Kim Davis London
KIM DAVIS
is a woman of many, many talents, the least of which being an incredible
capable and talented self-taught designer. A graduate of Georgetown’s
School of Foreign Service and its law school, she practised financial
law and investment banking at Willkie, Farr & Gallagher in New
York City before taking time off to be with her growing family.
When her husband was transferred to London in 1977, she used the
opportunity to study art history and antiquities at Christie’s,
ultimately using that experience to start—with a New York partner—
a business selling pashminas in 2000. Wanting to try her hands at
design, she customized a few shawls by adding faux fur and
other embellishments, along with easy pieces like wrap skirts and
elegant pants, selling them all at special events and from her home.
To her surprise,
this proved to be a great success,
Using herself as a prime example—lawyer,
investment banker, mother, entrepreneur, modern woman—she sees
her design motivation as ‘functional elegance with an alluring
twist |
giving her the encouragement she needed to go all the way to designing
and launching a full collection. In May 2003, she started selling
at the wholesale–retail level, receiving orders from Saks Fifth
Avenue, Henri Bendel and other independent boutiques.
From Ms Davis’s learned viewpoint, ‘clothes should
be easy as well as chic.’ Using herself as a prime example—lawyer,
investment banker, mother, entrepreneur, modern woman—she sees her
design motivation as ‘functional elegance with an alluring twist.
I am my own muse, in the sense that I design things I would like to
wear. Clothes need to be well made as well as comfortable. I
want my designs to be sexy and sensual. You have to let the person
wearing the clothes get the attention, not the clothes themselves.’
Her colour and fabric choices are heavily influenced by her previous
art studies; and she lists Madeleine Vionnet, Hubert de Givenchy and
Carolina Herrera (among others) as her favourite designers because
they ‘all share a common thread of elegance, femininity and beauty.’
Her spring 2004 collection was inspired by nineteenth-century
oriental paintings from the school of French–British painters who
were, in turn, inspired by their exposure to Middle Eastern concubines.
She used what she called ‘very hot weather colours’ (claret red,
pale lemon, olive green, gold, pistachio and navy) to create separates
that came alive on the models. The collection comprises of beautifully
designed gowns, dresses, skirts, jackets, coats and tops in rich,
textured colours, luxurious silk satin fabrics, with embellishments
such as crystals, tassels and appliqués.
Right away, I was immediately impressed with her
coats, especially her Nehru-esque ivory embellished duchesse satin
long tuxedo coat, the gold dragonfly embroidered silk dupion coat
with tassel belt and pink satin lining and her ivory silk embroidered
silk dupion swing evening coat with gold and claret red silk satin
lining. I also quite liked her blue dip-dyed chiffon top with mother-of-pearl
ring detail and her pale lemon silk satin hooded mini-dress with
long beaded tassel. Other touches of particular interest include
the sexy cut of her pants, often with bordered side slits. For evening,
she combined the Middle Eastern sensibilities with the sensuality
of the Grecian column dress to create a hybrid of unusual beauty.
I also quite taken with her navy and pistachio silk chiffon dress
with gold sequin and pearl midriff inset and embellished collar
detailing.
Although Ms Davis held her showing at an off-site
venue in what had to be one of the most crowded fashion week schedules
ever, she managed to attract a lot of the right attention from the
right people. Women's Wear Daily praised the collection and
Ms Davis’s efforts, describing it as ‘terrific, imaginative, a little
bit exotic, fun, fresh-looking.’ And I couldn’t agree more. With her
flagship store (Kim Davis Ltd., 2/3 Filmer Mews, 75 Filmer Road, London
SW6 7JF)
in Chelsea operating at full speed, Ms Davis is ready to spread her
wings even more and conquer the New York market. She will because
she has what it takes to succeed at a higher level. The complete collection
can also be viewed by making an appointment to see it at her Manhattan
showroom at 80 West 40th Street (call Linda Lipetz at 1 212 719-9555).
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