Christopher Kane

Christopher John Kane (born 26 July 1982) is a Scottish fashion designer based in London.

Kane was born as the youngest of five children in Newarthill, North Lanarkshire, to an engineer and draughtsman father and housewife mother.

Kane attended Taylor High School. While still in college, he worked for fellow designers Russell Sage and Giles Deacon and attracted the attention of Donatella Versace by winning the Lancôme Colour Award in 2005.

Kane subsequently won the Harrods Design Award for his MA Graduate collection, consisting of £1,500 and a showpiece window in Harrods from 24 February to 8 March 2006. The collection consisted of stretch-lace dresses decorated with brass rings. He was immediately hired by Versace to work on the label's Atelier couture collection as well as consulting on shoes and accessories. He graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 2006.

In December 2006, Kane was photographed by David Bailey for British Vogue alongside Antony Price, whose 1980s bombshell evening dresses and curvaceous feminine styles foreshadowed Kane's bandage-tight tailoring. In August 2014, Kane was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Kane established his namesake label in 2006, with his sister Tammy Kane who studied at the Scottish College of Textile Design, running the financial side of the business and also assisting in his fabric creation and design process. His first independent show, presented on 20 September 2006, consisted of super-short bandage dresses in neon shades. Kane said of his collection that he "only used neon last year because it was my first collection and I wanted to go as bright as possible." The collection was lauded by prominent international fashion critics and credited by various sources as a major contributor to summer 2007's 'fluoro' trends.

In 2006, the designer launched a capsule collection for British high-street clothing store Topshop.

His second collection, showcased on 13 February 2007, once again received positive reviews from leading critics. Moving away from his signature tight-fitted look, Kane showcased a collection of velvets and leathers in a more relaxed silhouette. This was also his first collaboration with prominent shoe designer Manolo Blahnik, who created the shoes for the show.