Kansas City Fashion Week is back for its 19th season. Since hosting its 1st show, it’s expanded from 3 nights to 4 and has raised $20,000+ for local charities.
How to attend
- Friday’s show is sold out, but there are still tickets available for tonight and the final show on Saturday here.
- The shows take place on the 2nd floor of the East parking garage at Oak Park Mall between Nordstrom and Macy’s. Park on the 1st floor.
- Enter through the Nordstrom store entrance.
- Doors open at 6 p.m. Thursday with the show starting at 7 p.m. Pro Tip: Arrive early for photo ops
What you’ll see
~250 models will strut the runway this year. Men and women will be wearing outfits made by tenured designers like Joshua J. Chris — a season 9 contestant on Project Runway and a former menswear designer at Guess inc. — and new creators like Spacecamp Studios — whose founder, Rebecca Hollar, was a KCFW model turned designer.
Looks range from formalwear to street style. The House of Pamela Renee’, a special occasion collection featured in Saturday’s show, spotlights mixed navy and white color schemes with pops of classic gold accents.
Trend forecasting
Who What Wear — a fashion brand that produces trend reports — released key trends that will pop up through 2022. The brand indicates elevated comfort + athleisure wear carrying over from this season. Plus, new additions like statement outerwear and colorful suits in lilac and green. Cuts are predicted to be slimmer and less oversized than past seasons.
Local designer Rebecca Hollar predicts her spring sketches will hone in on warm-tone colors — think: red, orange, and yellow. Whereas Meghann Wheelock is turning her attention to silhouettes. As pants get baggier, she says tops will become more fitted — with an overall projection of fewer oversized articles going forward.
Q+A with designer Meghann Wheelock 🧵
Q: Describe GOEX Apparel.
A: We are a fair-trade apparel company in Kansas City. We make basics and some fashion items as well. We have a screenprinting shop where we do custom graphics — in addition to our online graphic tees + apparel — that we sell in our retail space.
Q: Where did the inspiration for your fall line come from?
A: Our fall line is a lot about color and mixing color in new, fun ways. We mixed standard fall colors like wine and olive with brights like neon green and pink to add a fresh, fun and happy feel to traditional color ways. We did some special graphics for this show that are all about sustainability, loving the planet, and women’s empowerment. The overall theme is feel good and do good.
Q: Who do you look to as the trendsetter when it comes to style and, more specifically, your designs?
A: With basics, you have to look a lot at streetwear. We often look at brands like Asos to see what kind of colors they’re pushing. A couple of my inspirations are T.R. Brown and Hope Macaulay.
