By Alexia Hill – Photos by Roxanna Carrasco
If you’ve never heard of Meow Wolf, prepare to be amazed and confused, and overall experience fashion like never before.
Denver Fashion Week (DFW), which took place from Nov. 12-20, showcased Meow Wolf’s Convergence Station collection created by Kate Major, a designer for the company. This was Major’s first ever runway collection, titled “TRASH.”
“Inside of our exhibit there’s a lot of references to trash, it’s a whole bunch of different dimensions and one of those dimensions is a trash dimension,” Major said. “And personally I like to reuse everything I can because the fashion industry is a huge polluter and I don’t want to be a part of that so it’s all made out of recycled or reused things like scraps from other projects or straight up trash.”
Major began her career in the fashion industry working retail, and then became a stylist prior to working at Meow Wolf. She worked with the costume department for companies like Cirque Du Soleil.
“When I got to Meow Wolf, it really kind of just happened naturally,” Major said. “It fell into like, ‘I think I can make this cool thing’ and getting inspiration from what we have here [at the Convergence Station exhibit.]”
Meow Wolf is best described as an immersive art experience. There are three locations all located in the Southwest: Santa Fe, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Denver, Colorado. Its mission is “to inspire creativity through art, exploration, and play so that imagination will transform our worlds,” according to the Meow Wolf website. Each location has a different theme and exhibits, i.e. Major works at the “Convergence Station.”
Model Arís Robles-Cruson walked for Meow Wolf, dressed in a mix-matched dress of triangle-shaped textiles with an emphasis on the bulky shoulder pieces. Cruson described the collection as “eclectic, amazing” and “something you’d see in an alternate reality.”
Photo by Roxanna Carrasco (@roxieeeee_ on Instagram)
The show began with a funky and upbeat tempo and a show-stopping first design – a model dressed as a bloodshot eyeball, decorated with black fringe and a blood red clothing under. Models took on a new persona while on stage in these designs – the eyeball design almost tip-toed its way around the crowd.
“It’s been a crazy process. It’s actually really cool because a lot of the looks are ones that I made just to put on mannequins in our retail space without the intention of ever having a human wear them, but now people get to wear them,” Major said. “I had half my collection like that and half my collection I made specifically for this, so it’s been really fun to have a mix of those things.”
Every model wore a flat, neon mask with colored vinyl eye cut-outs and some sort of headdress, whether that be a detailed bald cap, a hat or a full-on hood or headcovering. According to an article by 303 Magazine, the designer describes her designs as, “weird, avant garde, maximalist and colorful; the opposite of her personal style. She likes creating extravagant looks that allow people to use their imaginations.”
Photo by Roxanna Carrasco (@roxieeeee_ on Instagram)
Model Amy Kessler walked for Meow Wolf in her first DFW last week, and she said that it was a great experience.
“I love the collection, I love how it was an accentuation on like regular streetwear in a way, like it was something you could maybe see on the street but extra,” Kessler said. “I really liked the animal parts she added into it like the chicken suit, but it was all made out of upcycled clothing and none of it was new fabric.”
The design she flaunted on the runway was an orange and yellow dress, decked out with cards people actually used at the Convergence Station exhibit. Kessler even posted a photo of herself in the design on her Instagram story with the caption, “And to think I’m wearing people’s memories.”
My personal favorite look from “TRASH” was an all-white bodysuit with a colorful, geometric-patterned, vinyl top and skirt set. Paired with a white mask and decorated bald cap, this model embodied the character incredibly well, walking briskly down the runway to not just pose at the end, but bow.
Overall, Meow Wolf’s runway debut was a ‘major’ success, and DFW participants were blown away. With each look that walked in, the crowd exclaimed and cheered as the weird and exciting story of “TRASH” unraveled.
“It went super well, I feel so relieved that it’s over,” Major said.“I’m gonna take four days off and sleep. I don’t even know what’s next, I can’t wait to find out, there’s so many projects I want to do. Fingers crossed for more runways, I’m already planning next year.”
Major’s mind works in ways I can’t even imagine, and I can’t wait to see what she designs next. She explained she hopes that one day she’s able to auction off her pieces and donate the proceeds. According to Major, the Denver fashion industry has a lot of cool things happening.
I can hardly wait for my next trip out here.
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