Once upon a time, before big name actresses and Miley Cyrus dominated magazine spreads, the covers of Vogue belonged to the most famous generation of supermodels. I'm talkin' about the 90s—those golden days of power-beauties like Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, and Christy Turlington. While outfits from their famous shoots will of course never be forgotten, it's the looks they donned when they partied that have become iconic. Remember the image of Kate in that sheer silver SPAGHETTI-STRAP DRESS? Of course you do. It was this that sprung to mind when I was introduced to the new London-based brand, Sen Wye.
Charlotte Macke and Holly Keepfer are the friends and partners behind the brand. When I met them at their studio-cum-factory, their inspirations were made obvious by their mood board. Picture Kate Moss and crop tops, with a little silk and angora on the side. Their color palette is a dreamy combination of silver metallics and even subtler pastels. We shot an exclusive editorial of the pieces that are now in Opening Ceremony stores—take a look!
Shop Sen Wye HERE
Eloise Moran: What does Sen Wye mean?
Charlotte Macke: Sen is short for the river Seine that runs through Paris, where I am originally from. The river Wye runs through Chepstow, Holly's hometown in Wales. It’s pronounced “Why” not ”We,” which a lot of people tend to say wrong.
How did you meet and what made you decide to start a brand together?
Holly Keepfer: We first met at university studying fashion design with marketing eight years ago. Studying together and working together in New York created the foundations of running a business as friends. We both shared the same interests and goals so we decided to create our own label.
What did you want to achieve in your first collection for Spring/Summer 2013? Did you have any specific themes or inspirations?
CM: Our ambition with our first collection was to create a modern, clean, and thoroughly minimalistic take on 90s classics. We used our background in production, design, and embellishment to create a range of high-quality pieces at mid price points.
Your Spring/Summer 2014 collection was all soft metallics and pastels. What inspired the color palette, and how did you source your fabrics?
HK: Our initial inspiration for this collection came from a shoot of Kate Moss photographed by Kim Knott for british vogue in 1993. We took inspiration from a lot of the soft tones from her early photographs.
CM: Sourcing fabrics is always really difficult when you start out as quantities are so small most suppliers are reluctant to help out. It's part of the reason we became really interested in embroidery and knitwear. It enabled us to really create our own handwriting.
The angora crop top and satin skirt look (one of my favorites!) reminded me of Kate Moss during the late 90s. Do you have any icons or favorite looks from that era?
HK: There are so many amazing pictures of Kate from that era it's hard to not have them all over our mood boards. We always reference back to that time and the supermodel era of Helena Christensen and Claudia Shiffer. We’re both pretty obsessed with the early Calvin Klein catwalks too.
CM: It’s a time we’re very fond of; it is reminiscent of our childhoods.
Charlotte Macke and Holly Keepfer are the friends and partners behind the brand. When I met them at their studio-cum-factory, their inspirations were made obvious by their mood board. Picture Kate Moss and crop tops, with a little silk and angora on the side. Their color palette is a dreamy combination of silver metallics and even subtler pastels. We shot an exclusive editorial of the pieces that are now in Opening Ceremony stores—take a look!
Shop Sen Wye HERE
Eloise Moran: What does Sen Wye mean?
Charlotte Macke: Sen is short for the river Seine that runs through Paris, where I am originally from. The river Wye runs through Chepstow, Holly's hometown in Wales. It’s pronounced “Why” not ”We,” which a lot of people tend to say wrong.
How did you meet and what made you decide to start a brand together?
Holly Keepfer: We first met at university studying fashion design with marketing eight years ago. Studying together and working together in New York created the foundations of running a business as friends. We both shared the same interests and goals so we decided to create our own label.
What did you want to achieve in your first collection for Spring/Summer 2013? Did you have any specific themes or inspirations?
CM: Our ambition with our first collection was to create a modern, clean, and thoroughly minimalistic take on 90s classics. We used our background in production, design, and embellishment to create a range of high-quality pieces at mid price points.
Your Spring/Summer 2014 collection was all soft metallics and pastels. What inspired the color palette, and how did you source your fabrics?
HK: Our initial inspiration for this collection came from a shoot of Kate Moss photographed by Kim Knott for british vogue in 1993. We took inspiration from a lot of the soft tones from her early photographs.
CM: Sourcing fabrics is always really difficult when you start out as quantities are so small most suppliers are reluctant to help out. It's part of the reason we became really interested in embroidery and knitwear. It enabled us to really create our own handwriting.
The angora crop top and satin skirt look (one of my favorites!) reminded me of Kate Moss during the late 90s. Do you have any icons or favorite looks from that era?
HK: There are so many amazing pictures of Kate from that era it's hard to not have them all over our mood boards. We always reference back to that time and the supermodel era of Helena Christensen and Claudia Shiffer. We’re both pretty obsessed with the early Calvin Klein catwalks too.
CM: It’s a time we’re very fond of; it is reminiscent of our childhoods.