Each day this week our fashion team will look closely at key garments of the season and tell you the story behind them.
In most hands, a collection titled Garden People would be destined to a flowery doom. But Karen Walker doesn't have average hands, and the floral prints from her latest collection are anything but generic blooms.
Inspired by the eccentric gardening ladies in Valerie Finnis’ iconic photographs, the collection includes durable fabrics mixed in with flimsy blouses and delicate pieces, like this cotton muslin 'Stamen' shirt. The material, which is unique with its almost botanical illustrations, is a vintage fabric purchased exclusively from a library in London, and reworked in-house to create the lilac/ink colourway shown here.
With a dart-less bust, the 'Stamen' shirt maintains the same masculine silhouette favoured by Karen, keeping a neat finish under the arms and through the sleeve to create a flattering shape. A pleated trim has been added to the exaggerated collar and the cuffs, and the pocket has been removed to give it a more feminine take. No details have been overlooked, from the trims, to the topstitching and the thread colours, to ensure everything is cohesive.
You can also expect to see more of this shirt, with various elements tweaked and edited to create new styles for this year's Time Machine and Resort collections.
