The Designers
Meet the Designers!
The West 18th Street Fashion Show features eighteen collections showcasing the best in cutting-edge fashion design. Each year, dozens of designers apply for the opportunity to show their collections on the 18th Street runway, and only eighteen are chosen.
Clothing Designers
Birdies
Focusing on the matte spring colors of Derby ribbons and 1940's linen formal wear, Birdies will be pairing the crisp pastel lines of Shivan and Narresh with uniquely feminine accessories by Little Lucia. Amani Skalacki will be fabricating "drunken blossom" bracelets, dying vintage silk flowers to match the colorway of each look that will go down the runway.
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Web: http://birdiespanties.com/
Spool Boutique
Spool is a locally owned and operated boutique on West 18th Street in the Crossroads district of Kansas City, Missouri. Spool features local designers, emerging artists, vintage apparel/accessories and independent labels all squeezed into about 100 adorable square feet! Voted Best Alternative to Urban Outfitters and Best Baby Boutique in the Pitch Weekly Best Of's edition. Featured in Eat.Shop.Kansas City, the New York Times travel edition KC, Airways Magazine, Nylon Magazine and then some!
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Web: http://www.facebook.com/spoolkansascity
Twitter: @SpoolKC
Liz Peters
A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute with a double major in Fiber Art and Art History, Peters is originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She uses techniques such as quilting, knitting, embroidery and silkscreen printing and incorporates them into innovative and unique garments. During school she presented her first collection of Party Poodle Prints at the Emerald Space in the Westbottoms of Kansas City, MO. Peters now lives in New York and has worked for designers Gerlan Marcel of Gerlan Jeans, and Maki Obara of Maison Murasaki. The collection Peters will show for Triple Crown Summer will highlight her recent work with hat design, and showcase her love for vintage-inspired pieces.
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Web: http://ilovelizpeters.com
Yulie Urano & Christina Asako Dougherty
Christina Asako Dougherty and Yulie Urano, both originally from Overland Park, Kansas, will be turning toward their art backgrounds to produce a non-traditional ready to wear collection that is sculptural and intuitive. Dougherty, a senior in the Fashion program at the School of the Art Institute, Chicago, is influenced by the work of Junya Watanabe and Rei Kawakubo in general, and the history of the uniform, in specific. Urano, a recent BFA graduate from the Fibers program at the Kansas City Art Institute, is drawn to the unusual, graphic designs of Walter Van Beirendonck, Sandra Backlund, and Yayoi Kusama. Their collection will envision the jockey and the horse as one creature, bringing the theme to life with specific details such as horse musculature, jockey hats, braids, uniform symbols, and blinkers. Dougherty hopes to one day work for a design house overseas, and Urano intends to continue her career as an artist, producing sculptural knits.
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Web: http://www.yulieurano.com
Eli Borrowman
Originally from St. Louis, Borrowman is currently based in Chicago, IL. She received her AFA at St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley, her BFA at the Kansas City Art Institute (Painting) and her MFA at Northwestern University (Art Theory and Practice.) She describes her design aesthetic as edgy, rough and tough and enjoys manipulating recycled leather and denim to create her looks. For Triple Crown Summer, Borrowman has focused her concept on the blue-collar stablehands and horse-handlers who are behind the scenes of the races. Her designs will feature pieced-together, quilted and rugged outerwear for both men and women.
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Web: http://www.eliborrowman.com
Tara Kloeppel
Originally from a small town outside Jefferson City, Kloeppel now calls Kansas City home. After participating in the West 18th Street Fashion show last year, Kloeppel is back and ready to showcase a new collection for Triple Crown Summer. She describes her collection this year as “ultra feminine, super floral, and a little bit country.” Expect to see custom-made prints, embroidery and pom-poms throughout. Kloeppel graduated from the University of Missouri in 2010 with a degree in English, but began experimenting with clothing construction shortly thereafter. She plans to launch a full retail site featuring her ready-to-wear collections in the near future.
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Web: http://www.tarakloeppel.com
Katie Coble & Jennifer Hunt
Katie Coble, originally from Kansas City (now residing in Philadelphia), and Jennifer Hunt, of Lawrence, will be combining efforts to explore the "high and low culture" that can coexist at the horserace. Coble and Hunt both spent time at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where Coble completed a BFA in Fibers, and Hunt studied drawing and painting, eventually returning to Lawrence to receive a BFA in Fibers from KU. Coble and Hunt aim to produce a collection that conveys the paradoxical costs of luxury. They intend to give the glamor of their designs a burdensome charge by focusing on construction and patterning to make beautiful, extravagant garments that are also grotesque in appearance and problematic for the wearer. Through loaded visual means—colors that turn to mud, pelts of shedding floral—their garments will reveal the seedy corruption that can lay beneath the beautiful lives of the southern aristocracy.
