Magazine

Kip & Co design diary

We talk to Kip & Co about the inspiration for their new collection, The Summer Storm.

Take us through your design process. Alex: We kick off a season by reflecting on the previous one – what worked, what was missing and what colours connected best. That gives us a framework for the size and shape of the collection to come. The next stage is creating a moodboard of our inspirations, which we get from a whole range of things – people, art, memories, colours, fashion and travel. Once we pull all these references together, we’re able to get a sense for what the overall story for the next collection will be. With a broad aesthetic in mind, we then have a series of design sessions where the three of us will get together and bring a tonne of print ideas to the table. Some of these will come from the moodboard, from things Kate and Hayley’s kids have drawn, or some treasure found at the local op-shop. It’s a long process from there to narrow it down to the small number that we will actually get samples made up for. A final decision on the collection is made at that stage, when we can see how the prints have translated to fabric and look at them as a cohesive collection.

How did the theme for your new Summer Storm collection come about? Kate: We often start by talking about what sensation or ‘moment’ we want the collection to convey – and when you’re designing the summer collection deep in the depths of winter you get pretty nostalgic about summer holidays! So SS15 captures that first moment when you arrive at your summer lease – when you know you’ve got the whole summer to look forward to and the time to relax, skinny dip, have long terrace lunches and kick back with a glass of rosé while you look out over the vista. The name itself came during the photoshoot when this most amazing storm rolled in over the Bass Strait – it created the perfect moody backdrop and we just named the range then and there.

Your ranges are inspired by the everyday and the out of the way. Where did you adventure to for Summer Storm? Hayley: India is always a key part of our story; we go every year and love thecolour, chaos and intensity of life there. We also spent time this year in Vietnam, Indonesia and all across Australia. We’ve all got the travel bug, clearly.

Kip & Co has become known for a bold mix and match aesthetic. Any tips for making the look work at home? Kate: I think the awesome thing about Kip & Co is that we are encouraging people to throw any combination together. We definitely all mix and match across seasons, textures, and colours and love the cavalier style that this creates. At the same time, we totally understand that not everyone wants a colour explosion. Actually, this season we’ve really pulled things back a bit and styled our shoot in a more simple, sophisticated way. I think for that person it’s about picking one or two statement pieces and styling them with some of our beautiful velvets or linens that offer a more subtle end result.

The new wall hangings add another dimension to the range, how did they come about? Hayley: We’ve got a long list of amazing products we want to introduce to the Kip & Co range and wall hangings have been very high up on that list for quite a while! We’ve just been trying to perfect the product. It’s really a piece of art, something that we hope people will cherish for life, so we didn’t want to rush the development. It has been so worth it though! I cannot wait to get a couple for my own home which is always a good sign when you are introducing something new.

See kipandco.net.au for New Zealand stockists.

Words Alice Lines

Filed under:

error: Copyright The Pluto Group Ltd 2022 - contact us for usage licence

Homestyle shares
modern ways
to make a home
in New Zealand


Sign up to receive the latest in your inbox

Thanks for subscribing to Homestyle's newsletter - we'll be in touch soon.