The Craft Collective
Summer sees us continue in our commitment to craftsmanship and print, as we explore the heritage of stitch and embroidery, recognising and celebrating the strong matriarchs who passed on their wisdom and stories from generation to generation of women. The song lyric Love Sewn into Every Stitch wonderfully encapsulates our creative tribute to the artistry of patchworking, quilting, crochet and embroidery, woven through with stories, spoken heirlooms inherited over years, that come together to make something even more beautiful.
Our design team, also known as the Craft Collective, have carried the stories from these strong women into the present day, as they hand-painted the prints and created our new collections. They will pass them on to future generations who will inherit the fruits of their labour, and the accompanying stories in years to come, before passing them on themselves.
The women behind this collection, each with their own personalities, were inspired by their own stories, heard from their mothers and grandmothers, and these individual memories are woven into the collection. They meticulously researched both our print archive and the history and heritage of crafting, from sewing and embroidery to patchworking and quilting. They carefully hand-sketched or hand-painted with love every stitch of our Patchwork prints, incorporating messages of sentiment that were personal to them and their families.
Above you can see our design team wearing the dresses, made from their own hand-painted print fabric, inspired by the stories they’d been told by previous generations of women. And some of the team are with their children who will, one day inherit the dresses, pass on the stories and continue the Craft Collective.
George - Print Designer
This collection was created around 'Love in every stitch' – a lovely reminder that every design is crafted with love and it links all the beautiful patchwork prints and elements together.
Working with such a strong group of women is very collaborative – we are always sharing ideas and creating designs that we would all wear. All the design team are great, but I do love working with the kids’ product design team because they always bring our prints to life when adding beautiful and fun design details to the products. The crab backpack in our summer collection is a good example of this.
One of my favourite pieces is the Tall Tote Bag in Patchwork print, it's made from 100% organic cotton too which only makes me love it more.
My favourite piece from summer has to be the Dreamer dresse in the Patchwork print, it's such a beautiful print and makes the perfect summer holiday dress!
It's really amazing working with a team of such inspiring, talented women as part of the Craft Collective! I feel so lucky to be able to work with and learn from them.
Poppy – Homeware Print Designer
My favourite hidden message within the designs this season relates to the enamel dinnerware. Certain pieces say La Vie en Rose which is pretty much a line to live by at Cath Kidston!
I think working with a team of creative women is really inspirational. I adore George, her clever wit and beautiful drawings amaze me every time. She is a total wonder babe!
My favourite styles this season would be the navy poppy print Dreamer dress in womenswear (the dress I got to wear for the photoshoot!). I love the easiness of the silhouette and the flattering ruffle neckline, it’s a perfect dress for warm summer days. Second would be the kids’ quilted half-zip top. I feel that its print combined with the mix of quilted jersey and quilted cotton poplin, epitomises the theme of women's craft and community that runs through the collection. I think it’s such a unique piece and there is so much craftsmanship that’s gone into it.
I love the messaging that runs through the prints this season, particularly I love the hidden messaging within the half-zip top I mentioned above. It uses the Patchwork print on the yoke, which is full of wonderful words and hand-painted cross-stitch elements. The quilted jersey body and sleeves are printed with a ditsy rose on a background of stitching which spells out the word Love. You might not notice it at first, and that is partly what I love about it, the idea that the closer you look, the more you find. It represents the message of the collection, sewing love with every stitch.
I love being surrounded by strong, creative women every day at work. We are very lucky at Cath Kidston to have such a wonderful design family. We support each other through our work and outside work. One of my favourite things about our team is every morning our Bag Designer, Milly sends me a funny GIF or a lovely message, which always makes me smile and sets my day off on a positive note.
It’s true what they say, it’s the people behind Cath Kidston that really makes the brand such a lovely place to work. Being surrounded by strong beautiful women, like our Creative Director Holly, in a female driven design team, is so inspiring and empowering!
My favourite print from Summer is the retro ditsy. I’m a die-hard ditsy print fan through and through!
Explore more of our new summer collection here.