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Dominique Karwoski
A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, Karwoski grew up in Kansas City but is currently based out of New Orleans. Her background in Fine Arts, and many years working as a tailor, have prepared her for her second year showing at the West 18th Street Fashion Show. Karwoski draws inspiration from nature and the female form, and loves to accentuate a woman’s curves. This year, her collection will feature a charming palette of peach, coral, lime and gold and include a re-mix of classic southern seer-sucker. A sculptural, yet wearable collection she will present looks fit for only for the sweetest southern belles.
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Web: http://www.karwoska.com
Twitter: @karwoska
Whitney Matalone
Matalone grew up in Topeka, and is currently enrolled in the Textile Design program at the University of Kansas, in Lawrence. She has been sewing and experimenting with clothing since she was a child and has taken pattern-making classes, but considers herself to be self-taught. As a designer, she is interested in how different cultures throughout time adorn themselves and decorate their bodies. In terms of style, she feels a strong affinity toward vintage clothing and the history of her garments. Taking apart vintage pieces and re-working them, manipulating them into something new is intriguing to her. Matalone’s collection for Triple Crown Summer will be based on the energy of the crowd attending a horse race. Inspired by the brightly colored geometric uniforms of the jockeys, she intends to push the boundaries of what could be worn to a horserace. Upon completion of her degree, Matalone is aiming to start her own clothing line featuring her own hand-woven and hand-dyed cloth.
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Brittany Davidson
Brittany Davidson is a 23 year old Kansas City native. After studying and living in Paris and London, she moved back to her home town in 2009 to start her women’s wear line, BMDesigns. Her designs are infused with a European flair, and are tailored for the fashionable and sophisticated woman. Davidson’s aim is to prove that one can achieve a city-chic look, no matter where you live. For Triple Crown Summer, she will show an undoubtably feminine collection. Over the top frills, lace and bows will come together as Davidson aims to interpret the excitement of both the spectators and participants of the Triple Crown races.
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Christina Darque
Darque is a self-taught designer based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is inspired by gothic and victorian culture as well as bondage wear. She received her degree in Merchandising and Apparel Design from Oklahoma State University, but credits her grandmother with teaching her how to sew at 8 years old. Her collection for Triple Crown Summer is inspired by the colorful patterned silks of the jockey’s uniform. Horse bridles, buckles and straps, as well as plaid horse warming blankets have also contributed to her vision.
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Katrina Weiss
Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Weiss now lives in Lawrence, Kansas. Weiss has attended both KU and Johnson County Community College for Textile Design and Fashion Design, respectively. Her design influences include Helmet Lang, Acne, Philip Lim, Stella McCartney and Jonathan Saunders. She draws influence from classic film noir, street style blogs and Art Deco. Her aesthetic tends toward minimalist and she appreciates clean lines and classic, well-cut garments. Her concept for Triple Crown Summer is to feminize men’s suiting and jockey wear. By taking the clean lines from men’s garments and re-contextualizing them for a woman’s body, her designs aim to further close the gap in gender-specific active wear. Weiss’s works has appeared in the JCCC Spring show FLAUNT and Catwalk for a Cause in 2011.
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Andrea Long & Margie Hogue
Andrea Long and Margie Hogue are combining forces to tell a visual story of the style and culture surrounding the Triple Crown; from the flashy competitors on the track to the quietly devious former debutantes watching in the stands. Hogue and Long intend to tie an assortment of rich southern textures together with the pastel ribbons of horse racing. Hogue, of Lawrence, Kansas, will draw upon a range of experiences, from the practical to the unconventional. After completing the Fashion Design Program at JCCC, she spent time as an intern for Peggy Noland and Anthonio Fakeri of Moda Domani. She was recently hired to design women's apparel for Awava, a fair trade craft company in Uganda, where she oversaw production, resourcing materials, and equipment maintenance onsite. Andrea Long studied Costume Design at KU, and spent three summers creating costumes for the Creede Repertory Theater Company in Colorado. In addition to her experience under local designers Georgianna Londre and Vincent Scassellati, she has extensive time abroad, in South Korea, working as a freelance designer, a stylist, and an English teacher. Hogue and Long takes their cues from Alexander McQueen, the theater, and their various experiences abroad. They have titled their collection anama.
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Web: http://www.andreamarielong.com/
Method.
