There are few greater pleasures in life than London during the summer.
Yes, there are more tourists and ice cream-fuelled schoolchildren around than usual but there’s also the opportunity to drink bucketloads of Aperol on rooftops, turn your nearest patch of grass into your second home and wear the sort of clothes usually filed away under “holiday”. To be more specific on the latter, this means wearing a kaftan at all times - regardless of whether you’re bound for the beach or not.
No longer just a scrap of fabric to throw over your bikini, the kaftan has undergone a revival this summer with style-conscious city dwellers embracing the holiday hero as a means to make swanning around London feel that little bit more like sun-soaked Santorini.
Among the kaftan’s biggest ambassadors is former British Vogue editor and stylist Pippa Holt, who launched her line of ultra-luxe and colourful kaftans this year. “I’ve always loved ‘holiday dressing’,” says Holt. “I felt there was room in the market for more options and I’ve always loved the versatility, ease and sense of freedom a kaftan offers in the sun.”
For Holt, the idea to launch her own line was hatched when she was sweltering in the city, not based on a beach. “I fell in love with the work of some weavers I met in Mexico when I was living in Texas,” she says. “I wore their textiles when I lived in Houston as it was so hot I found that was the only way I could combat the intense heat in the city. People would stop me in the street and ask where my outfit was from.”
So far Holt’s designs are proving a bigger hit on Instagram than a giant pink flamingo pool float. Of course, with a comfort factor equivalent to a steaming bowl of spaghetti alla Norma and each one setting you back between £550 and £800 (the price of week in the Costa Del Sol), it’s little wonder that fashion fans are throwing theirs on every chance they get.
Other kaftan connoisseurs include Greek-born, London-based designer Athena Procopiou, whose pleasingly bohemian kaftans are just as at home in Kefalonia as they are in Primrose Hill, and fashion-editor favourite Vita Kin, who employs traditional vyshyvanka embroidery techniques from her native Ukraine for her billowing folk dresses.
Sleepwear specialists also make for remarkably good kaftan-makers. The current options from New York PJ label Sleepy Jones, which include striped linen and geometric-print silk, are far too good to keep under the sheets, while luxury lounge and swimwear label Asceno champions a breezy silhouette and a pared back colour palette.
For those who wish to channel the kaftan vibe in the office, Hobbs’s elegant cream maxi manages to strike just the right balance between beachy and boardroom-appropriate, while other high-street hits include Mango’s short embroidered style in pristine white cotton and a flowing belted robe by River Island.
As for the trend’s longevity, Holt believes that the kaftan will endure long after we’ve waved goodbye to the sun. “They are incredibly versatile,” she says. “I wear mine in winter with a crisp white shirt or a roll neck underneath.”
