Shan Keith has been hands-down my favorite local designer since first meeting him and his designs about five years ago. I was styling a local recording artist and his clothes were pulled for the shoot. Anticipating the unfinished, cheap fabric-laden frocks I had usually encountered from some local designers, he completely shocked me with his retail-ready garments. And like that, I fell in love with his brand, Shan Keith Designs.
With his recent success as one of the finalists in “Under the Gunn,” the Lifetime spin off of “Project Runway,” Shan has finally received the national attention that he deserves. He has been under the gun to produce and showcase a line of his own. That day arrived with the debut of his Fall/Winter 2014 collection titled “Boundless.”
“Boundless” unfolded on Sunday, October 26 at the Plush event space. With about 100 of the area’s most fashionably inclined in attendance, the fashion show also offered its patrons a glimpse of other brands that compliment Shan Keith’s Designs, including SmplyAwsme by Makal Cross, Vauje Accessories and cosmetics line Smear Beauty.
The “Boundless” collection featured a hybrid between conventional silhouettes paired with fabrics that are used more in outer or active wear than your everyday look. During his run on “Under the Gunn,” Keith primarily used this method to create his looks. This collection is a direct reflection.
Using his audition pieces, Keith expounded on what worked to get him a slot on the fashion design competition show.
“The collection derived from the three items I used when I auditioned for ‘Under the Gunn,’” Keith said. “I wanted to use the same resourceful concept of mixing prints and textures and manifest it times 10. I wanted to take it to another level.”
The show presented more than 30 looks – which ranged from ready-to-wear, everyday garments to haute couture event pieces. The collection showcased this season’s trend of rocking the prints and the textures both separate and together. Pairing cheetah and zebra with lace in some of the looks was a daring but effective style choice, and definitely set the collection apart from anything that I’ve seen from design talents this season.
Keith didn’t leave the men out either. Taking a “gender bender” take on pants, the collection featured a pleated over skirt as a suit accessory for the nouveau, fashion risk-taker man. The men’s styling was still very functional by focusing on tailoring with printed accents, all accompanied by lux fabrics such as velvet and silk.
Keith also focused a lot on the entire ambiance of the show. The hair and makeup styling was classic with nude eye shadow, cheeks and nude, pouty lips, while the hair caught your attention with big, soft, teased waves. Key themed accessories were kept to a minimum to focus on the garments. But the key adorned crown designed exclusively by Vauje for the “Boundless” show added an extra “umph” to the specific look.
For his first solo fashion exposé, Keith showed up and showed out. To keep his momentum going, he and fashion stylist J’ron Lavell will be hosting a design and style class entitled “The Merge” taking place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 8 at Plush, 3224 Locust.
For more information about Shan Keith and his work, visit @shankeith1 on Instagram or Shan Keith Designs on Facebook.
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