Shomari Benton and David Lloyd are the owners and managers behind Method, a private label menswear boutique based in Kansas City, Missouri. In their second year with Method, they plan to show a collection with an athletic feel for Triple Crown Summer. They’ve taken inspiration from men’s formal styles in the 1920’s, with a specific focus on the Negro Baseball league and the aesthetic of it’s players. Each model will present as if they’ve just left the baseball stadium after a hard fought game. As designers, they are interested in classic pieces that mix formal design with practicality. Method intern, Arrias Dawkins, will assist with the collection.
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Web: http://methodkc.com/
Michelle Schmidlkofer
A current student of the fibers program at the Kansas City Art Institute, Schmidlkofer is originally from Bedford, Texas where she began making clothing for herself at an early age. Her collection for Triple Crown Summer focuses on the defining element of the Triple Crown races: speed. Known as the fastest two minutes in sports, the races feature jockeys in brightly colored jerseys zipping down the track. Schmidlkofer aims to dress her models in looks that channel this important element.
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Hilary Brown
Originally from Kansas City, Brown began her college career as a ballet major at the University of Utah. Following this, she danced professionally in Atlanta and New York City. In 2007, Brown moved back to Kansas City and will receive her degree in interior design in May. Over the years, Brown has honed her design and sewing skills working for professional costume shops and helping to outfit professional dancers. With an interest in all things textile, she plans to present a collection inspired by the colors of a mint julep. Minty greens, sugary whites and pops of bourbon orange will mix to create the show’s only swimwear collection.
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Kimby Sweeney
Originally from Hong Kong, China, Sweeney moved to Kansas City in 2008. Here she splits her time between working as a seamstress and independent fashion designer, and attending fashion design classes at Johnson County Community College. Her collection for Triple Crown Summer is inspired by the luxurious feel of the crown and will feature a rich color palette of red, gold, black and cream. Playing on the contrast of hard and soft, Sweeney will use brocade, taffeta and chiffon to create rigid forms and soft drapes throughout her collection. Sweeney draws inspiration from Charles James, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga and Givency.
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Maria Creyts
Creyts describes herself as a citizen of the world, but is currently working from Kansas City, Missouri. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Kansas City Art Institute, and Master of Fine Arts degree from Yale University School of Art. Her work crosses a variety of disciplines, but since 2008 it has focused on outsized photo panoramas depicting subjects Creyts constructs from fabric. Her “photo friezes” have been exhibited at numerous universities and galleries worldwide. Inspired by recent travels to Nigeria, Creyts plans to present a West African angle on Triple Crown Summer. Parallels will include fantastic headgear, the investigation of seeksucker as fabric for men’s attire with a West African cut, and historic designs that depict royalty. Creyts looks forward to creating photo imagery based on this collection.
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Accessory Designers
Coki Bijoux
Coki began her formal study of jewelry making in Paris in 1990 while apprenticing under the independent “bijoutier” Thierry de Bourqueney. Her time with de Bourqueney taught the necessity of measurement and precision in jewelry making, while also using that as the foundation for creativity in design. For this year's show, Coki will be collaborating with clothing designers, Andrea Long & Margie Hogue. Collection: Among the fever and frenzy of ladies in hats, horses and silks, roses and triumph, is the stark white background of lattice and lace, the twin spires rising to the sun, the boxwood greens and silver splashes of mint julep cups... These are the inspiration for a collection of wide cuffs enameled in indulgent white gloss on the sterling silver, trellis cut designs, broderie anglaise, and ample pearls with pendants in the form of imperial trellis and emerald accents. Rings, hatpins and no lady can be without a lucky horseshoe pendant (diamond encrusted, of course!).
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Web: http://www.cokireardon.com
Amani Skalacki
Amani Skalacki will be working with clothing designer, Birdies.
Originally from Chicago, Skalacki is an accessories designer currently living and working in Kansas City, MO. As a child she was fascinated by vintage jewelry, buttons and beads, and was drawn to combining these intricate treasures to form unique works of art. With a degree in Art History and General Studio Studies from Kansas State, she went on to receive an NEA Fellowship from The School and The Museum of the Art Institute Chicago. Drawing on her background in Art History, Skalacki finds inspiration from historical women who broke boundaries in fashion — specifically, Marie Antoinette and her Minister of Fashion, Rose Berlin. At a time filled with the very best of everything, clothing was art, and adornments such as buttons, trim and ribbons were as important as the designs themselves. As the official accessories partner to Birdies' clothing collection, Skalacki will be fabricating "drunken bloom" accessories and dying vintage silk flowers in wine and spirits to match the colorway of each look that will go down the runway. She hopes to provide the collection with pieces that are beautiful, feminine, delicate and fun.
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Web: http://www.skaladesigns.com