We’ve all been there. You’re sitting at the pool on holiday and all of a sudden a goddess of a woman walks up. She’s the Kalita woman — effortless, perfect in her silk maxi dress whether she’s gliding down the sands of the Côte d’Azur or has thrown a biker jacket over it to make her way through the streets of New York.
Australian Raechel Temily (Rae) and Londoner Kalita Al Swaidi met through mutual friends at a party while Al Swaidi was designing lingerie and it became clear that they shared a similar aesthetic and interest in starting a label. “I had said to her, ‘ If you really want to do a label, you’re going to have to come to me in Bali,’ thinking that this very London girl was never going to come to a tiny island in Indonesia, but lo and behold a few weeks later, there she was,” recalls Temily. The rest is history.
The designers launched their resort wear label a year ago (eleven months ago to be precise), followed quickly by an order from Matchesfashion.com and Temily leaving her island home of Bali for the Big Smoke. Now the women live just a few streets apart in Chelsea but are constantly on the move as all of their materials are artisan. As supporters of the “Who made your clothes?” movement started by Fashion Revolution, the craftsmen who produce their hand-dyed silks in India and Bali are visited several times per year (Temily has just been to India twice in the last six weeks). “We’re not interested in the biggest margins, we’re interested in making beautiful clothes,” she explains.
With their second collection dropping next month and the label’s anniversary quickly approaching Kalita takes us through a week in the Chelsea duo’s life.
Monday: The Ivy (195 -197 King's Rd, London SW3 5EQ)
Our favourite Monday spot is the Ivy, where our dear friend there (who will remain nameless) always gives us a quiet spot in the gardens where we can enjoy the rare rays of London sun and conjure up new ideas and shapes for the upcoming collections. A naughty glass of rosé never fails to aid the creative juices.
Tuesday: Bodyism (224 Westbourne Grove, London W11)
Tuesdays are Boxing or circuit training for me and I head down to Notting Hill’s Bodyism where I have gone to for years to get my ass well and truly kicked by two of the nicest men in the business — George Veness (Boxing) and Michael Tanner (Circuit traning). I am not the girl that hops, skips and jumps her way to the gym but I can tell you that these two make an hour go faster than anyone I have ever known. And the results? Well these are the ones that give me the confidence to wear that bikini on holiday.
Wednesday: The Royal Academy of Arts (Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD)
If Rae and I are looking for inspiration we tend to head down the Royal Academy and peruse around their exhibition of the moment. Being young ambassadors of the gallery we are invited to explore the exhibitions before they are open to the public. Right now the Abstract Expressionism exhibition is on and although I was able to go to the opening Rae couldn’t make it, so we’re going to go visit.
I am very excited to pop into my great friend Ethan K’s atelier in London’s Chelsea to pick up my new Ethan K bespoke clutch — his studio is everything one would expect from a veritable colour genius, with each corner popping with another source of inspiration. And to top it all of he just happens to be one of the most charming men I have the blessing to call one of my good friends.
Friday: Curzon Chelsea (206 King's Rd, London SW3 5XP)
Rae and I like to have “date nights” when things are getting hectic in the office and head down to the cinema where we can turn off and totally submerge ourselves into the movie playing. My favourites are cartoons (sometimes a point of contention) and Rae’s favourites are art house foreign films (also sometimes a bone of contention). They have a bar so we will buy ourselves a bottle of red, some posh popcorn and a sausage roll if we are feeling especially naughty and turn off to the world for a few hours.