Calamity Janes

Calamity!
WHEN: 8 p.m., Thursday, May 20
WHERE: The Lab Theater, 700 First St. N.
TICKETS: $12 in advance/$15 at door (Sold at Cliché boutique)

Collectives are so hot right now. Think La Nouvelle Femme, the Rain Collective, 1419 art collective … the list goes on. Talented folks just flock together, and the ladies behind Calamity! are no different. After participating in a variety of homegrown fashion shows, young designers and University of Minnesota students Emily Bryngelson, Kathryn Sterner, Niki English and Amanda Chaffin came together to form Minneapolis Fashion Initiative, a group with a “desire to shift the face of local fashion toward a more tangible local industry.”
Their first project? The fashion show Calamity!, dedicated to street style and focused on showcasing their talents to a new crowd of Twin Cities fashionistas and stylish gents.
After using the concept of found objects to spark their creativity and inspiration, the designers set to work creating their lines, which stress the importance of versatile separates.
“We’re all bringing something to the show. It’s not just a show of dresses,” said Bryngelson. “We want the audience to think, ‘Oh, I want that skirt to wear with this thing I already have.’ ”
The designers secured a venue — the spacious and modern Lab Theater — and hired Ignite models to walk the show.
“I think it’s bigger than we thought it would be,” Sterner said. Cliché , where Sterner and Bryngelson sell their respective lines Kathryn V. and Tender Cuts, signed on to sponsor, as did Taj Salon and Grain Belt beer. Their friend DJ Famuel , a mashup artist, will provide the soundtrack.
“Two thirds of our meetings are crazy ideas [for the show],” Sterner said. “But when we all agree, then we go for it,” added Bryngelson.
Since each involved designer has her own style and aesthetic, don’t expect Calamity! to have a restrictive overarching theme. Bryngelson describes her line of 10 looks as “a cross between a trunk of granny stuff and youthful, but eclectic [separates].” She’s using floral prints and polka-dots alongside a palette of teal, periwinkle and melon.
Sterner, working with graphic artist Scott Ray , has been busy experimenting with dyeing fabrics in zesty yellows and turquoise. She’s showing rompers and short-shorts in a ’60s style, accented with animal-print patterns.
According to Bryngelson and Sterner, English’s line will be “edgy, strong, and pow!” She’s broadening her futuristic, punk-influenced style by experimenting with pants and shorts. Chaffin is showing the collection of ladylike separates she presented (and won for) at Artopia. For Calamity, she’s planning to punk it up a little with accessories and bright shawls.
As for the name of their brainchild, the ladies said it was quite the ordeal to decide on the appropriate word.
“It gets across our point of doing something new,” said Bryngelson.
”It’s a malleable word and it means something different to everyone,” Sterner added.