By: Jacob Elyachar
It’s 7:45 p.m. in the basement of the Art Asylum in Kansas City, Missouri on a Saturday night and dozens of models are receiving finishing touches on their hair and make-up for the Fringe Fashion Show. In less than 15 minutes, the models will debut the latest looks from 10 designers from the Kansas City fashion community for the eighth annual Fashion on the Fringe show.
A model shows off one of No Human Intension’s Nikki Fizer’s designs at the 2012 Fringe Festival’s fashion show. (Photo by Jacob Elyachar).
For some of the designers like No Human Intentions’ Nikki Fizer, the show marked her debut with the Fringe Festival and she was impressed with everyone who was involved with the event.
“You have your make-up artists, photographers and designers from all different genres of art come together to make this big fabulous thing and that’s really cool.” Fizer said.
Model and first time designer for House of Cochon, Amanda Burkhart, also added how communal the Kansas City fashion community is with each other.
“I like the fashion industry in Kansas City because it’s a family,” Burkhart said. “Sometimes we get angry with each other and sometimes we argue but at the end of the day, we pull it together to focus on beauty and great art.”
Throughout the presentation, the designers showcased their take on this year’s theme, which was vintage fringe. Each of them offered a unique take that ranged from House of Cochon’s women’s swimwear designed by Amanda Burkhart and No Human Intension’s Nikki Fizer’s neo-Victorian with a steam-punkish twist to an interesting take on the X-Men from Ginger Bow Tie.
Multiple models celebrate Sharlene Henthorne’s designs at the end of her segment at the 2012 Fringe Fashion Show in Kansas City. (Photo by Jacob Elyachar)
While a majority of the designers’ clothes impressed the audience, Fringe Fashion Show veteran Sharlene Henthorne’s showcase were one of the most talked segment of the evening. Henthorne stated that her designs showcased multiple decades.
“The denim represented the eighties, the darker tie-dyed clothes were more inspired by the 1950s/1960s European culture.” Henthorne said. “The dresses continued to carry the fifties to the eighties design concept.”
Henthorne is no stranger to the Fringe Fashion Show scene as her designs have been featured in the show for two years in a row and were recently seen in this past May’s MayHem at the Uptown. However, she was an audience member first before she found out about the festival’s fashion segments.
“I used to think that the Fringe Festival was basically for Burlesque acts, which originally drew me to the festival.” Henthorne said. “ When I started doing fashion shows, a friend sent me a link to apply for the Fringe Fashion Show, I didn’t even though it existed and I filled out the application, got selected and I have never been happier.”
For aspiring designers, who want to be featured in next year’s Fringe Fashion Show, Courtney Perry, the Director of Fashion on the Fringe, had some quick tidbits of advice.
“I love someone who has off the wall and crazy ideas,” Perry said. “Bring everything and anything that you can possibly can to the table and try your hardest. This is the venue to get you there.”
To learn more about Arts Asylum and Fashion on the Fringe, visit their website: http://www.theartsasylum.org/
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