When your PR team send out a release hours before the show labelling you the country’s leading designer there’s a lot to live up to. Fortunately, Kit Willow is used to stress, having been ousted from Willow, the label she launched, only to return as a champion of ethical and sustainable fashion with Kit X.

Making sustainability sexy is about as challenging as cooking a tasty tofu treat but with her intimate show at the Paddington Reservoir Willow turned up the heat. Ivory silk dresses with dominatrix black straps and muted mustard halter dresses enticed interest with thigh high boots driving the message of empowerment home. A metallic gold belt and white linen dress with the deepest of Vs on model Madi Stubbington managed to summon the disco-era early ‘80s without the slightest reference to Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent (a rare feat).

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Kit X Resort 2017
Credit: Getty Images

Linens coats in mushroom and wide-legged trousers told a gentler story. Cuffed black harem pants with sheer strips offering the type of comfort with a cool edge that brands like Bassike have had a monopoly on for some time. The fashion editor with impeccable taste seated next to me dreamed about owning the entire collection.
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Kit X Resort 2017
Credit: Getty Images

These were clothes that were pleasing to the eye and touch but Willow made sure that the ears were also entranced by enlisting singer Connie Mitchell, formerly of Sneaky Sound System, to deliver a flawless operatic performance during the show.

The Resort 16/17 collection was called No. 5 and there’s no coincidence that another great female designer, Coco Chanel is called to mind. Both women are about liberating the body and focusing on wearability as well as aesthetic impact. Coco was a woman in control of her image and now Kit Willow is well and truly in control of hers again with Kit X. 

See all the looks from the Kit X Resort 16/17 show.

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Kit X Resort 2017
Credit: Getty Images