Photo by Stewart O'Shields
It does not fit in the box. Everything from the garment designs to the company name cannot be neatly put into one category or another. I have tried to come up with the correct terminology to describe
Kati Foster’s KatDog Couture and Intergalactic Kitty, but I am stumped. The
Asheville Fashion Week (AFW) designer has successfully managed to build a business model that my four years at college have not yet covered. Kati-1 College-0
The freethinker pranced onto the Asheville fashion scene about five years ago, but it is only within the last two years that she has taken residence in her own studio. The designer has two brands –
KatDog Couture and
Intergalactic Kitty. Both of the brands incorporate Foster’s unique aesthetic, but Intergalactic Kitty produces one of kind garments that are a collaboration between the designer and the consumer. Under the brand
KatDog Couture, Foster produces ready to wear garments for retailers. KatDog Couture is currently carried in three different locations:
The Circle, in West Asheville, and both
Avedian Coast and
Instant Karma on Lexington Ave. Foster sparked my interest when started talking about KatDog Couture in Instant Karma.
“The newest store to carry my stuff is Instant Karma, and they just came under new ownership. And they’re a good example of what I’m going for because they like my stuff… and they wanted to work with me… they like what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, and they just wanted to pick out a design off of the library of designs that I’m working with. And they picked these scarves that you can wear multiple ways and they carry the scarves. So for instance, if I can like get in with several stores or production companies and they want to work with
this design, then that design is only in the that store. Instant Karma is the only
[shop] to carry that scarf now. They were originally done in a different material, but Instant Karma wanted them in a shear fabric so they would be more lightweight. So that’s that they got. It’s like Instant Karma scarves, and they’re doing really well. It’s really cool because they picked it out and I made it especially for them, and they’re happy with it.”
Through KatDog Couture, Foster is putting a twist on mass customization and private labels by taking them down to a local level. She designs a product, collaborates with a local retailer to customize it, and then produces however many copies they want. That product then becomes exclusive to that particular retailer. Now I’m a business
minor, and I might I have slept through the class where they explained the term for this business model or production process. However, this is new to me, and I definitely think this is a profitable venture for various retailers because Kati Foster has a lot to offer in creative clothing and accessories.
“I’d like for other stores to see something of mine that they would want to carry and contact me and be like, ‘We really love those hood dresses that you’re doing. Would you be interested in doing them for our store?’ Yeah, I would make them for your store and your store only.”
To learn more about KatDog Couture, be sure to check out the
KatDog Couture Facebook page and
Instagram. Kati Foster is also a featured designer in Asheville Fashion Week, so be sure to get your tickets
online and get a sneak peek at one of her garments in the August issue of
Sophie Magazine.
Photo above right by What's Her Face Photography
Photo above left by Dathan Brannon