story by Landon Peoples
photos by Martin Bielecki
Morgan Carper’s Spring 2012 presentation was one of the most serene occasions this season, with clothes to match. The presentation included a background of live cacti amidst sprinkled sand and rocks, adding to the Southwestern feel Carper brought with her custom-made patterns. The designer herself exudes innate talent, a healthy soul, and a family-oriented heart, which was represented eloquently by her collection. Her inspiration, photography of the natural landscapes of Arizona during a vacation with her husband, was crystal clear with her plethoric uses of textiles ranging across leather, chiffon, silk, knits and sequins.
With an impressive background in textiles, leave it to Carper to turn her inspiration of snakeskin into sequins. “At first, I was worried about matching some of the textures together. But I felt the need to use them, so I used them with color to blend in with the other neutrals,” Carper said.
Many pieces were quite simple – rose leather shorts paired with a white tunic, a belted knit dress, or even just a jumper with a tailored top-half – but not a single aspect of detail was left out on any garment. What may seem like a plain black crepe dress was quite the contrary when the wooden buttons and picot edging came to life. Even down to the neckpieces, the jewelry was inspired by bolos and hand-cast to fit Carper’s inspiration.
“Flowy fabrics are a lot easier for me to work with, but when I work with structure, it becomes more of a challenge, which makes it exciting and more developed,” Carper admitted. Morgan Carper’s Spring 2012 collection let the clothing speak for itself, which will undoubtedly propel this emerging designer into the closets of young bohemian fashionistas everywhere.
