Kate Wade
Kate Wade always knew she was meant for the apparel design industry. Her love for admiring art, and in particular of the fashion variety, begun as a mere child. Whenever she would ask her mother to buy a piece of clothing, her mother told her she was capable to sew it herself. Kate would then proceed to search through the back of her mother’s closet to find old dresses and repurpose them into shirts and skirts. She says it only took a few of these creative escapades to fall in love with apparel design. Born in Maryland but raised in Katy, Texas, Kate was fortunate enough to frequently travel around the United States and open herself to a variety of cultures and their respective fashion norms. Because of this, Kate became aware at a very young age how fashion trends in America started, traveled, and expanded. As an adult, Kate’s largest source of inspiration comes from admiring start-up companies and labels rally behind the sustainable fashion movement. This new age in the industry, where consumerism is slowly putting greater emphasis on the importance of ethically made fashion, is what makes Kate so passionate about what she does. Kate is eager to see trends that revolve around cheaply made fast fashion to disappear from the runway. It is her wish that the fashion industry will soon encourage a wider variety of interchangeable and versatile pieces for women.
fly. She is entranced by the way such an innocent, simple process can result in one of the most remarkably beautiful miracles found in nature. Fashion allows Kate to intertwine her love for both vintage clothing and modern fabrics into a piece of artwork. Her designs typically reflect this, usually incorporating empire waists, deep pockets, and what she calls “vintage silhouettes with a modern twist.” It is evident from one look at Kate’s work that this idea of silhouetting to tailor toward the body is extremely important to her. In her free time, Kate loves to spend time with her husband Nate, their son Zeke and their dog Charlie. On the weekends, Kate prefers to step away from work life and collect her thoughts while sipping on a “giant cup of coffee.” She also likes to indulge in an occasional bike ride with her family. After graduation, Kate plans to travel to Japan to immerse herself in a brand-new culture. She hopes to draw inspiration from the Japanese way of life and later integrate aspects of their fashion culture into her future designs. In ten years, Kate aspires to work in the television or film industry, designing costumes for major cinematic productions.
Her collection this year was inspired by the transformation that occurs when a chrysalis blossoms into a butter-
Writer: Joanne Xu, Photographer: Michelle Chiou, Model: Madeline Wells, HMUA: Saumya Gupta, Layout: Izy Scott 122