Kate Barton has been on the fast track to success since debuting her MA thesis collection at Savannah College of Art and Design. The designer received an award for innovation at the Mittelmoda competition at Milan Fashion Week, was selected for the CFDA Fashion Future Graduate Showcase, and featured in publications including Vogue Italia and ELLE.

Barton is now taking her innovative techniques and unconventional materials to a wider audience. Before her New York Fashion Week debut, we caught up with the emerging designer to see what to expect.

How would you describe your label?

A modern, innovative, and conscionable take on evening wear. With a focus on technology, shape-engineering and avant-garde draping methods, the brand’s sculpturally draped garments explore innovative approaches and hold serendipitous sustainable advances. The brand’s fabric-first approach, ingenious cutting methods, and unconventional material combinations exceed the limit of what expected evening wear looks like, and feels like, to wear.

What does it mean to you to be on the Official NYFW this season?

It means a lot to have the support and trust of the CFDA so early. I am very excited to be listed among such remarkable brands this season and I can’t wait for February 13^th.

Can you describe your collection inspiration? What should we expect?

Rather than theme-driven seasonal collections, I aspire to enhance my singular processes. My collections are experimental rather than referential. Building on the singular aesthetic I affirmed with my introductory collection, I delved into developmental fabric with innovative and sustainable manipulation methods to give my experiential creations perpetuity – expanding on my exploration of shape and form.

For Fall-Winter 2023, I am excited to be adding in more variation to my approach on modern eveningwear by introducing separates for the first time.