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WHY WE WANT, NEED AND LOVE:

MORE JOY

Words: Charlotte Core

With the capsule label created by Christopher and Tammy Kane landing at Selfridges – including exclusive pieces you won’t find anywhere else – we dive into the world of More Joy, speaking to both co-founder Christopher Kane and fans of the brand to discover why its minimal designs and honest, pleasure-seeking ethos are the breath of fresh air we all need right now

Shop now

WHY WE WANT, NEED AND LOVE:

MORE JOY

Words: Charlotte Core

With the capsule label created by Christopher and Tammy Kane landing at Selfridges – including exclusive pieces you won’t find anywhere else – we dive into the world of More Joy, speaking to both co-founder Christopher Kane and fans of the brand to discover why its minimal designs and honest, pleasure-seeking ethos are the breath of fresh air we all need right now

Shop now

“Be open to the Joy you deserve” reads @morejoy’s Instagram bio – a candidly simple mantra that sums up the brand’s MO in a nice and concise seven words. While moments of pure joy might feel a little scarce right now following a year that put a DJ-scratch stop to live music, had us hunching over our laptops and forced us into celebrating birthdays via glitchy Zoom calls; that doesn’t mean we should stop searching for it. More Joy’s ethos, after all, is that moments of joy are always there, waiting to be discovered.

 

With the prolonged uncertainty, More Joy makes us feel good. When you feel good, life is better.

– Christopher Kane

Discover More Joy:

More Joy’s origin story starts with the autumn/winter 2018 Christopher Kane collection, which featured pieces emblazoned with text and illustrations from the 1972 erotic playbook The Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort. Sultry sheer dresses, tickly feather embellishment, plenty of lace and leather and the first iteration of the ‘More Joy’ slogan top made for a ready-to-wear collection that represented sexuality, expression and unabashed pleasure. The capsule label sprang up soon after, offering T-shirts, underwear, accessories and even doormats, all carrying their messages of More Joy.
 

And the messages certainly struck a chord. The idea that holding on to positivity (and encouraging us all to find it where we can), feels especially freeing during difficult times when putting our own joy first all too often falls by the wayside. The More Joy community, empowered by the brand’s message, grew online and took centre stage for its spring/summer 2020 campaign, where creatives took the joy baton and ran with it – creating images, videos and artwork that felt authentic and true to the vision of the label. This season, the joy-seeking continues, and the More Joy community feels as important as ever. Below, we speak to four fans of the brand to discover how they’ll be approaching 2021 with a positive-first mindset, and why following their new mantra of ‘Be open to the joy you deserve’ (which is exclusively printed on pieces only found here at Selfridges) is the way forward this year.

CHRISTOPHER KANE ON THE POWER OF MORE JOY

We speak to co-founder of More Joy, Christopher Kane, to find out about how the label has evolved since its launch, how its creative community blossomed, and what joy means to him in 2021.

What does joy mean to you right now?

 More Joy is my daily mantra and has been since late 2017 and it serves me in multiple ways, all depending on my mood or how my day is going. It gives me the focus I need to do my work by reminding me to block out negativity and distractions. This [past] year has been unpredictable and tough but also helped us prioritise what’s important – at a time when being joyful feels like an act of rebellion. People are inherently hopeful – we all want to see good and do good. Sometimes we just need a little reminder; More Joy is mine.

 

Tell us about the More Joy community – how has it evolved since launch?

Since launch in December 2019, the More Joy Instagram feed has been fuelled by follower submissions. Last April we posted a casting call for creatives in our community to lead the summer 2020 campaign and the response was overwhelming. From thousands of outstanding applicants, we selected 12 creatives whose content sparked More Joy in us. In August 2020 we shared a profile on each of the creatives who worked remotely during lockdown to capture what More Joy means to them. More Joy is, first and foremost, a community creating bonds between like-minded people who are attracted to the idea of having More Joy in their lives. With the prolonged uncertainty, More Joy makes us feel good. When you feel good, life is better.

