Kai Kuhne: Prodigal Returns in Triumph

Berlin – If one had to think of at least one good reason to attend this latest Berlin Fashion Week, it surely was to catch the Saturday, July 4, runway show by Kai Kuhne, a German wild child resident for over a decade in New York, who returned in triumph this weekend.
Even if nearly half the looks had already been seen in Kuhne’s most recent Manhattan runway outing in February, this was a brilliantly fresh take on arty glamour, hard core style leavened with just the right dose of wit and wonder.

No wonder Kuhne got the biggest cheer of any show staged in Bebelsplatz, the tented show space that was the nerve center of the four-day Berlin season.

Opening with sleek, curvy mini jackets and delightfully well hung waxy raffia trench-dresses, Kuhne underlined what a snappy tailor he can be. From the concise incisions on the shoulders of cocktail dresses, to the pared down lapel-free boleros, this is a designer who understands when less can be so much more.
In a city whose architecture is all about hard edges and austerity, Kuhne’s snappy metal finished dresses and wonderful silverized swing coat looked like they had found their true home.
The show featured some great accessories, like excellent suede court shoes given great pizzazz by their heels – culled from the chair legs of a classic Charles and Ray Eames chair.
Added to that was some beautiful jewelry courtesy of Patricia Von Musulin, and the season’s best-styled show, with stylist Avena Gallagher injecting the right dose of contemporary dash and humor, featured some models wearing zombie-like contact lenses.