You may remember when Kansas City was the fashion center of the Midwest—in the 1930's buildings in the Garment District employed thousands of people and made clothing worn all over the country. It may have been 80 years since we had that stature in the world, but one annual event may slowly, but surely be putting our town back on the fashion map. KC Fashion Week starts Thursday, October3rd and has events through Sunday, October 6th.
Two local designers join us to talk about their work and creative process. Christian Michael Shuster is a men's designer with a love for art and design who didn't get into fashion until later in life. "It's a challenging thing to take a design concept and see it physically come to life in fabric," says Shuster. All of his pieces are one of a kind, and made for the "modern style-concious man."
Erin Stegman with Erin Paige Designs, creates jewelry from acrylic plastic, acrylic paint, and beads to create statement pieces as a kind of "art meets fashion." In order to show her jewelry at the upcoming fashion show, Stegman has created white garments for her models as a kind of "canvas" on which to showcase her art. Stegman works with individuals to make one-of-a-kind pieces that she says "will make the individual and the buyer stand out."
KC Fashion Week will be featuring about seven to eight designers per night.
Guests:
- Teisha Barber, Executive Director of Kansas City Fashion Week
- Christian Michael Shuster, men's clothing designer with the Christian Michael label
- Erin Stegman, jewelry designer with Erin Paige Designs
