KC designers — and dogs — strut their stuff at one-of-a-kind fashion show
Hip Hop Week brought the big dogs for their KC “Fit Check” Fashion Show on Saturday.
The hip-hop-inspired show featured local Kansas City designers, models — Including some special four-legged models — and performers, bringing the fashion world of KC together. The event, at Tree Room KC, was hosted by Rasheeda Jaree, a committee member for planning the hip-hop-themed week.
The KC brands showcased were NT2W, Calisha Couture, Slayed by Jigglee, Hater Free, Deep Rooted and Street Caviar.
The theme for the show was “Fit-Check.”
Elite style
Calisha Couture brought craftsmanship clothing designed from scratch, said founder Calisha Johnson.
“My collection is me. It comes from the deepest part of me. I dream of clothes. I eat, sleep, drink fashion,” Johnson said.
The brand was founded in 2009, after Johnson began sewing in 1989.
“More people are getting to know me and who I am as an artist, as a fashion designer, and as a creative here in Kansas City,” she said.
She described the preparation process for the show as intense, but fun and invigorating. Johnson is the coordinator for the show; she says it’s helped her come out of her shell.
“We’re infusing hip-hop with fashion and with visual art,” she said.
Attendees enjoyed performance art, dance and local artist performances.
“Essentially, it’s a motif of different concepts of dance, art, fashion, photography, making sure that the garment is fit and checked, and they put that on,” she said.
She’s honored to showcase her work with the show, along with the other designers, Johnson said.
“It means a lot to me,” she said.
Blocking the haters
Hater Free brought out the dogs at the fashion show. They’ve collaborated with STS K9, a competitive and show dog training company, to have canines walk the runway.
“We’re hoping that the fashion show really shows the type of player we are; something unique,” said Shawn Don, strategic creative consultant for the brand.
Hater Free’s clothing line focuses on keeping free of little things life that make you wanna give up, said Don.
“‘We smoke the haters,” Don said. In Missouri, legal customers can get one-eighth of an ounce of cannabis free with the purchase of apparel, she said.
At the show, they displayed every element of hip-hop: emceeing, DJing, dance, graffiti art, and fashion, she said.
“It’s been a long journey, but I’m excited. I think we did everything we could to step outside of the box of what modeling or a fashion show should look like, and I think we really encompassed the elements of hip-hop,” said Don.
Hip-hop culture looks different for everybody since no individual or neighborhood is the same, she said.
“When it comes to Kansas City, we kinda embody what a melting pot of hip-hop looks like,” she said.
The city mixes old school, industrial and mainstream to make a hip-hop style and sound that is completely its own, said Don.
“We’ve always been here, even though sometimes the narrative is painted that we’re overlooked,” she said.
Street meets sophisticated
Street Caviar displayed authenticity, creativity and self-expression with statement pieces at the hip-hop fashion show.
“It being a streetwear brand, it’s very much immersed in the hip-hop scene, and that’s where I draw a lot of my inspiration,” said Tommy Love, founder and CEO of Street Caviar Clothing Company. The storefront is all digital.
She said she draws inspiration for her brand from seeing Kansas Citians out and about, and also from her family, watching them put outfits together from childhood.
“The whole mission behind Street Caviar, the whole reason why I started it, is to share us (Black people). A lot of things in fashion and in the world today are taken from our fashion sense and the culture around us in the inner city,” said Love.
The word “caviar” represents exclusivity, and the word “street” grounds us in urban culture, where designs draw inspiration from real people and real stories, she said. The brand is committed to creating fashion that’s both accessible and aspirational, she said.
“Being a part of Kansas City Hip-Hop Week and the fashion show just made the most sense to place ourselves, with us being a hip-hop streetwear brand,” Love said.
