KAWAkEY presents its Fall/Winter 2022 collection named Secrets Under the Bed. The London-based label designing deconstructed knitwear and colorful prints that bring new emotions and ideas into a genderless wardrobe with unexpected proportions creates a whole new universe with this collection, inspired by all the fantasies and secrets we are ashamed of and which we hide and tuck away under our beds.
“As gay and on the spectrum being a teenager was sometimes rather lonely. I imagined characters to be friends with as I felt no one else could understand me. I also realized some of them in the form of love and erotic-themed manga drawings. It was pure imagination – a form of escapism and self-expression at that time,” says the designer. “Once my drawings were found and they raised conversation and concern within my family. I was ashamed and didn’t know who to talk to. I buried all those fantasies under my bed and hoped they would never see daylight again. Even after all these years, I can still remember those characters and stories I created, they must have had great meaning to me, there is no way I can forget them. They are still reminding me who I was, who I am.”
The brand was also rebranded. The original name KA WA KEY has been changed to KAWAkEY, one single word with the second “k” in lower case letter, making it look like a typo.
“We see the beauty of imperfection. Sometimes when experimenting with textile treatments and pattern cutting we just cannot avoid errors or failures, which can be very inspiring and uniquely beautiful.”