 

People are inherently hopeful – we all want to see good and do good. Sometimes we just need a little reminder; More Joy is mine.

– Christopher Kane

Installation by Christopher Kane on the façade of V&A Dundee as part of its ‘Now Accepting Contactless: Design in Global’ exhibition. Artwork created for Dazed’s #alonetogether campaign supporting Barts Charity. Film by STROMA Films for V&A Dundee.
Why do you feel the More Joy line’s message resonates so strongly with fans of the brand?

More Joy is designed for the open-minded pansexuals shaking off labels and defining what our coming years look like. They're a generation faced with a new global crisis shaping how they feel and behave. More Joy when you see it, can allow you to escape the mental limitations, and at the same time I think attracts positive energy.

 

What does the More Joy line mean to you creatively compared to your mainline collections?

More Joy is important because it allows us to continually connect with our customers about what inspires us in a much more simple and focused way.  It also gives the opportunity for us to design with a more minimalist approach, producing evergreen product for everyday life. More Joy is the perfect sidekick to Christopher Kane, it shares the same vision but is positioned differently and designed to reach a larger audience.

 

“Be open to the Joy you deserve” – tell us what this quote means to you, and why it feels relevant today.

The beauty of ‘Be open to the Joy you deserve’, is that it means something different to everyone.  We want to encourage people to prioritise themselves. Joy is so many things: it can be pleasure and self-love, gratitude, contentment, wonder at nature. I love this quote because it encourages me to rebel against my own personal obstacles and reframe them.

 

How does nature inspire you?

Nature is my number one source of inspiration. It really is life’s greatest joy. The pandemic has pushed us all to slow down, I know I have been grateful for my garden throughout the lockdowns.

 

What song brings you a burst of instant joy?

‘Be My Baby’ by The Ronettes.

 

What will you be doing more of in 2021?

Living in the moment. 

MEET THE MORE JOY COMMUNITY

Read on to discover four members of the More Joy community, who answered the brand’s creative call to explore the idea of seeking pleasure, and who all – in their own unique ways – truly represent being open to the joy we deserve.

MORE JOY - 'Sex' print T-shirt in white and 'More Joy' print T-shirt in black

VANESSA MALADO KALINDA

Retail representative

What does joy mean to you right now?

Something that brought me an immense amount of joy is developing my songwriting ability and discovering what suits my voice, as well as curating a library of music that inspires me creatively. Although 2020 was a difficult year it has certainly been filled with a lot of growth for me.

Also, to me joy has been building and strengthening relationships with those close to me, through such a weird and difficult year.

 

What drew you to the More Joy collection’s pieces? What do you like about the message it sends?

There’s something exceptionally freeing about wearing a loosely fitted tee and the More Joy ones are extremely comfy. I always wear quite fitted clothes, but when I wear More Joy, I feel I look good effortlessly without trying too hard. When I think about what More Joy represents, I think of liberation, being free and accepting yourself as you are.

 

What will you be doing more of in 2021?

I plan on taking things as they come and not putting too much pressure on myself. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have goals to meet. It’s just a matter of it maybe taking longer, after all, we are in a pandemic. This year I want to delve further into other creative areas like directing and styling, and get more versed as a creative.

 

How will you be bringing more joy to others this year?

This year I want to make an effort to do the little things that show those around me that I appreciate them. Checking in regularly is something that I want to ensure I do, especially with the current state that the world is in.

 

Favourite person, book, film, podcast or album that’s made you happy recently?

Recently I’ve been enjoying delving into 90s fashion and have fallen in love with a docu-film called Catwalk (1995). Seeing that era of fashion gives me life and inspires me in an indescribable way. It’s so crazy to see how carefree, romantic and revolutionary high fashion was back then.

