The Union Station audience saw incredible designers display their 2016 Spring-Summer Collections. (Photo property of Jacob Elyachar)
By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
Kansas City Fashion Week (KCFW) is upon us!
Last night, fashion fans packed into the Kansas City Union Station to see the upcoming Spring/Summer 2016 collections from local and regional designers. KCFW also partnered with Fair & Fashionable to raise awareness for melanoma. According to the Mayo Clinic, over 200,000 to 3,000,000 people are diagnosed with this form of skin cancer every year. Numerous attendees wore black to show solidarity with Fair & Fashionable.
KCFW partnered with Fair & Fashionable to raise awareness for melanoma. According to the Mayo Clinic, over 200,000 to 3,000,000 people are diagnosed with this form of skin cancer every year. Numerous attendees wore black to show solidarity with Fair & Fashionable.
In addition to Fair & Fashionable’s presence, a familiar face made his presence known at the event. Special guest designer Project Runway alum and KCFW crowd favorite Michael Drummond was tonight’s headliner and before the fashion aficionados got to see Mr. Drummond’s collection…several designers took the stage to showcase their work!
Up first, Redeux Kidz transported the audience back to the 1960s-80s where floral designs and vintage fabric were kings. All 13 models received a chorus of “Awws” and applause as each of them walked down the runway. Since I started covering Kansas City Fashion Week in 2013, I have never seen such enthusiastic young models and they brought a new energy to the show. Congratulations, Redeux Kidz for showcasing one of my favorite portfolios of all-time.
Omaha designer Buf Reynolds took the audience on a journey under the sea and to the cosmos with her spring and summer collection! The main colors of her collection were black and blue with a strong mixture of Aurora Borealis and the planet Mercury. As I talked to my fellow audience members, we came to the same conclusion, Buf Reynolds boldly brought sci-fi into fashion stratosphere.
Granite City, Iowa designer Alexis Cooke described her style as “Kate Spade meets Betsey Johnson” and I thought her designs were loud! The audience saw outfits that were kissed by the black, gold and neon pink sections of the Color Wheel. One of my favorite highlights from this collection was a green dress that had The Hunger Games’ Effie Trinket ‘s (Elizabeth Banks) name all over it. In addition, I thought that Raven-Symone and Kate Middleton would love wearing Alexis’ outfits.
The crowd exploded when they learned that Independence, Mo. designer Gypsy Blaque would display her collection next. Her gorgeous outfits not only stole the show, but also were very vegan friendly as almost all of her looks involved vegan leather. This was my first encounter with vegan leather outfits and I think Gypsy Blaque might be onto a new trend in fashion.
After a short intermission, Omaha designer Jessica Lynn returned to Kansas City Fashion Week to showcase her take on everyone’s favorite seasons. For this collection, Jessica wanted to give young girls an opportunity to live out fairy tales everyday. The lovely young ladies had impeccable posture and poise that almost gave Redeux Kidz’ models-a run for their money. What I love about Jessica is that every time she returns with a new collection that her creativity improves exponentially. I cannot wait to see what Jessica Lynn displays next!
One of the speediest showcases I have ever seen from Kansas City Fashion Week was Kingdom Culture Unlimited. Founder Isabel Muziva showcased her love for both ethnic and western cultures in her collection. Despite its fast tempo, it was great to see a mixture of both young (wore white ensembles) and older female models (wore a combination of both red and black and pink and black ensembles).
After My Heirloom Bridal Designs displayed gorgeous bridal and bridesmaids gowns, it was Michael’s time to shine. What I loved about Michael’s collection was that it was the first time I saw him use color in his collection. It was his most colorful presentation to date and I thought his presentation the perfect way to end night one at Union Station!
To learn more about Kansas City Fashion Week, visit their website!
Want to see some photos from last night’s show? Head over to my Facebook page to check it out!
First, regarding the article, please explain to me why, with this Fashion Week being in September, which is known for Childhood Cancer Awareness month, it is raising awareness for melanoma. Someone needs to speak for the children. The color should have been gold in the honor of these children, who have suffered, are suffering or have succumbed to their cancer.
Theresa, thank you for comments. Unfortunately, I honestly do not know why the designers did not choose gold in their designs! I hope this helps. Thank you for reading! Jacob