One of the healthier outcomes of my obsessive reading of fashion blogs is the discovery of new independent designers. Without bloggers and their Instagram feeds I would never have stumbled across Réalisation’s endlessly covetable Diane Dress, or Rachel Comey‘s stunning New York collections, or indeed the majority of the wedding gown designers I rave about here. And most importantly, my daily (hourly) Insta scroll introduced me to the incredibly talented Kelly Love, who designed the beautiful blush silk dress I’m looking very happy about in these pictures.
I found Kelly via London blogger Lorna Luxe who ran a competition around the ‘urban Meadow’ hydrangea print skirt from Kelly’s SS15 collection. I then spent a good five months coveting the website’s silk shirt dresses and, as winter drew in, the chunkiest of cosy knits. Kelly is a London-based Aussie designer, whose early training under a Japanese artist shines through in the clean lines and perfect simplicity of her pieces. I feel zen just browsing her website. And Kelly’s equally serene Instagram feed is not only the source of endless interior design envy, but also showcases her incredible hand-drawn sketches before we see them come to life in the most luxurious silk, lambswool and linen.
Anyway, I’d heroically managed to resist pulling out my credit card until Kelly posted a preview picture of this dress from the SS16 collection. It was literally love at first sight – I had to have it! One pleading email to Kelly later and she was making it for me in time for my friend’s wedding at Queens’ College this weekend. The ‘Coming Up Roses’ dress arrived a fortnight ago and I couldn’t resist giving it some exclusive camera time ahead of our train to Cambridge. Seriously, the most beautiful item of clothing I own to date… and, as I found out on Saturday, the perfect silky outfit to dance the night away in!
Gotta love a dress with pockets…
The Coming Up Roses dress is available early next year at www.kellylove.com
Oh my word you look amazing…. this dress ticks way more boxes than my credit card is comfortable with hehe x
Thanks Lorna, I basically want to sell my house and buy everything Kelly makes! I blame you for my growing addiction… ?