In 2009 I had just started “a little blog”, StyleDefined and had taken on Parsons student, Alex Sweterlitsch as an intern. The queer nightlife + streetstyle of the blog had attracted some people in the fashion world and suddenly I was being invited to fashion shows. However, many of the shows I was invited to were too commercial and conventional for me and our distinctly downtown audience.
Alex suggested that we feature his friend Katie. Although she was essentially unknown at the time Alex had complete belief in her. When I met Katie it was clear that there was something special about her. She came across as delicate and yet quietly determined. She knew who she was and followed her own path. Seeing her first collection it was clear that she was her own muse. That juxtaposition of ephemeral yet strong showed up in every look she made.
“The thing I’ll remember the most about her was how fiercely true she was to her creative vision.” shared our fashion editor Francesca Vuillemin recently.
And Katie never stopped creating. She was in the process of creating her 27th collection and from all accounts was very excited about it. Her family has created A GoFundMe account with the money used towards finishing her collection and “beyond this, we, her family, aspire for this fund to be the seed money for a foundation to be started in Katie’s name to support future projects and initiatives that will preserve Katie’s legacy, celebrate her life’s work, and help other artists achieve their hopes, dreams, and goals.”
If you knew Katie or were inspired by her work please consider contributing.
Below is the original video interview from 2009.
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