Kat Marks

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Blurring the lines between art, fashion and film, this young Canadian based in London is causing more than a passing sensation. Kat Marks, with only 24 years of life under her arm, is already showing a maturity, depth and complexity far beyond her age.

Hailing from the tumble-weed province of Alberta, Canada, Marks quickly moved to Toronto at the tender age of 19 to enrol at Ryerson University. After completing her BA in Fashion Design, she quickly moved overseas, settling at London’s College of Fashion, where she garnered much attention with her creations for the MA in Fashion Artefacts.

Kat Marks

Like pieces of architecture, moulding the body, her creations may bring to mind those horrible artefacts used in medicine to aid the deformed body. Yet this is not a provocative shout for attention. Based on Kat’s experience of actually having to wear a scoliosis brace for two years, she sculpts her pieces from rigid materials such as plastics, breathing a haunting and sensual element into her designs. This is where the horrible gives birth to new and exciting, beautiful forms. All throughout history, women have endured pain unlimited to comply with the diktats of fashion. To a lesser degree, this still goes on today. Marks challenges one to remember the history of fashion, while living in the present and keeping her eye firmly on the future.

Kat Marks

Starting with “Infundibulum: Amazing Brace”, this is a collection comprised of corset-like pieces. The juicy red, honed to a patent-shine piece is a sight to behold. Interspersed between the photos are x-rays, shots of smoke reminiscent of bones and tendons and liquid effects that potentate that bodily sensation.

Kat Marks

“Sirens of Titan” Kat mixes exaggerated volumes with her body constricting pieces. Set against an Arctic backdrop, white, black and red brilliantly vibrate, creating a glorious visions.

Kat Marks

“Yugas Elder” demonstrates a different type of body restriction. This time around, the face is the key element, cleverly hidden beneath white, lace-like lattice work. Although the covering appears to fine, upon closer inspection, it has an almost ceramic look to it.

But the collections and creations do not stop there. Not content with clothes, Marks’ scope is far reaching and she has created a film, “The Granfalloon”, where strange settings and futuristic body pieces collide to construct a parallel world.

Kat Marks

Citing such diverse references and inspirations such as professors in both Toronto and London, the author Kurt Vonnegut and film directors David Lynch and David Cronenberg, the girl has a mind that never stops. In a world where the easy and pre-packaged seems the name of the game, Kat Marks is raising the bar on creativity while demonstrating that fashion can be more than just a shallow, popularity fight among brands.