Catherine Holstein: The Quiet Strength Behind KHAITE
Catherine Holstein has built a womenswear language in which an apparently simple garment can carry considerable emotional and visual weight. Through KHAITE, founded in New York in 2016, she examines how structure and fluidity, masculine tailoring and sensual softness, can coexist within a wardrobe designed for real life.
Cover photograph: Vogue, Catherine Holstein professional portrait, 2024. Source: https://www.vogue.com/article/right-now-is-a-really-good-time-khaites-catherine-holstein-on-its-post-startup-era.
An early career shaped by fashion's inner workings
Raised between Southern California and London, Holstein moved to New York to study at Parsons. A collection from her student years caught the attention of Barneys New York, beginning an early independent label. She later worked with companies including Gap, Vera Wang, Maiyet and The Elder Statesman, experiences that deepened her understanding of product development and commercial fashion.
The foundation of KHAITE
The name KHAITE emerged in 2016 as the designer and her collaborators sought a wardrobe with permanence rather than the temporary urgency of a trend. The label’s viewpoint rests on pieces that find confidence in opposing qualities: structured jackets and sensuous knits, denim and exacting eveningwear, familiar silhouettes made distinctive through fabric and construction.
A fashion house built through contrast
KHAITE’s collections often return to the subtle interaction of texture and movement. Leather, dense knits, tailoring and delicate transparencies sit beside one another without resolving into a single stylistic formula. This makes the garments an unusually coherent study of how contemporary women move between different settings and ideas of self.
Spring 2025: a photographic study of form
In the official Spring/Summer 2025 lookbook, photographed by Hanna Tveite, a series of precise looks demonstrates how Holstein develops volume, fabric weight and proportion. Rather than treating the images as interchangeable campaign illustrations, this feature identifies the season and look number for each garment.
Beyond the runway
The label has developed a strong accessories identity alongside ready-to-wear, including recognizable handbags, footwear and belts. Its growing global retail presence reinforces the continuing tension between craft-driven design and business scale, an issue that remains central to the evolution of independent luxury houses.
Selected references
https://khaite.com/pages/about/1000 | https://cfda.com/member/catherine-holstein/ | https://www.vogue.com/article/right-now-is-a-really-good-time-khaites-catherine-holstein-on-its-post-startup-era
Comments