Kate Walz’s eloquent dresses stole lit up the final night of the 2013 edition of Kansas City Fashion Week. (Photo property of Kansas City Fashion Week, LLC & Fernando Leon)
By: Jacob Elyachar
Last night was the final night of the 2013 edition of Kansas City Fashion Week!
After an incredible showcase on Thursday evening and a spectacular Red Carpet event on Friday, I thought it was going to be hard for Kansas City Fashion Week (KCFW) to follow-up with last night’s presentation.
Overall, the final set of designers went above and beyond, my expectations and delivered memorable catalogs of clothing.
Lauren Bander kicked off the evening with her collection that showcased dark Earth tones. Each of Ms. Bander’s models held either carnations or large daisies in their hands while walking down the KCFW runway. I personally thought that Ms. Bander’s models were the most gorgeous models from the entire weekend. When I asked an audience member if she would wear any of Ms. Bander’s designs, she replied: “Oh yes! I would definitely wear those designs.”
Kansas City native (and current New Yorker) Brittany M. Davidson returned to showcase her line: BMDesigns. Ms. Davidson carved out her piece of the runway by putting almost a majority of her models into pairs of three (two women and one man). BMDesigns’ 2014 spring-summer line featured bold choices that would intrigue anyone. However, several audience members told me that there was a tiny snafu within the set. “One of the male models did not have on matching shoes as his fellow models.” While his fellow male models wore loafers, he wore black tennis shoes.
Husband-and-wife team John and Christina Moncke made their Kansas City Fashion Week debut with their first line from their company: Architexture. Unlike some of their fellow designers, the Monckes told a story focusing on five colors: black, blue, grey, white and red. While I was sitting in the front row, it seemed like the fabric had same softness as a snuggie and parachute ruffles. The best design of their set was their take on Little Red Riding Hood (which included a hoodless cape).
If there were an award for the longest set of the night…it would have gone to Rare Trends. Austin designers Paola Moore and Marina Silver’s nine models wore at least 27 different outfits. Rare Trends’ diverse collection featured multicolored jackets, silver bell-bottom pants and polka-dotted top with purple leather pants with a faux fur vest. The duo ended their set with the singing of “Happy Birthday” to Paola, who celebrated her birthday that night.
ChristianMICHEAL’s Christian Shuster opened the second half of the evening with an impeccable set of pastel-color summer clothing, which was a huge 180-degrees away from his signature military-like jackets. My fellow audience members and I stated that his spring and summer collections would benefit the wardrobe departments of the Big Bang Theory, Glee and Modern Family. In addition, a fashionista stated that GQ would approve of his line.
There were several audience members starting to fall asleep at the event, however Kansas City native Hillary Brown’s designs woke everyone up! Her beautiful swimwear and summer soiree dresses made everyone think about summer. One highlight of her collection was an accelerated update of the little black dress…Ms. Brown sewed light bulbs onto it.
The final (and probably best) designer was Ms. Kate Walz. The Bennington, Nebraska native currently holds the record as the youngest designer to make an appearance on the KCFW catwalk. Her princess gowns looked like the perfect dresses for both the high school students and young adult to wear at momentous occasions (high school proms or sorority events). An audience member said it best: “Her dresses are well made with good fabric and has terrific quality.” I strongly believe that Ms. Walz has a strong future in the Fashion industry and this show was just a stepping-stone in her remarkable career.
For more information about Kansas City Fashion Week, visit their website: http://www.kcfashionweek.com/
