On February 17, 2012, after several days in New York seeing a ton of fast-paced fashion, I was invited to a private showing from a French designer named Laure Kczekotowska and creator of the line LK Paris.  Laure had pieces of her collection on display in her suite at the luxurious Plaza Hotel during fashion week in New York.  This quiet and very private viewing was a nice change of pace for me.  Quite frankly, I was exhausted and welcomed the serenity offered by Laure and her publicist Vilte Holstad.  Serving champagne and raspberries, my hosts proceeded to show me each exquisite piece in the LK Paris Fall 2012 collection.   As my fingers touched the delicate fabrics made of French lace, rhinestones, and other high-end materials, it was hard to deny the labor and concentrated thought that went into each of these garments.  This experience led to an interview with designer Laure Kczekotowska.

According to Laure, women deserve to wear couture clothing.  Last century when a woman went to the tailor for her one-of-a-kind design, she had the desire to wear her clothing more frequently, not just on special occasions.  That is how the term ready-to-wear came to be.  Coming from the place of a designer and a woman who travels frequently, she chooses her fabrics based on convenience. “Yes, you can wash my designs,” says designer Laure Kczekotowska.

LK Paris has come up with a new collection called “Couture to Wear.”  I found the name to be catchy and appealing.  After all, couture is associated with high maintenance, expensive dry cleaning bills, and careful handling.  Upon close inspection, the garments in this collection are impeccably sewn and surprisingly durable.  The price points are nowhere near couture.  In fact, they would definitely be comparable to the “special occasion” wear at a Bloomingdale’s or any other high-end luxury department store.

“I am a mother and a woman and I want to make my life easy. What I learned about the United States was the way they [the designers] organized their work.  We [Europeans] tend to have a lot of hand crafters, but the work is organized very differently.  So I decided to separate each post in my process, and then finish it in my workshop and studio.  We are now so much more productive and efficient.  That’s the reason we [LK Paris] can have a low price and can also have French fabrics,” states Laure Kczekotowska.

LK Paris designs have an array of exclusively “made in France” materials.  Represented in the pieces in the LK Paris “Couture to Wear” Fall 2012 collection is a combination of fall laces, corsets, hand embroidery, hand painting, appliqués, feathers, and subtle artisan qualities.

When asked to describe her collection in one sentence, Laure proudly says, “The LK Paris woman is a free spirit, a traveler; she is confident and independent.  The LK Paris woman is someone who loves to run away, leave the city, and travel from place to place.  Nobody tells her what to do!  I am just a woman working for women.”

To learn more about Laure Kczekotowska and LK Paris’s “Couture to Wear” Fall 2012 Collection, visit www.urbanreflectionbylk.com.

Check out the private viewing of LK Paris “Couture to Wear” Fall 2012 Collection at the Plaza Hotel in New York, photographed by Arun Nevader.

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