Artist and designer Michael Thomas – who goes by his initials MCT – began experimenting with mixed media art about a year and a half ago. His inspiration blossomed out of a want to create and communicate the human experience, unveiling universal truths about the human condition.
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“I believe in and feel that we’re on a spiritual journey and that the point of our existence is to unify with others to not separate ourselves,” MCT described.
Many of his pieces illustrate the shared human experience of overcoming addiction and finding recovery, created by a mix of acrylic, spray paint and oil. His most recent collection includes artwork that outlines the 12-step method, walking onlookers over the emotions felt at each step. Around the middle of the collection, the art begins to feel more exciting. “In the 12-step literature, they say that you’re gonna be amazed before we’re halfway through. And that starts at step five, step six. You’re halfway through 12. And so that’s why that amazement starts here,” he described.
Although his art includes meaningful pieces like “Cover Up,” “Four Absolutes” and “Bone Crusher,” — we’re here to talk about fashion. MCT is a color-depth artist, with most of his work appearing in 3D when viewed with depth glasses. It’s all about bold colors, rich textures and multi-layered surfaces. He’s new to the fashion game and only dabbled when his graphic designer brought up the idea of creating merchandise.
“I took one of the paintings and I uploaded it on the fabric and it gave me error messages because photographs are different resolutions. But I ignored it and was like, oh, whatever, it’s fine. And I made a jacket, and it came out amazing,” he said smiling.
Described as “Wearable Art,” his complete spread now includes shirts, hoodies, pants, leggings, dresses, shoes, bags and accessories. Entitled Shadow Angels, the collection represents his spiritual pantheistic art universe, each piece illustrating a unique story about our journey through darkness to find our inner light.
“I like that I can wear my art,” MCT said. “I like that others can wear my art. And I like that my art is about something because there’s a lot of fashion that is just fashion and doesn’t have a story behind it. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But I think about how much more empowered I feel when I wear something that I understand the meaning behind it.”
Following his recent collection, MCT will make his Denver Fashion Week debut this coming week on November 14 during the Streetwear & Sneakers show. With art pieces printed on a streetwear collection, attendees can look forward to a theatrical production with bright colors and bold designs. As his art can come off as 3D, MCT will provide attendees with exclusive color depth glasses for a full immersive experience.
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“We’re gonna represent all three of the worlds — the good, the bad and the good plus bad,” he described. “This’ll be very exciting and theatrical. So you’re going to see a lot of reds and blues and then some greens. And then you’ll also see the models with the paintings on stage. So it’ll be a very direct tie between the art and what they’re wearing.”
Although Streetwear & Sneakers Night will house many immensely talented designers, attend and experience MCT’s mixture of mixed media artwork and fashion, creating a fully hypnotic display.
Shadow Angels will present at Denver Fashion Week on Tuesday, November 14, at the Streetwear & Sneakers Show. Visit the official Denver Fashion Week website for more information and purchase tickets for DFW fall ’23 here.