This is Kirsty’s third time appearing in [FAT]. She is presenting her collection Year of the Tiger.
So you are scheduled to show off your work on day four, which is themed ‘joy’. How does this theme tie in with your collection?
Bright bright colours, stuffed tiger hats, butterflies – how could you not feel the joy? But as always, I like to give it a bad-ass twist- you can’t have all sugar and no SPICE!

If you could give your collection a one-word theme what would it be?
TIGER.

What do you, as a designer, get out of Alternative Fashion Week that you can’t get anywhere else?
A unique and fantastic event that combines both art and fashion in my hometown!

Describe your own personal style.
Bright colours, lots of animal and psychedelic prints – all at once! Flowers or pompoms in the hair. Big-ass sparkly rings!

Toronto east or Toronto west?
West.

Did you ever have a major ah-ha! Moment? Tell us about it.
Hmmmm…like in yo face, take that-ah ha? Or in my mind a-ha? I think I have those daily.

As a kid, were you doing anything that, in retrospect, may have lead up to what you are doing now?
Ohhh totally – especially with this collection – the colours, the cats, the imagination – they were all there… I saw my first drag queen as a young’un – and I was spellbound: “Mom – did you see that lady??? Did you see her nails?” Hey, I coulda been a drag queen – there were some racy Madonna lipsync routines at camp talent shows!

What are you most likely to be doing at 2 a.m. on a Saturday night?
Workin’ my tail off in my studio, or snuggled up with a movie.

If you weren’t doing what you are doing now, what would you be doing?
Hmmm…that’s a tough one! If I couldn’t be an artist of some kind, I wouldn’t want to exist!

What’s your favourite item in your closet?
Hmmm…there’s a few faves, but maybe my handmade red polyester bellbottoms with purple flowers!

What’s a summer 2010 trend that you won’t be wearing?
I don’t even know what they are.

Most aggravating part of the job?
Having too many ideas and not enough hands to create them.

Most gratifying?
Seeing it all come together – especially at the show, when the styling is full blown and the models look like my little pets.