Callon Biseach Collection12 Images
The spiral is a symbol that traverses continents and cultures, reflecting constant evolution. Celtic stones found in County Meath are etched with ‘triskeles’, an ancient image of triple conjoined spirals that are older than the pyramids. Bíseach is the Irish word for spiral, which in early Irish-English dictionaries translates as ‘screw-curled’ – like hair. More modern definitions situate it within astronomy. Whether a whorling galaxy or a woman’s long curls, a spiral unlocks new intimacies and possibilities.
Jaimee Callon McKenna unspools the megalithic motif into her debut solo collection, Bíseach, for her namesake label Callon. “The spiral is all about transformation and new beginnings. That felt poignant for where I was at personally when this collection first started taking shape,” she says when we speak in her North London studio, surrounded by railings hung with delicate knits and draped pieces in deep Celtic Sea-blue, champagne and earthy brown.
McKenna was co-founder of Kepler, the cult favourite brand with a sensual take on knitwear that attracted the Kardashians and Caroline Polachek alike with its avant-garde, hand-spun bras and sexy silhouetted corset gowns. The label, which started when McKenna was at Central Saint Martins with Alex Hadji – who has also announced her own solo collection – lived for eight years before its closure in 2022.
“When we first started Kepler, I was tired of seasons and making things for the sake of making things,” McKenna says. “I had a break and was like, ‘what do I want to do with my life? Do I want to even do design anymore? Who am I? What am I?’ Big questions!” Threads from Kepler are interpolated into the Callon tapestry: a focus on sustainable, mindful practices, by-hand craftsmanship, and a thematic interrogation of femininity. McKenna goes deeper into her interests in history, craft and mysticism.
After a pause, McKenna began researching in January last year. “I have boxes of scans from when I was studying, and I just kept adding more to the archive. I was visiting the library, learning more about esoteric teachings and symbolism. I’m notorious for loving a chat, so it’s been liberating for me to go alone and trust my own instincts,” she says. A daily meditation practice, where she would see visions of shapes and patterns, inspired prints that were translated to knitwear. “I probably designed four collections, with about a hundred different tangents.”
A vision beyond the trend cycle buoys the collection. “I’ve underlined the concept of heirloom,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to make pieces to stand the test of time – I would love a piece to be in a museum, or handed down generations, like a beautiful top someone’s nan once loved. It is important for me to handmake pieces that hold their value. This collection has poured out of my fingertips.” McKenna recently exhibited pieces on the Greek island of Laros: “it was special to see them considered pieces of art. Everything we do as designers is, of course, product-based, but I want to do the storytelling that reflects skill and personhood.”
“I’ve underlined the concept of heirloom,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to make pieces to stand the test of time – I would love a piece to be in a museum, or handed down generations, like a beautiful top someone’s nan once loved” – Jaimee Callon McKenna
The spiral symbol is woven through key pieces, like the already covetable print on the Meditation dress and jumper. McKenna paints in ink first before hand knitting each piece. The spiral sits on the breasts, with a sun to the right representing masculine energy, the moon on the left representing feminine. Words like ‘divine’ and ‘intention’ stud the body, and the seed of life image sits on the belly.
Redundant yarns are sourced from old British mills, and textiles include Blue-faced Leicester sheep wool, Irish linen, deadstock silks and silk noil (repurposed fibres from the silk production process) from Japan. Production is in-house and in an ongoing partnership with a London factory. McKenna, who completed her BA in textiles and an MA in fashion knitwear at CSM, explains: “The beauty of knitwear is in creating your fabric. You make your fabric and silhouette all from a piece of thread. That’s magical.” The Bíseach corset is made by hand on a mannequin, built out from paint, crocheted and embroidered. Delicate spirals web the arms like tattoo sleeves, a nod to The Picts – Celts known as ‘picture people’ because their bodies were covered in tattoos and skin painted blue with cabbage dye.
While the work is extremely feminine, it’s juxtaposed with a toughness. A book about medieval corsets was referenced for core shapes, manipulated with materials, opacities and colourways. “I don’t like things to be too pretty. It has to be on a knife edge,” she says. “My intention was to envision the Callon woman. I wanted to create this otherworld for strong, powerful women.” Clothes allude to armour: the Klein top features a ruffle of pleats around the biceps, and a bustier with feathers spiking from the waist. The triskele design represents a trifecta of Ancient Celt goddesses – maiden, mother, and wise woman – and for McKenna, they all manifest in the Callon woman.
“I fucking love a pre-Raphaelite,” she says. “I always remember my mum taking me to the Birmingham museum’s collection to see them. I like to imagine a Rossetti figure wearing Callon.” Family is an important theme – pertinent, as I first connect with McKenna when we realise we’re distantly actually elated.. McKenna pays tribute to her Italian Nonna with the Cafolla cardigan. “I am obsessed with our own personal tapestries, drawn from ancestral lines,” she says. “My nan was kicked out of her house in Northern Ireland because she wore trousers. She joined the Red Cross, went to Egypt, swam the River Nile. That is an energy I draw from.”
“I fucking love a pre-RaphaeliteI always remember my mum taking me to the Birmingham Museum’s collection to see them. I like to imagine a Rossetti figure wearing Callon” – Jaimee Callon McKenna
McKenna has worked on design teams for Supriya Lele and Nicomede Talavera. The collaborative team process is clarifying. “You’re working within the parameters of someone else’s aesthetic. You’re flexing your design muscles without your own mental wrap ups.” She loves to collect peers’ work too: “I always buy Craig Green, who was year above me on the MA. I think everyone is making beautiful garments that represent the times we move through together. I love my archive!” The Callon lookbook is styled by Elizabeth Fraser-Bell, a natural partnership between a designer and stylist who celebrate the boundlessness of the feminine body and spirit.
McKenna would love to dress Caroline Polacheck again, Chappell Roan, or all-time icon Tilda Swinton, and has picked up several major retailer orders to be stocked from December. She’s considering her breadth of customer – whether her designs will entice Kardashians or the avant-pop girls again. “I’m working out what the hero pieces could be. Have I got the sexy LA girl dress? The ones we’d style in London over jeans?” she says. She’s working on more bespoke pieces too, as well as two wedding dresses for a couple. “I truly see the business model there that keeps me working mostly by hand. More women nowadays want something no one else has. They’re bucking the trend cycle to have one-of-one.”
