Laura Kim's Crate & Barrel Collection Marks A First For The Designer

Stepping into uncharted territory, Laura Kim just launched her first collection with Crate & Barrel. For her homeware debut, the Oscar de la Renta co-creative director and founder of Monse drew from “her favorite ingredients and runway trends” as well as her own surroundings and pastimes to curate a robust installment of 110 products for the kitchen and dining room.

“I love summer, gardening, food, wine, and spending time with my friends,” says Kim in an email to TZR. “The collection captures that happiness and love that you feel during this time of year when you have more time to gather with friends and have fresh food from the garden. The unique and playful collection includes a rose-cappuccino-colored marble dessert stand, scalloped eyelet colanders, and debossed floral rolling pin, all of which add a bit whimsy and texture to modern spaces. Luxe furniture is also in the mix, with oak wood dining tables and benches and brown leather dining chairs rounding things out.

Kim’s high-fashion expertise and fresh vision for cooking and entertaining made her the perfect partner for this collection, says Sebastian Brauer, Crate & Barrel’s senior vice president of product design in an email. “We wanted to create a collection that blends timeless elegance, craftsmanship, beauty, and modern innovation.” He continues, “We drew a lot of inspiration from botanicals and flower studies, vibrant rich color from vegetables and fashion details and fabrics like eyelet and lace, and Laura’s NYC rooftop garden and lifestyle. We wanted to capture the energy of a casual al fresco garden dinner on a NYC summer night.”

Above all, the fashion designer wanted to ensure she was creating a collection that felt fresh and unlike the typical sleek and traditional summer collections, which are often washed in candy colors and gingham. Instead, Kim opted for rich, earthy tones found in nature and its bounty as well as natural shapes and materials that feel like they’ve been forged in the ground. “I’m never interested in creating something that already exists,” says Kim in a press release. “Whether I’m designing for the runway or creating a recipe for a dinner party, I want to create something new.”

Kim’s latest collection with Crate & Barrel is now available in stores and online, with prices ranging from $8 -$1,999.