blazers, sensual silks, investment bags. The semisheer body-con knits were an understated answer to all the straightforward sexiness we see on the other runways. Holstein might be the contemporary Donna Karan of New York Fashion Week.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Commanding. Khaite Resort 2024

July 15, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Khaite resort 2024 fashion collection. Black sheer dress worn over lingerie. Art collage. Anna Ewers model.

Resort is the moment for Catherine Holstein to explore the more laid-back aspect of Khaite, the New York-based brand that keeps on stealing women’s hearts across the world. Super-chunky cashmere hand-knits and impressive sweater dresses clash with fluid sheer evening dresses and billowy ruffles. A stretch jersey henley bodysuit worn with high-waisted leather pants just might be the star of the season; it’s sexy in the offhand way of that virally famous Khaite cashmere bra that Katie Holmes wore a couple of seasons ago. You’ll also find the jeans that are a foundational part of the business – the silhouette of the moment is ’90s-ish, full-legged and relaxed – and an array of leather jackets that are unmistakably cool. A group of silk twill pieces in a souvenir print with depictions of New York City landmarks was a surprise, a charming one. Holstein likes an exaggerated shoulder and a defined waist, or a cropped one, and she experimented with military-style buttons on some styles. The coat silhouettes are oversized and commanding.

And here’s a couple of my favourite Khaite pieces you can catch now:

Khaite crystal-embellished suede tote

Khaite f rayed mid-rise straight-leg jeans

Khaite satin pumps

Sharp Power. Khaite AW23

February 14, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

A lot is happening in Catherine Holstein‘s life. First Khaite store is opening at 165 Mercer Street later this week after a year in the making, and 10 more are planned for the next five years. Next month, her first child is due. And her autumn-winter 2023 collection, presented during New York Fashion Week, is one of her best seasons yet. “We always talk about strength and stealth, but this is about power. That’s all we kept saying: ‘sharp power,’” she said while discussing the latest line-up. “I don’t want to call it grown-up, because that sounds kind of naff, but it’s a departure.” Stripped-down tailoring is one of New York’s emerging themes – serious, even austere clothes for cautionary times. The frills and embellishments of last season’s Khaite show were missing here. There was no silk fringe or diamanté trim, no snakeskin prints and definitely no polka dots. “There’s that famous Diana Vreeland quote, ‘always take one thing off before you leave the house,’ I always try to think about that,” Holstein said. “Maybe it got lost along the way in some of the other collections, but for this one we were talking about taking things away and being comfortable with that, and that’s also empowerment as well.” It wasn’t as peeled back as that might sound. The show started with a prodigious brushed natural shearling coat with black leather trim that nearly scraped the store’s poured concrete floor, and there was much more shearling, even for trousers, which will take a very strong woman to pull off. But overall the collection was a study of silhouette and material, not surface attractions. Black leather for a lean double-breasted coat and mini and midi skirts that flounced in a-line shape from the hips. Bonded crepe satin with a chiffon under layer for dresses as high of neck and long of sleeve as religious garb. Rubberized twill for a long hooded cape. And stretch jersey for body limning dresses with a sexiness that is “owned rather than declared,” to borrow an effective line from the press release.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Wild At Heart. Khaite SS23

September 13, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Khaite is now one of New York’s must-see brands. Celebrities jostle for seats and, editors are eager to buy and wear it. Catherine Holstein knows her audience. “That independent, New York, strong, stealth woman – that is who I’m designing for,” she said backstage of her spring-summer 2023 show. For spring she sent out her dependable mix of sequins and silk fringe, leather and denim. Because she was looking at the 1990s films of David Lynch, Wild at Heart in particular, there was a good amount of python print. Nicolas Cage’s character wears a python jacket in the movie; Holstein stamped the pattern on leather for exaggerated bombers and pencil skirts, and silk charmeuse for a voluminous peasant dress. A little python goes a long way, admittedly. The other novelty here was bubble skirts (a trending item this week). Their horsehair reinforced waistbands sat at the crest of the hip bones below everything from a mesh bustier to a crystal embroidered shirt. The low waistlines gave those outfits a cool attitude – polished but not pretentious. Because Holstein is designing for herself and for women like her, she’s got the attitude aspect nailed, but that’s not to diminish her eye for proportion or the exacting lines of her tailoring. A strong-shouldered, elongated jacket with crystal-studded lapels was a looker. You’ll be seeing it around next autumn with a tie-neck silk blouse and jeans and those little sandals.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Tensions. Khaite Resort 2023

August 13, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

Khaite‘s resort 2023 collection, as Cate Holstein went on to explain, picks up where the “sharp, stealth New York woman” aesthetic of her autumn-winter runway left off. Let’s say there’s a whole lot of badassery happening, from the leather chokers that accent nearly every look on down to the blunt-toed boots. Leather outerwear is a foundational category at Khaite. Cropped motorcycle jackets mingle with oversized bombers, including one that opens the lookbook with heavy-duty studding at the shoulders. The tailoring, in leather and otherwise, takes its proportions from menswear. “We’re predominantly a feminine brand,” Holstein said, “but in order to bring out that femininity you have to have elements of men’s, otherwise it goes in a girly direction, which we try to steer clear from.” It’s not that there aren’t girly embellishments here. Sequins are another recurring motif, as seen on a shift dress with a mock turtleneck as easy-wearing as a t-shirt and on a slip dress that grazes the ankle. The most novel pieces however involved not surface treatments, but volume play. A yoke-waisted skirt that ballooned out to the knees and a plissé shirtdress with poet sleeves were surprise hits of sweetness amidst the collection’s stealth glamour.