Toronto designer just created three custom looks for Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian just came out with a new fragrance line, and she's wearing three looks made by a Toronto designer to promote it.
Kathryn Bowen designed three mesh bustier looks for the reality star, in white, black and nude. It appears as if the nude look comes with gloves.
The looks are in keeping with the designer's usual edgy style, which often incorporates mesh, corseting, bustiers, cut-out elements and more muted colours.
Bowen is a CAFA-nominated (Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards) contemporary womenswear designer, has studied at the London College of Fashion and has interned with Marc Jacobs. This is actually her first time designing custom looks for a celebrity.
In November of last year, a member of the KKW Fragrance team reached out to Bowen's stylist Basia Wyszynski to see if she could whip up three dresses for Kim for a special shoot.
"They had been interested in the brand for months, specifically the mesh garments I make, because they knew Kim would be a huge fan," Bowen tells blogTO.
Kim had worn three custom variations of a Vivienne Westwood gown for her previous fragrance launch, so they wanted a new designer to create three versions of a dress for the next launch.
"When Kim saw my black mesh bustier dress on Instagram she loved it and decided it would be the dress to model her three looks off of," says Bowen. "So of course I said yes to the project."
Called Jeff Leatham II by KKW Fragrance, the fragrance line is the second collaboration between Kim Kardashian and Jeff Leatham.
Three new scents were created in celebration of Valentine's Day and will have "scent notes from exotic, romantic blooms, to warm, sugared confections."
Kim Kardashian and Kathryn Bowen both posted the looks to their official Instagram pages on Jan. 20.
"Thank you for trusting me to pull this off from my tiny Toronto studio," reads the caption to a post from Kathryn Bowen. "A very surreal experience."
All the looks, including the gloves, were designed, cut and sewn by Bowen herself right here in Toronto. True to her word, she flew out to LA exactly two weeks after everything started for fittings, alterations and the shoot, where she met both Kim Kardashian and Jeff Leatham.
"She thought the pieces were beautiful," says Bowen. "It was pretty special that I got to be the one to see her reaction when she tried them on, as well as do all the final touch-ups and alterations."
Jeff Leatham, who is the artistic director for Four Seasons, also did floral design for photos promoting the fragrance line.
"I love coming up with photo shoot concepts," Kardashian says in a video posted to social media. "Sending pictures back and forth of flowers and different references, that stuff's so much fun to me."
The fragrance collection lauches Jan. 26 at noon, but the only way to get custom looks from Kathryn Bowen is to contact the Toronto designer.
However, if you've got a couple hundred bucks and don't need a look that's custom tailored just for you, you can shop looks similar to KK's online on the Kathryn Bowen website.
"I would absolutely work with Kim again if her team gets back in touch in the future," says Bowen. "It was an amazing experience and not one that a lot of emerging Canadian designers get."
Kathryn Bowen
Latest Videos
Latest Videos
Join the conversation Load comments