'Sex' print bodysuit from the More Joy SS20 collection

MITCH STÖHRING

Photographer

What does joy mean to you right now?

To me – now more than ever – love brings me the most joy. I am very lucky to be spending these hard times with the one person I love most in this world and that makes me happy every single day.

 

What drew you to More Joy? What do you like about the message it sends?

Statements! I love the simplicity of the style and clarity of its message. Especially in times like these it is so important to remember to let joy into your life, to be in sync with your own body and mind and acknowledge everything and everyone that is special to you.

 

What will you be doing more of this year to bring more happiness?

I am going to be kinder to myself. My self-care routine has definitely suffered the past year, so I will spend more quality time with myself consisting of loads of dancing and singing and cooking and creating.

 

How will you be bringing more joy to others this year?

I want to be more available and reconnect to the people that are important to me. I will give my friends and family the attention and love that they so deserve.

 

Favourite person, book, film, podcast or album that’s made you happy recently?

I have excessively been listening to the album Too Bright by Perfume Genius. It makes me want to dance and cry and laugh all at the same time.

Shop More Joy, here:

'Be open to the joy you deserve' animation by Tigris Li

TIGRIS LI

3D Motion Designer & Creative Technologist

What does joy mean to you?

Joy means being unapologetic and relishing moments that bring pure laughter and complete bliss. It carries a charismatic liveliness that is simply free to evolve in any shape or form it takes.



What drew you to the More Joy collection’s pieces? What do you like about the message it sends?

It’s frisky and whimsical. That’s what I love about it. It exudes an empowering freedom, inviting you to celebrate the simple pleasures of life and evokes the playful mischief within us all. It’s effervescent.



What will you be doing more of in 2021 to bring more joy to your life?

Dancing! I’m always daydreaming when I dance. I think it’s the magic of blowing up my eardrums with music and the freedom my body has that spirals me into the most fantastical worlds. It’s like the secret rabbit hole into my own Alice in Wonderland!

 

How will you be bringing more joy to others this year?

A love language of mine is gift giving. I love making things, and making things for others. As a result of the pandemic, I’ve been taking advantage of what can fit in a post box. From transforming a glass bottle into a musical love letter for my significant other, to making a lit-up and sound-reactive disco crown, I’ve had a blast creating these gifts.



What’s your favourite person, book, film, podcast or album that’s made you happy recently?

A recent favourite book of mine is called What's Love (or Care, Intimacy, Warmth, Affection) Got to Do with It? by Paul Chan. I love this book because it demonstrates the universal ability of love for empathy ­– it assumes a social function that is not self-contained, but rather a flourishing factor that forges new connections around the world. It’s an inspiring source to the work and experiences that I produce as a creative technologist. But most importantly, it makes me hopeful.

MORE JOY - Exclusive 'Be open to the joy you deserve' T-shirt and 'More Joy' print bodysuit from the More Joy SS20 collection

OLIWIA JANCEROWICZ

Fashion student and Casting Assistant

What does joy mean to you now following a difficult 2020?

Last year was a chance for me to really re-evaluate the meaning of joy in my life. Joy for me means being close to the ones I love, feeling loved and expressing my love for them.

 

What drew you to the More Joy collection’s pieces? What do you like about the message it sends?

I think it’s all in the simplicity, it’s just a few words but they express so much. I also enjoy looking at their film recommendations and checking out the playlists – I find all of it together very uplifting. 

 

What will you be doing more in 2021 to bring joy into your life?

I’m trying to unplug more and start spending more time outdoors. 

 

How will you be bringing more joy to others this year?

Hopefully I will be able to see [my family] more soon when things calm down a bit! But for now I’m trying to stay close by catching up every day and letting them know I think about them constantly. 

 

What’s your favourite person, book, film, podcast or album that’s made you happy recently?

The Race Chaser podcast with Alaska and Willam has been keeping me sane and making me happy through all the lockdowns. Their jokes are unparalleled. 

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