CURATED BY …
We ask fashion’s preeminent talents to mine their inspirations and curate their world through style. Karen Walker, 2019 Vogue Codes speaker and stalwart New Zealand designer, shares hers.
2019 Vogue Codes speaker Karen Walker shares her inspirations.
1. “Katie Lockhart’s been my good friend, interior designer and wise counsel for two decades, and in that time has opened my eyes (and my wallet) to many beautiful things and great designers.”
2. “When I was 12 I discovered Evelyn Waugh, and devoured everything he wrote, but it was his satire, his scathing, sneering reflection upon the English sitting room, that I especially loved. Through his lens he questioned and ridiculed the establishment but also, somehow, despite the curled lip, showed his love for it. This was an embrace with a slap, a pinch, a shin kick thrown in for good measure and that really appealed to me.”
3. “I love a road trip around New Zealand’s South Island, especially in early spring when the blossoms are blooming and the snow is still puffy and light. Favourite spots: Coronet Peak for snowboarding and Milford Sound for the grandeur.”
4. “Frances Hodgkins has long been one of my favourite artists and besides her work, I love her style. I don’t think I could name anyone who knows their way around a scarf, beret and chunky bead combo quite like Ms Hodgkins did in her latter years. We’re thrilled to have just launched our collaboration with Auckland Art Gallery Toi o
Tāmaki in celebration of its current exhibition and Hodgkins’s sesquicentenary.”
5. “Levi’s have always been my go-to jeans. My favourite: a classic, dark denim 501 with no crazy washes, no rips and no nonsense.”
6. “Glenn Gould is my ultimate pin-up not just for his virtuosity but for his attitude: he did his thing his way. On a recent trip to Toronto the only thing I wanted to do was to sit next to his statue, on a park bench outside the CBC building.”
7. “I love the anti-It girl characters in any story – the outsider personalities who exist in their own universe and never as part of a gang – with Maude, of Harold and Maude, being my all-time favourite.”
8. “Instagram is the only social media I look at and I love it for the stories it brings to me, the way it allows me to bring my stories to others and the many campfires it gives the tools to flourish.”
Karen Walker is at the Vogue Codes Summit in Melbourne on June 5, in Sydney on June 14, and at Vogue Codes Live in Sydney on June 15. Go to codes.vogue.com.au.