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Mountain Brook student designs to be featured in fashion week

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Photo courtesy of Kathryn Sours.

Birmingham Fashion Week

Buttermilk cartons could make their way down the runway during Birmingham Fashion Week thanks to a design by Mountain Brook High School sophomore Kathryn Sours. She is one of the 38 semi-finalists for the Rising Design Star competition. 

Each contestant crafted a garment representing one of Alabama’s major industries (agriculture, livestock, transportation, technology, fishing, forestry and mining) with recycled or alternative materials such as glue, staples, tape, safety pins and paper clips. These garments were on display at the Birmingham Museum of Art through April 26. 

To craft the dress, Kathryn created a base using a shower curtain and then duct taped and stapled the dark green Barber Dairy cartons to create a sleeveless crop top and A-line high waisted skirt.

“It was challenging making the skirt and shirt and getting the shower curtain to form the shape to use the model,” Kathryn said. “Once I did that, putting the cartons on was the easiest part.”

Kathryn has enjoyed drawing and designing clothes since a she was a little kid and loves shopping and making outfits. She recalls filling up the blank legal pads her dad would bring home for her with drawings. However, she has never learned to sew, so the competition stipulations were perfect for her.

In the meantime, she’s dreaming of designing her own fashion line one day.

Kathryn has already asked a friend, Julia Ferreira who attends Highlands Day School, to model her design on the runway if she makes it to the next round.

“I am really excited,” Kathryn said. “I can’t believe I got picked, I did not expect it.”

A select number of contestants will advance to the final round of the competition to showcase their design on the Birmingham Fashion Week runway Thursday, May 7 and Friday, May 8. In addition to their initial runway look, the design students selected to progress to the next round will also be required to create a second look from recycled Buffalo Rock Co. materials to walk the runway and compete for the sought-after title of Birmingham Fashion Week’s Rising Design Star. Semifinalists will move on to the final round of judging during the finale runway show on Saturday, May 9, with the winner will be announced that evening and awarded a $500 scholarship.

Another Mountain Brook native, Seline Meisler, a student at the University of Alabama, will also showcase her designs during Fashion Week as a part of the Emerging Designer Competition. In order to be considered for the competition, each applicant submitted at least eight clothing sketches, create a digital mood board that describes what inspired each design and underwent in-person interview sessions with a team of judges. 

The Emerging Designer winner will announced during Saturday’s runway finale and receive a grand prize package including a guaranteed spot at BFW 2016’s runway show, a television appearance, editorial piece, photo shoot with a BFW professional photographer including hair and makeup, as well as a $1,000 scholarship.

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