Meow Wolf’s Costume Designer Kate Major Talks Her Denver Fashion Week Collection

Meow Wolf is showcasing their first ever collection at Denver Fashion Week (DFW) on Tuesday, Nov. 15 and costume designer Kate Major is the face of it. Themed TRASH, Major took inspiration from the trash planet in Meow Wolf’s exhibit Convergence Station. 

“The broader idea is that it ties into the exhibit,” Major said. “But also a lot of it is just the way I like to normally work by recycling and reusing things that would otherwise become trash.” 

Purchase your Denver Fashion Week tickets HERE and see Major’s Meow Wolf debut collection.

READ: Meow Wolf’s First Ever Fashion Collection to Debut at Denver Fashion Week

Prior to Meow Wolf, Major was a costumier for touring entertainment like Ringling Bros and Cirque du Soleil. There, she helped upkeep their costumes. Though she always designed for herself, it wasn’t until her work with Meow Wolf that she got her big break.

“When Convergence Station was opening, I got really inspired to design some crazy stuff,” Major said. “It’s been a really good environment to design in.”

Photo courtesy of Kate Major, one of Major’s designs

For Major, developing her concepts is relatively easy when constantly being surrounded by immersive art. She said that during creative roadblocks she likes to walk around her exhibit and find inspiration from the art showcased.

READ: Denver Fashion Week Hosts a Pop Up Shop and Fashion Show at Meow Wolf

“When I can’t think of an idea I just wander the exhibit like “oh, based on this how can I create a creature?” Major said. “It’s a super fun place to be and there is no better place to come up with ideas and just wander through.”

Major describes her designs as weird, avant garde, maximalist and colorful; the opposite of her personal style. She likes creating extravagant looks that allow people to use their imaginations.

“If people see anything that I make and go “wow that’s wild,” I feel like I’ve really done my job,” Major said.

Through each crazy design, Major emphasizes that everything is reused and recycled.

During her time at Meow Wolf, she created a character named Sleevy Nicks; made out of hundreds of sleeves that she cut up. Major has also turned cards used throughout the exhibit into an outfit — needless to say, being sustainable is the backbone of her DFW collection.

“I really wanted to push that everything is reused and recycled because it’s so important in fashion,” Major said. “The other thing is, if anybody is inspired by seeing the looks they all tie into our exhibit in some way, you’ll have to come and see what exhibit to figure out where they all came from.”

Major’s designs are scattered throughout the Meow Wolf gift shop and Convergence Station exhibit. 

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Purchase your Denver Fashion Week tickets HERE and see Major’s Meow Wolf debut collection.