Inside the world of puff dresses, feminine styles, girlhood, and imagination of dreamers, Selkie, founded by former Wildfox Co-Founder, Kimberley Gordon, thrives.
“After losing Wildfox, during her darkest moments, she remembered it. ‘I thought, it’s a new beginning story, this is kind of like the second chapter,’ she explains. ‘And I thought, there have to be so many women out there who want to find themselves, or are looking for themselves again…” (Selkie)
Selkie is a female startup, owned and run by women. The brand was created to illustrate the romantic and fanciful. The sizes available are inclusive, and the clothing designs are BSCI CERTIFIED and WRAP Gold certified (Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production). Essentially there is no discrimination, no child labor, and no precarious employment. Decent working hours, occupational health, and ethical business behavior are the standard.
The brand name is inspired by folklore that the brand’s co-founder loved as a child. In Scottish, Icelandic Irish, and Scandinavian mythology, the selkie is a woman of the ocean. She lives inside a seal skin, and when she comes up to the rocks, she slips out of her seal skin to lay in the sun. If a man can steal her skin while she sleeps, she is then obligated to become his wife and to live on land. If she finds her skin again, the selkie transforms back into her true form and returns to the sea, finally free. As a young girl, growing up in the UK and Santa Barbara, Gordon fell in love with folklore. Her love of make believe has infiltrated her work and play for as long as she could remember.
The Selkie’s Spring 2024 show took place at the St. Regis rooftop ballroom in New York City in September 2023. The collection’s inspiration was the famous Cottingley sisters who convinced the world that fairies might indeed exist in 1917. The sisters achieved this by photographing their homemade paper cutout fairies, using their father’s camera and showing the images to their parents. Their parents did not believe them, but the photos ended up in the hands of an occult group and spread around Britain.
Selkie clothing has always promoted embracing your inner child, as we all did so freely once upon a time. This show ultimately celebrates imagination, fantasy, and an interesting coming-of-age whimsy.
The hair and makeup, done by Linh Nguyen for Cutler and Lottie for ColourPop, was to create a selkie interpretation of the 1920’s, except softer and more for the times.
I had the chance to watch the show via livestream and fell in love with every single piece. Kimberley Gordon brought in two burlesque dancers with each dance representing the different acts of the show. In act one “The Fairy Hunters”, Pearls Daily peeled off her gossamer petticoats in a mimed rain dance. This dance was a freeing experience of the body and soul, which sent the audience to the second act inspired by butterfly showgirls. Jezebel Express closed the show representing complete and total self-love and self-expression. The feeling of childhood imagination and feminine allure struck interest in me. Each piece was carefully thought out and constructed. Selkie has always struck close to home for me in terms of ideals in a fashion brand, and the general aesthetic of the brand piqued the interest of so many others as well. The viral Selkie puff dresses broke the internet on Instagram and TikTok. Chances are you’re already familiar with the brand. Their signature florals, light colors, silks, frills, and “babydoll” feel are hard to forget. Selkie clothes have always been a way for women to dress up and feel as though their inner child was free.
Words by Jade Pettyjohn.
Graphic by Gavin Bacher.