Quality & Craftsmanship
SPRING/SUMMER ’23
For Spring/Summer ’23, the Louise Kennedy ready-to-wear collection makes the ultimate sartorial statement using luxury fabrics and expert crafting skills. As ever, the collection comprises beautiful, exquisitely crafted clothes in elegant yet effortless designs that remain in fashion season after season, thanks to the luxury handwriting the label exudes and the quality and craftsmanship behind each piece.
Inspired by Irving Penn’s collection of spectacular Floral Portraits published in ‘Flowers’ (1980), the SS23 collection explores flora in literal and abstract form through illustrations, embellishment, printed silks and woven jacquards. Floral motifs are interpreted in vibrant colours, shimmering embellishments, and rich textures.
Floral prints are the stars of the collection, with inspiration taken from our own doorstep. A bespoke printed silk features flowers found in the gardens of Merrion Square. Fox Gloves, Sweet Pea and Purpletop Vervain intermingle with monarch butterflies in deep pink hues. Designed in-house, the custom print was first hand-drawn and painted in watercolour before being printed on exquisite silk georgette and finally brought to life in the Kamila Dress and Lillian Blouse.
Gorgeous jacquards feature strongly this season in sharply tailored coats, jackets, blazers and capes, from soft, cocoon-like silhouettes to cropped, boxy fits. An invigorating fusion of bold orange and pink tones create an abstract floral pattern. Delicate Petunias are given added lustre with silver thread in a gorgeous lightweight navy floral jacquard.
As ever, there is no shortage of exquisite embellishments in this spring/summer collection. We are so lucky to work with amazing craftspeople who hand-bead all of our embellished pieces each season, from the crystal bead wreath on the Natalie Sweater and pearl embellishments on the Valerie Knit, to the floral embellishments on the Gabriella Dress and sequins on the Made to Order Bailey Coat.
The collection also features statement fabrics from Linton Tweeds. Linton, based in Carlisle has a longstanding tradition of creating beautiful novelty fabrics, handwoven to this day for their initial strike-off. It has always been the first port of call when we start a new collection. Established in 1912, Linton has an extensive client portfolio when you consider the brands they work alongside including some of the world’s most prestigious French and Italian fashion houses. Their use of multiple threads and different tension mechanisms create gorgeous textures and give a unique, novelty feel to the fabric.
