West 18th Street | Creators

Designers

Birdies

Boundtonothing

What is the title of your collection?

Fabergé

Describe your creative process.

Joining Shibari and Lingerie creates a dialog between two emotionally inclusive mediums-lace and rope. Lace is the material of life and death- it veils our rituals: christening infants, seducing lovers, ordaining vows, and preparing and mourning the dead. Rope is similarly poetic – we cut the cord, tie the knot, bind ourselves to contracts, and string lovers along. The collaboration between Birdies and boundtonothing required trust, consent, and a dedication to pushing the nuances of beauty and desire.

How do you define culture?

Culture is what we know and what we learn. Our desires and fantasies within these structures are intimate and unique narratives. Power, attraction and sensuality are a biome of ritual and tradition. What turns us on is not politically correct. What is forbidden and taboo, prohibited and exotic, ties people together. The internet, literature, cinema, language, & advertisement bring people of similar sensualities to identical gilded mirrors.

Models: Laura Karenvick, Kasey Martin, Simone Sharda, Daisy Chavez, Chandellor Casey

Beautiful Dissociation

Diana Lerma & Jessie Green

What is the title of your collection?

Beautiful Dissociation

Describe your creative process.

In pursuit of sustainability, our garments begin with materials sourced from Kansas City’s second-hand shops. The unique fabrics then make their way to the sewing table where exaggerated silhouettes that warp human proportions force us to reconsider why we often allow physical limitations define identity. The bold embroidery and intricate surface designs, inspired by the trippy concert posters of the late 60s, are hand amde, making each garment one of a kind.

How do you define culture?

Culture allows us to access our communal humanity of shared traditional wisdoms & creative innovation. We, as artists have the chance to impress a positive cultural legacy.

Cult of Polka

Marley Polka

What is the title of your collection?

Evolution

Describe your creative process.

Playful and experimental artmaking are important to me; I allow my outfits to slowly reveal themselves and inform my responses until my work is fully realized. I seek to embolden the wearer and inspire moments of guiltless joy. Textiles and surface design are other dominant elements that I amend and influence to feel more personal to my touch of hand.

How do you define culture?

Culture is all encompassing within the structure of human development and interaction. It is individually-defined both internally and externally within the kaleidoscopic lens of social interaction, fashion, art practices & perception of freedom of will.

Models: Lily DeSett, Ja’meisha Harris, Elise Taylor, Logan Nichols, Shawn Smith

Cosmosphere

What is the title of your collection?

COSMOSPHERE

Describe your creative process.

When it came time to design our corporeal coverings, we sought the input of several energetic entities. From this collaboration, we have manifested the physical articles presented before you. Our garments are an invitation to journey through the COSMOSPHERE, where earthly and astral powers are unified and ascension to the highest realm of the non-hierarchical self may be achieved.

How do you define culture?

We are a sacred body of earthbound elements in service to HOREeyeZON. Joined through consciousness, we perceive our eternal universe & our all-embracing connectedness through space-time & dimensions.

Models: Josh, DaTonya, Melissa Padavic, Eva Williamson, Eugena Rolle

Reneé Larouge

Dionne HOlt

What is the title of your collection?

S’il Vous Plait

Describe your creative process.

This collection was inspired by the triumphs of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics contrasted with the ongoing injustices that infringe on the humanities of women and black people. Free-spirited, Bohemian fashions of the 1960s influenced my creation– with bright colors, small but powerful embellishment, and light and flowy fabrics.

How do you define culture?

Culture, to me, is a set of undefined rules that people are either inspired or bound by.

Models: Nevia Simone, Lakissha Smith, JoAnn Johnson, Janee Mackland, April Flowers

No Woe

Craig Rhoner

What is the title of your collection?

Blue Ribbon

Describe your creative process.

Work begets Work. We must study, question, explore, listen, and fail. Inspiration is not born in a vacuum, rather through experience. The world makes the most sense to me while making. my process is a conversation between my vision and the desire of the material to be manipulated. When I surrender to the material it is for the best.

How do you define culture?

Culture is the collective norms, beliefs and actions of a group. One of the cultures I was born into is on full-display in this collection, a part of my journey I have only recently made peace with. I welcome you to take part in my cathartic exhibition.

3 Minc

Minc Mason

What is the title of your collection?

All The Juice

Describe your creative process.

I never design for the moment, I think more about making a timeless piece, something that doesn’t date. I focus on cultivating full, complete collections in limited quantities so that the innovation and inspiration I exhibit can shed light upon others while providing a platform where sustainable living and sustainable clothing collide.

How do you define culture?

I define culture in many ways; it is the essence of something, it’s the culmination of what we feel, what we do and how we inspire the world through our subjective perspective.