The Cecilie Bahnsen x Charles & Keith Collaboration: A Footwear Collection Inspired by Traditional Schoolwear

Charles & Keith reaches new major milestone with the launch of a collection of shoes created exclusively in collaboration with up-and-coming Danish designer, Cecilie Bahnsen, the brand’s very first collaboration with an international designer.

The footwear collection is inspired by traditional school wear and features four styles, three Mary Jane designs and a distinctive mule. Beautifully finished with Cecilie’s signature couture-like touch, the collection features hand-drawn quilted embroidery and unique patchwork.

The shoes are sustainably made from a combination of recycled satin and leftover fabrics from Cecilie Bahnsen’s previous collections, giving them a new life. The collection has been thoughtfully made, mindful of using less, with dust bags stitched from leftover cuts of fabrics from previous seasons.

The shoe collection sees the return of patterns and colourways Cecilie debuted at her Fall/Winter 2019 show. The colour palette follows Cecilie’s familiar use of black and white with flourishes of colour, represented here in the lemon yellow Camelia mule. The collection has been thoughtfully made, mindful of using less, with dust bags stitched from leftover cuts of fabrics from previous seasons. The elegantly minimal packaging created as an object on its own, has each shoebox topped with an exclusive print from the campaign.

“I’ve always been fascinated by school uniforms. I think that explains why I loved the Mary Jane shoe in the Charles & Keith’s collection so much. It’s a traditional school-girlish shoe, but it also has that quality of a masculine-feminine contrast that I’m always looking for. Historically, the Mary Jane was not just a shoe for girls. Right into the 20th century little boys wore them too.

We made ours super feminine, more lady than the shoes we’ve done before, working with patchwork and hand-drawn-embroidery.

I think the combination of the Charles & Keith classic shape and our touch is very beautiful. It’s been really exciting to see how we can translate our universe into a shoe. It almost felt like we were morphing our dresses into a shoe.” said Cecilie Bahnsen

The campaign was shot on location by Benedict Brink at Herlufsholm School, Denmark’s most prestigious boarding school, south of Copenhagen, traditionally known for educating the sons of aristocracy and the industrial elite.

Designed for a discerning fashion crowd, the elevated collection is priced between S$379 (250 euros) to S$529 (350 euros).

The Collection is now available exclusively online at Cecile Bahnsen Website  and Charles & Keith Website.