Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting Major/ Fiber Minor 2007, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
PONOPLY Fashion Show, The Empire Room, Kansas City, MO, 2007.
2007 Annual Senior BFA Exhibition, H and R Blockspace, Kansas City, MO, 2007.
On the Hook Off the Wall, Crossroads Gallery, Kansas City, MO, 2006.
Beaux Arts Fashion Show, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO, 2006.
Lead Costume Designer, Quixotic Performance Ensemble, Kansas City, May 07 - Present
Costume Repair , Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City, MO, August 06- Dec 06.
As an artist and designer my main concentration is to use fabrics to manipulate the appearance of the feminine form. While my garments are very easy to wear and less theatrical than that of an evening gown , they still maintain enough sense of drama to stand on their own as art pieces and transcend the everyday.
My work consists of clothing that is created and displayed in a stereotypical manner yet also explores the idea of transformation. The garments are made with the intention of being worn specifically on a fashion runway or in photographs in order to display the change in character of the wearer. Each piece is inspired by the delicacies and camouflage of various insects and their exoskeletons, and how the natural cycles of bugs and people are both to seduce and deny.
My garments portray these ideas mostly through my color choice and use of different textures. In this set of designs I have chosen to use blacks and grays mostly, with several accents of color like aqua and gold. My fabrics are chosen specifically for their tactility, some of which being metallic and eye catching while others remain lush and canorous. These fabrics are then further manipulated to resemble different aspects of the arthropod.
My goal is to emulate certain facets of the insect to push the change in character further by way of manipulation of fabric, color and shape in reference to the body. Each garment concentrates on the structured and textural aspects of the beetle that I have chosen to appropriate for that specific garment. The basic idea is to transpose the beauty of the insect onto that of the female form, while not replicateing it completely. My intentions are not to create costumes, but to create a wearable garment that shadows the beauty of the beetle and displays the recreation of personality in the wearer.
While my garments are made to look like specific insects, I am also interested in how this idea reacts to the female form. Each garment is designed to flatter the wearer while still maintaining a slight sense of fantasy and awkwardness.
It is important to me that I am creating clothing that allows the woman to transform. This to me is why fashion is so important. It is indulgent and allows us to be someone or something we might not ordinarily be, even if it is just for a short period of time.
4104 Warwick Apt 105 Kansas City, MO, 64111
(918)-260-8140
summmerose@yahoo.com
www.myspace.com/itsjustrust