There are some collaborations happening in the Kingdom, which I'm very excited about but can't share just yet. However, one collaboration, which began last spring, is finally coming to fruition.
For the past year or so I've been working with Jaggy Nettle on a collection. It initially began life as a sweatshirt and some vests, then grew in to a fully fledged collection. Sadly, Jaggy Nettle's own production schedule meant we had to park the full collection idea for now and revert back to the range of basics.
Luckily, what I designed last year really wasn't all that seasonal as I wear vests and sweatshirts all year round, so bringing these designs to life for spring wasn't a problem.
When I set about sketching my ideas initially, I thought about all the elements I want my perfect vest to have. I required it have design features and functionality in equal measure. So, I created a dip hemmed vest, but rather than the hem dipping low at the back, and cropped at the front, I reversed it.
I think it's incredibly sexy when a woman bends down and a little bit of her back shows. It's alluring in a subtle, accidental way. Stomachs all on show, for me, is for the teenagers. Women should be sexy in a less obvious way, and accidental little displays of skin is beautiful and unexpected, almost like little parts of the body only a lover might see, like that little glimpse of spine. On a practical level, the low dipped front makes it easy to tuck into jeans much more neatly than a traditional straight hem tee.
I was very pernickity about the fabric. I wanted it soft and almost sheer and Jaggy Nettle knew just the thing - the finest Egyptian cotton jersey. I was also fussy about the right shade of black and, again, Jaggy Nettle knew what to do and set about relaying all the instructions to their factory in the Borders.
We decided, after getting the initial samples, that it would be fun, and in keeping with Jaggy Nettle's own printed cashmere jumpers, to have the t-shirts printed. Jaggy Nettle used Penguin books for their prints and so I would use music. There are going to be 3 designs at the moment, and we shall be releasing one every few weeks. Each tee has a very limited run of 100.
This is the first sample I have received - the plain white, dipped hem vest. It's unbelievably practical and far sexier than I make it look in these photos.
I also created a range of printed, oversized boyfriend tees, which will come in navy, black and white, and these vests will be in plain and printed black and white. I will, of course, be showing the others when they arrive. They are not up for sale yet, but I shall let you know when they are ready to go.
As I said, these will be very limited in numbers.
Queen Michelle
Here is a little reminder of the label's own work, incase some of you didn't see it when I featured them xx
