Rachel Marie Walsh on KoKon to Zai, Soho

Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,

I kept the BBC World Service on overnight on Tuesday and as the hours past I drifted from sleep to hear “Barack Obama has won Ohio…Florida…”By the time my alarm went at six, Obama was president-elect and I sat up smiling and euphoric.

 

The breakfast newscaster said it was a new world. I went to work the same as the day before but, still feeling upbeat, I decided to take a trip to Soho in the rain afterwards to check out the KTZ and Marjan Pejoski SS09 showcase at Kokon To Zai on Greek Street.

Unfortunately, I didn’t make it there early enough to catch Daisy Lowe installing some pieces from her lace collection in the window. Her label, Westside, will be at the Golborne Road branch of Kokon to Zai very soon. Luckily, the very fabulous Cathal took some pictures and a big thank you to lovely Liz for sending them on to me.

 

Kokon to Zai's Igor with (left) with Cathal and Pearl Lowe (right)

 

Marjan Pejoski is perhaps most famous for the jaw-dropping swan dress Björk wore to the Oscars in 2001.

 

Marjan loves creating pieces that stand out and capture the imagination. He launched his eponymous label in 2000 and won the British Fashion Council’s New Generation Award in 2000 and 2001.
 

   

Marjan Pejoski and some Coole Swan cocktails

 

If you think a swan neck wrapped around yours is too out there, don’t be discouraged. His SS09 collection, Underwater Oz, has some seriously hot, wearable pieces. For example, I like my swans in lakes but fell in love with an ivory dress. It consisted of a sheer layer over a white silk croched slip with gold beads and fringing that reminded me of glamorous andaluzas’ shawls.

 

KTZ is very young and street: baggy with bold, ethnic prints. The label will be at the Topshop flagship for six weeks in Autumn 2009.

 

Cathal and KTZ

Kokon To Zai has two stores in London, on Greek Street and the Golborne Road, and one in Paris, on the Rue Tiquetonne.

http://www.kokontozai.co.uk/