PROFILE Designer Kat van Duinen talks quality and legacy
Kat van Duinen has made a name for herself in the world of luxury goods. Her brand provides discerning lovers of luxe with fine handbags and ready-to-wear collections that express the African spirit through a minimalist aesthetic.
‘Ijust completely fell in love with this country,’ says Kat, who visited for the first time in 2000 and moved here permanently in 2006. ‘South Africans tend to take the light for granted; in Europe one can never experience the same brightness, even on the most beautiful summer’s day. ‘The lifestyle in Cape Town is so different; South Africans seem to smile even though many of them have no reason to. Europeans really guard their privacy and avoid small talk – perhaps due to the fact that the cities are so densely populated.’ Kat has a background in PR and experience as a diamond grader, but becoming a fashion designer is something she feels was her destiny. Born into the last generation of communist Poland, she comes from an era where making things was a natural extension of how people lived, having had to make everything themselves. ‘I grew up with custom-made clothes and limited access to mainstream luxury garments and accessories,’ she says. ‘It’s certainly a different reality to what my children will ever know. Growing up in a country where private property was non-existent is very difficult to explain to anyone who is not familiar with the concept.
‘I was an only child. Growing up without the internet and having to occupy myself in creative ways really formed me as a person. So it was only natural that I would be attracted to the arts and to creating things.’
Kat found inspiration in fashion magazines, whenever she could get her hands on them. ‘We were resourceful! You would hear stories of someone swapping their postcard collection for a much-desired pair of Levi jeans.
‘It’s difficult to explain to people who grew up in a capitalist country, but I think South Africans understand, because there was the same isolation during apartheid, where you really had to be resourceful in order to be well
dressed or have beautiful books or the latest copy of Vogue. I’m grateful for that experience, because I never took anything for granted.’
Kat says that when she started out, she didn’t have a clear idea of where the business was going, being in a country where everything was different to what she’d known in Europe, including the culture and the way people dressed.
It wasn’t just the market that was different – the manufacturing sector was too, which made Kat’s entry into the South African fashion market far from easy. She is quite open about her difficulties, which is refreshing in an industry where many emphasise the glitz and glamour rather than the sheer hard work it takes to succeed.
‘I made every mistake in the book,’ she says. ‘I made a career of doing the exact opposite to what people told me. If I knew then what I know now, I would be light years further ahead with everything. But it was a necessary learning curve, although there were times when I doubted my ability to suceed in this industry. Nothing happened as I had planned: I read my business plan a year or two later and just laughed, because everything I didn’t want to do, I did. I developed a range of cashmere for winter and the supplier disappeared with the entire container.’
Kat was always more interested in design than she was in retail – in fact, she had no intention of getting into retail and had initially planned to sell her ranges on the internet. But all that changed in 2010, when she started looking for a studio at The Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock, Cape Town.
‘I used to go to the market at The Old Biscuit Mill every Saturday, so I thought it would be amazing to have a little working space there. There wasn’t any studio space available, but there was a shop. I took it without having anything to put in it!’
Just seven years later, the Kat van Duinen boutique and studio at The Old Biscuit Mill has just been renovated, and Kat has opened her flagship boutique in the super-trendy Silo District neighbouring The Silo Hotel and Africa’s newest icon, the Zeitz MOCAA.
‘We started out small and outgrew our space six times,’ Kat says. ‘I feel like the space at the Silo District was built for me. The V&A Waterfront was always my dream location, but I didn’t want to be inside the mall with the air conditioning. Light is really important to me and I appreciate it when a store has access to natural light. Being surrounded by art was on my priority list for the new boutique – I am passionate about art. Having Africa’s largest contemporary art museum next door is truly a gift.’
Kat describes her brand as the result of blood, sweat and tears. Her mission is to make things that last, to use real materials, to manufacture in a transparent way and to really answer the needs of the modern woman.
‘Women are not just mothers any more, or just businesswomen. We have to be all those things, so I’m always looking for the most contemporary, unpretentious way of putting looks together that are always elegant. A curated wardrobe should have the basics as well as certain fabulous pieces. Doing simple things well is the biggest challenge, and that’s what I try to do. We are not in the fast-fashion market.’
The use of exotic leathers for her handbags adds another degree of complexity to the brand, as production is quite a complicated process. Every skin is legally and ethically sourced from authorised farms. Kat uses ostrich, python and crocodile skins, and proudly supports the humane production of exotic skins, which forms an important part of South Africa’s economy.
‘Every piece of leather has to be seen for what it is – for its size, its unique scale and pattern, and the way it needs to be prepared. Ostrich skin has to be prepared manually, which is a lengthy procedure. What surprises me is that in South Africa the most luxurious materials haven’t really been utilised. You rarely see a South African woman with an ostrich leather bag. It’s seen as something outdated. I’d like to bring ostrich skin out of the eighties.’
Kat believes that art inspires fashion. She has acquired quite a collection over the years, and considers herself an art snob, having visited ‘possibly the majority of art museums in the world’! This great love of art reached another level when she first
‘The whole throwing away of things, the trendiness of things and temporariness of things, from art to relationships and clothing… we should invest in them and make them last.’
saw a painting called The End by artist Kelly Gough.
‘I was mesmerised by the painting I saw in a gallery. A very intense and sad piece, as the title suggests,’ she says. ‘I was uncertain whether it was really an oil on wood or if the artist had used another technique. I was unable to read the signature and it took a while for the gallerist to share the details with me. I was convinced it was a female painter, as Kelly isn’t a typical male name. I hoped to commission something of a more positive nature perhaps, but the artist refused to meet me for the longest time.’
Kat and Kelly John Gough are married today. Her admiration for her husband’s work runs deep, and the two remain each other’s muses.
Kat describes her two children, Charlotte (11) and Frederic (10), as her biggest pride and joy.
‘I never thought that parenting would be my thing. I must say it really is incredible when young people reflect things back at you and you realise that you’re learning from them as much as they learn from you, if not more. It is the best thing that has happened to me in my life.’
Kat is a firm believer in only acquiring possessions that will have multiple lives; heirlooms to pass from one generation to the next, something that today’s fast-paced production and consumer society rarely makes possible.
‘I have always loved beautiful objects,’ she says. ‘One should aspire to obtain the best one can. And that includes buying only the best. You can rather wait until you can afford it or even obtain it second-hand, but buy something that will last you forever.
‘The whole throwing away of things, the trendiness of things and temporariness of things, from art to relationships and clothing…we should invest in them and make them last. I believe in things that last.’
In line with this vision, Kat has no intention of going into mass production. She plans on always being involved in every aspect, in order to meet her own demanding standards.
‘We are one of only a few African premium luxury labels, and the decision-making is shared among a small team,’ she says. ‘We don’t follow trends. We rebel against them. Our pieces have no expiry date. That’s part of my mission.’
What Kat does plan to do is perhaps expand internationally. She hopes to see clients start to buy differently, rather than just buying the big labels.
‘We would love to create more employment opportunities and offer skills training to help expand the South African fashion industry,’ she says. ‘I’d really like to work with more local talent – expand our operations, bring in people with traditional skills, and collaborate with other designers and artists.’
Kat is determined to give back to the country that has become her home.
‘I feel blessed that this country has taken me in, and I feel it’s my responsibility to give back. I wake up feeling grateful to be living in Cape Town. And every time I travel abroad, I am reminded of how unique and special South Africa’s offering is.’