This Week's Featured Artist: Khamphian Vang

We are very excited to be introducing you to our final featured artist!  Khamphian's designs will be highlighted on the runway this Saturday at the Secret Garden Fashion Show!!

Khamphian Vang is first and foremost an artist.  Experimenting with a variety of art forms has led to her medium of choice, fabric. Her love of fabric started at an early age while watching her grandmother and mother sew paj ntaub, or flower cloth, which is a traditional Hmong textile art form. She loves the process of draping and manipulating the fabric.  She works very organically, getting her inspiration from how the fabric behaves.  Her background is in Theatre Arts & Costume Design where she learned to design with a purpose.  Khamphian believes fashion is about personal style and individualism – “Each of us is a character.  The clothes we wear reflect who we are and the life we lead.” 

All the world’s a stage,

And all men and women merely players:

They have their exits and entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts. 

-William Shakespeare, As You Like It

 
Khamphian’s design vision focuses on comfort and ease without sacrificing style.  She designs clothing based on how real women dress for their real, moving lives.  “Fashion is our journey in clothes; it takes us through one stage of life to the next.”  She designs for the woman that is versatile and embraces the duality of fashion and style, feminine/masculine, vintage/modern, soft/structured, varying textures and prints.  In her Spring 2011 collection, she brings these ideals to life in bright and patterned pieces inspired by one of her favorite artists, Frida Kahlo:

Alice Kossow to Fashion Week

Alice Kossow is another one of our designers whose fashions you will be seeing on the runway at the Secret Garden Fashion Show next weekend!  Alice has been attending UW Stout working toward a degree in Apparel Design.  Her design label, A Unlimited, is characterized by bright colors and modern designs.

We are very excited to be outfitting our models in her designs to showcase for you at the fashion show.  Below are a few pictures of her work, but you will have to come to the Secret Garden Fashion Show to see more examples of her excellent work!

-jen

Miss Ireen Handmade to Fashion Week!!

Things have been busy here at Triptophonic Studios as we get ready for the Secret Garden Fashion Show!  We apologize for posting late and leaving  you with nothing to read and look at last week.  With that said, we will commence the blogging!

Miss Ireen Handmade is this entry's featured artist. We are very excited to be able to showcase her work for you.  Miss Ireen creates lovely jewelry as well as bags and plush toys.  Her designs are colorful, sparkly and eclectic, and will be great for accessorizing all your summer outfits!  I for one cannot wait to add some of her jewelry to my collection!  Make sure to check out her blog (link below) to see more of her beautiful creations!

-jen

http://missireen.blogspot.com/

Brooke Burch to Fashion Week!

Brooke Burch is an Apparel Design and Development student at UW-Stout who just returned from studying fashion design in London!  We are very excited to be able to showcase her work for you on the runway at the Secret Garden Fashion Show!

Brooke describes her work as "fun, adorned, edgy, yet functional women's wear with a sophisticated flair. I have been known to step out of the box and try completely different styles, however.  I like very feminine, one-of-a-kind garments.  I mix materials and sometimes tear apart other items and incorporate them into my designs."

We have posted some photos below to give you an idea of what you will be seeing at the event, but you can also get more information about Brooke's work on her Facebook page.

Brooke is heading into her last year at UW-Stout, perhaps soon we will be seeing her work on the runways in New York, London and Paris in the very near future!