Karen Walker: So Much More Than Specs
Season after season, Karen Walker dominates the designer sunglasses scene. Her specs deserve every ounce of the love – each new collection has totally wearable sunglasses that boast that one design quirk to make them super-special. And the sunglasses ads are not to be forgotten. The promotional campaigns mimic the glasses that they advertise: they’re so simple — straight-up portrait shots — but they always have that one fun, unexpected element that puts them over the edge (think 2009’s models sporting kinda-realistic vampire fangs.) While Karen Walker Eyewear is totally worthy of the praise, the Karen Walker brand is much more than just a cool way to get your UV-protection.
New Zealand-based Walker champions a prints-heavy look in quirky-but-effortless silhouettes. Each collection is filled with intuitive pieces made special with design flourishes and perfect prints. In the past, Walker has made a trompe l’oeil dress with a print of broken pearl necklaces, and pieces with an all-over shattered-plates motif. And the designer’s latest – spring 2012, shown at New York Fashion Week – did not disappoint. There were '40s-style printed dresses, delightfully oversized plaid patterns, relaxed high-waisted pants, and enough artfully tied-up headscarves to ignite an immediate trend. Karen Walker makes things that are undoubtedly beautiful, but there’s also something a little more exciting about it, a little unexpected.
The designer’s empire also encompasses a lower-priced line (“Hi There”) and a line of fun jewelry that runs the gamut from super fine to filigree to charmed necklaces and bracelets. Here again, there are pieces that are beautiful but that don’t take themselves too seriously – a thin bracelet with spaced-out cat and bear masks, and a charm of a headstrong young runaway lady complete with bindle stick.
No matter what she's creating, New Zealand designer Karen Walker rules with a quirky-but-grounded sense of style.
