Day collars are worn as a more discreet symbol of a dynamic. Whether you're self-collared or collared by another, the item carries weight.
If you google the term, you see a collection of jewellery-based products, often with an O-ring or a padlock ornament at the front, or a choker-style collar, often with frontal hardware. To be clear, there's nothing wrong with either of these.
When I started thinking about how day collars could look for Kilter, I wasn't asking how to make a better version of what already existed. I wanted to find a middle ground between the two, where there could be simple leather pieces that felt like a fashion accessory but with the same weight of meaning.
The Axis crosses the throat in a deeper-more prominent cut-out collar. Symmetrical, and rather rare for a Kilter piece to be so. To my mind, perfect for a party or an evening event with an open-necked white collar shirt and striking pair of trousers.
The Vesper dips into a point and bridges itself with a length of 18ct filled gold chain, connecting two gold eyelets set into the leather.
The Crescent sits off-centre, asymmetric, resting to one side of the throat rather than framing it symmetrically.
I'm not sure if this decision came as a surprise when I launched, but none of these look like a leather collar in the way that leather BDSM collars are 'supposed' to look.
They do, however, move between contexts; whether that be brunch, a Saturday night or a Sunday morning. This means the design can afford to forgo the front hardware and still carry meaning through placement alone.
What it cannot afford to do is feel like a compromise. A diminished version of something more significant, worn because the real thing isn't practical.
I've also elected to make no concessions in the manufacturing of these collars. The Italian vegetable tanned leather is the same leather throughout all Kilter products. The hardware is the same as we always used - forged in Italy and cold to the touch. Proper metal, not a zinc alloy.
The chain on the Vesper is fine-jewellery quality.
We make them to order, in your size, in oxblood, black, olive and tan. Each colour has it's own personality. The black feels authorative, the oxblood feels sensual, the olive is striking and the tan feels sophisticated.
The day collars are now available to order.
