Karen Walker
Encyclopedia
Karen Walker is a noted New Zealand
fashion
designer. She left school, after attending Epsom Girls Grammar School in 1988 to begin her fashion training, graduating in 1990. She has said that she started with NZ$100, which she used for material for a shirt. By 1995, she had opened two stores. In 1998, she began selling to Barneys New York
.
She showed her first runway collection in 1998 and is regarded as one of New Zealand
's highest profile and most international design talents. She has five stores in New Zealand
, four of which are in Auckland
and one in Wellington
but her brands are sold all over the world.
Walker is married to Mikhail Gherman, a well known advertising creative director and creative director of the Karen Walker brand. They live in Auckland, New Zealand.
Her fashion collections are considered to be effortless and original and include names such as "Young, Willing and Eager", "Karen to the Rescue", "Victory Garden", "Queenie Was a Dog", "Karen in TV Land", "Liberal and Miserable", "Dough and Dynamite" and "Living with Cannibals and Other Adventures". Her Hi There range is a more cheaply priced line.
Her clothes have been seen on many celebrities including Björk
, Sienna Miller
, M.I.A., Alexa Chung
, Beth Ditto
, Michael Haneke
, Liv Tyler
, Rihanna
, Claire Danes
, Jennifer Lopez
and many more. Four pieces from one of Karen's original collections "Dust" appeared on Kate Winslet
in the Michel Gondry
film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
. Theodora Richards
has also modelled in Karen Walker runway shows and posed in the March 2005 issue of Evening Standard UK magazine in Karen Walker outfits. Tyra Banks
also recently wore a Karen walker dress on her talk show.
In addition to the main women's wear collections, Karen Walker has expanded her designs to include sunglasses, jewellery, shoes and a range of paints for Resene.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
designer. She left school, after attending Epsom Girls Grammar School in 1988 to begin her fashion training, graduating in 1990. She has said that she started with NZ$100, which she used for material for a shirt. By 1995, she had opened two stores. In 1998, she began selling to Barneys New York
Barneys New York
Barneys New York is a chain of luxury department stores headquartered in New York City. The chain owns large stores in New York City, Beverly Hills, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Scottsdale, and smaller stores in other locations across the United States.Brands sold include...
.
She showed her first runway collection in 1998 and is regarded as one of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's highest profile and most international design talents. She has five stores in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, four of which are in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and one in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
but her brands are sold all over the world.
Walker is married to Mikhail Gherman, a well known advertising creative director and creative director of the Karen Walker brand. They live in Auckland, New Zealand.
Her fashion collections are considered to be effortless and original and include names such as "Young, Willing and Eager", "Karen to the Rescue", "Victory Garden", "Queenie Was a Dog", "Karen in TV Land", "Liberal and Miserable", "Dough and Dynamite" and "Living with Cannibals and Other Adventures". Her Hi There range is a more cheaply priced line.
Her clothes have been seen on many celebrities including Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller
Sienna Rose Diana Miller is a British-American actress, model, and fashion designer, best known for her roles in Layer Cake, Alfie, Factory Girl, The Edge of Love and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2007, the London Film Criticsnamed her British Actress of the Year for Interview...
, M.I.A., Alexa Chung
Alexa Chung
Alexa Chung is an English television presenter, model and contributing editor at British Vogue.She currently hosts Gonzo with Alexa Chung for MTV UK, and is scheduled to host Thrift America for PBS in 2011...
, Beth Ditto
Beth Ditto
Mary Beth Patterson, known by her stage name Beth Ditto , is an American singer-songwriter, most famous for her work with the indie rock band Gossip.-Personal life:...
, Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke is a German born Austrian filmmaker and writer best known for his bleak and disturbing style. His films often document problems and failures in modern society. Haneke has worked in television‚ theatre and cinema. He is also known for raising social issues in his work...
, Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
, Claire Danes
Claire Danes
Claire Catherine Danes is an American actress of television, stage and film. She has appeared in roles as diverse as Angela Chase in My So-Called Life, as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, as Kate Brewster in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as Yvaine in Stardust and as Temple Grandin in...
, Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...
and many more. Four pieces from one of Karen's original collections "Dust" appeared on Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
in the Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic science fiction film about an estranged couple who have each other erased from their memories, scripted by Charlie Kaufman and directed by the French director, Michel Gondry. The film uses elements of science fiction, psychological...
. Theodora Richards
Theodora Richards
Theodora Dupree Richards is the daughter of Patti Hansen and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, and the older sister of Alexandra Richards. She is an international model....
has also modelled in Karen Walker runway shows and posed in the March 2005 issue of Evening Standard UK magazine in Karen Walker outfits. Tyra Banks
Tyra Banks
Tyra Lynne Banks is an American model, media personality, actress, occasional singer, author and businesswoman. She first became famous as a model, but television appearances were her commercial breakthrough...
also recently wore a Karen walker dress on her talk show.
In addition to the main women's wear collections, Karen Walker has expanded her designs to include sunglasses, jewellery, shoes and a range of paints for Resene.