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Karen's latest re-interpretation of Windswept is inspired by the remarkable story of how the political prisoners on Robben Island not only succeeded in playing football at all, but actually founded the Makana Football League and followed FIFA regulations to the letter.
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Windswept by Karen Henriksen®
Windswept is a range of headwear for men and women, featuring completely new interpretations of classic styles. The strong architectural minimalism is softened by a milliner’s sense of harmony and a quirky playfulness, capturing the imagination and appealing to a surprisingly diverse range of clients.
One of the characteristics of this collection is the asymmetry inherent in every design. You will see when browsing the products that the direction of the seams is indicated for each hat or cap, and in some cases there is a choice.
If you intend to wear the hat or cap straight on, then it doesn’t matter about the direction of the seams - and in a way, these hats provide that slightly jaunty appearance for you.
But if you prefer to accentuate the jauntiness by wearing the hat at an angle, then we recommend you choose a style that ‘flows’ in the same direction in which you will tilt your hat!
Every Windswept hat and cap is fully lined, either with luxury satin in our signature bottle green or silver grey, or with plain or striped pure cotton.
THE WINDSWEPT STORY
Windswept at the RCA
Traditional and utilitarian headwear, alongside current urban trends, provided the inspiration for Karen Henriksen’s 2003 MA collection at the Royal College of Art. Her collection of sculptural millinery featured windswept headscarves, caps, ‘hoodies’ and sou’westers on a grand scale.
The Windswept Flat Cap
Soon after this, experimental and advanced pattern-cutting techniques led to Karen’s re-invention of a traditional English icon, the flat cap, and this formed the beginning of what would become her Windswept Collection.
The initial asymmetric flat cap evolved into several variations, and these became a small range of subtly different cap shapes. The Deep Cap (now simply called the DC) in particular rapidly became the bestseller, offering a perfect balance between innovation and easy wearability.
His & Hers
It quickly became apparent that the concept and designs appealed equally to men and to women.
Selling the collection at high profile London shows direct to the public gave Karen valuable market research and helped her to refine and develop each of the designs, constantly improving on fit and ease of use. In response to this research, additional styles were also introduced, to suit more diverse face shapes, personalities and lifestyles.
Variations On a Theme
Following the success of the bestselling shape, it was back to the cutting table to introduce new seam and trim details, within the universally popular and flattering DC silhouette, including the successful design 'Stripe' in an interesting mix of denim with pure silk.
Windswept International
Since March 2007, Karen has presented both the Windswept Collection and Couture Collection to international buyers and press at the leading fashion accessories trade show, Premiere Classe, held twice a year during Paris Fashion week. She also regularly visits Japan, an important market for the Windswept Collection, and has participated in UK Fashion exhibitions at the British Embassy, and at other prestigious venues in Tokyo and Osaka.
Pieces from both collections are now available from select stockists in Europe, Japan and USA. And back home, Karen continues to sell direct from the Central London showroom, and at leading public exhibitions. And now of course, Windswept is available wherever and whenever you please!
Windswept by Karen Henriksen®
Fairly early on, it was apparent that these highly original and innovative designs should be protected from potential copying. And so Windswept by Karen Henriksen became a registered trademark, and each shape is a registered design.