Designer Catherine Gee recently announced her new line, the Santorini Collection. The Santa Barbara-based designer strives to capture the fleeting feeling of summer while playing with flowy, romantic silhouettes.
“I wanted the collection to feel light, romantic and ephemeral,” Gee said. “The summertime escape, as it is lived and dreamed, is central to the story.”
The inspiration for the line comes from the mediterranean setting of Greece as well as films “A Bigger Splash” and “Call Me By Your Name.” These elements specifically influenced many of the color palettes within the collection.
“A notable piece of the collection is a silk tee of vintage, seaside destination postcards,” Gee added. “It is meant to be evocative of desirable European beach towns, such as Nice or Cannes, along the French Riviera while remaining a small sentiment of our very own American Riviera, Santa Barbara.”
The color story is split into two main saturations with a butter yellow and a green palm print that was conceived while at the beach in Santa Barbara.
“It is a direct green/yellow color filter influence of two of my favorite films, 1998’s ’Great Expectations’ and 2017’s ’Call Me By Your Name,’” explained Gee.
Key pieces in the collection include dresses, tops, pants, and skirts made from silk, linen, and cotton. Gee’s signature silks are included in the collection; however, the designer has expanded the offerings with other pieces, such as a metallic blue and orange jacquard coat.
