Don’t kid yourself. It may be warm and sunny right now, but winter is just around the corner. And whilst the prospect of freezing cold nights and debates about putting on the heating are nothing to look forward to, Kestin Hare’s Autumn/Winter 16 collection certainly is.
Who Is Kestin Hare?
In 2014 Edinburgh native Kestin took his 15 years in the industry and decided to create his own slip stream. With an emphasis on contemporary styling and unique fabric sources, he has since produced some of the slickest garments we’ve seen coming out of the UK. Two years and 4 collections later they are the proud owners of two stores in Scotland and a flagship shope in London, their eyes set firmly on taking over the rest of the world.
With international stockists clambering to get their hands on Kestin Hare’s Autumn/Winter 16 collection, we take a sneak peek at what’s on offer…
Kestin Hare AW16
Titled ‘The Living Mountain’, AW16 draws inspiration from the pages of Nan Shepard’s mountaineering cult classic of the same name. Documenting her journey through the Cairngorm Mountains in the Scottish Highlands, you are introduced to a world of shocking beauty and stunning harshness. A poetic trip into the duality of nature and the wonder of a walk in the wilderness.
It was this visually striking prose which started as a platform for Hare to explore the colours of the country and the textures of the landscape.
Muted blues, earth tones, charcoals and iridescent icy shades stem from stunning passages depicting the mountains, expansive valleys, granite streams and sparse plateaus.
Taking the journey with Nan, Kestin Hare reimagines the coarse, rugged landscape; a range of fabrics with siliceous stone textures comprise their knits and jerseys – prints reminisce about indigoed glacial terrains. Though, of course, we’re not talking about outdoors wear here.
The AW16 collection draws from both the mountains and clothes from the days of yore. With references to vintage garments found in the cut and fit, the collection offers a stripped back, modern aesthetic just as you would expect.
Straying from your traditional Autumn/Winter colours of browns and blacks, this purple infused collection offers you a different approach to the onslaught of winter; to the bleakness of the mountain-scape. Far from the slow, drawn out funeral procession, we have a celebration of the cold mind and the slow pulse. Fogged breaths and gloved hands. Lunches in pubs overlooking the mossy green plunge into the valley, the white speckling of snow twinkling dreamlike on the jutting stone. The torrents of wind howling through chimney stacks.
Comfort meets couture.
If we have one criticism, it’s that we want to see some nightwear. But that’s just because we want to wear them the whole day through.
This pared back finery from our friends in the north simply has to be on your wish list. With shirts from their latest collection starting at £60, take a look at their shop here.