Models / Anajah Hamilton & Gabrielle Richardson
Art Direction + Producer / Aimee Brodeur
Makeup / Allie Smith
HKM is Hannah Kristina Metz’ eponymous line of ethically-made clothing. Drawing inspiration from literature and art, HKM tells a story with each line, most recently Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The result was a small collection of romantic garments with classic lines. LADYGUNN visited HKM at her studio space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Who are you? My name is Hannah Kristina Metz and I’m a New York based women’s wear designer.
Where are you from? Originally from Ottawa, Canada.
When was HKM born? HKM had a tediously long labor but was officially introduced to the world last June!
How did HKM materialize? After closing the doors to The Loved One (my co-owned vintage shop and lingerie line), I shifted focus entirely to my eponymous collection. Having my own collection had long been a dream of mine (since transforming tube socks into, what I thought were, fetching Barbie outfits).
Tell me about the Wuthering Heights inspiration behind your newest line. I enjoy taking a very specific point of inspiration (mostly literary, though I have a few favourite paintings I’d like to explore as a collection some day) and finding ways to interpret them in clothing. The first collection was inspired by my favourite star crossed lovers, Tristan and Iseult and I used a repeating eye motif to represent their being under constant surveillance and the tears because, well, the whole story is full of weeping. With Wuthering Heights I wanted to include a few pieces that were not as embellished as the previous collection so I found a few lines from the book that I thought would be playful script on clothing, “Damn thee, kiss me” is said in a rather pathetic interaction between Heathcliff and Hareton and “Haunt Me” is from one of the more famous speeches in the story in which Heathcliff is imploring Cathy’s ghost to haunt him. The hands are meant to be Cathy’s ghostly embrace of Heathcliff.
What is next for HKM? The next collection I’m very excited about! I’m turning away from sad lovers and towards happier ones with A Room with A View as my inspiration. Expect lots of sheer fabrics and smiling embroidered flowers.
