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Portland, Oregon, home of one of the most premier fashion weeks on the West Coast, just wrapped up its seventh annual runway show this past weekend. FashioNXT does not fall too far behind New York Fashion Week when it comes to national recognition. Mason Burns, a senior in Kansas State University’s Apparel and Textile Design program, was among the talented designers invited to exhibit their work on the runway. It is rare of FashioNXT to invite a student, although Mason’s, unique, limited-run streetwear pieces made the cut.
“Projections of the Mind was created to showcase my original ideas. My designs ensure quality and are pieced together with unexpected materials”, Mason explained about his brand. “I focus on creating garments made from scraps, not scratch, to focus on reusing pieces of high quality that already exist and turn them into streetwear garments.”
Mason designs everything from his studio room at his house here in Manhattan. In his experiences with manufacturing through another company, he has found that there is more disconnect. “I decided that I will always want to make my own designs because I like the idea that I have one-hundred percent control over the construction of my pieces, and am able to stand behind my work and tell stories about the process”, says Mason. “Transparency is very important to me.”
Mason also explained that the best part of being apart of FashioNXT was getting to speak to a lot of different people and receive helpful feedback. “It was a big confidence boost to see a lot of different types of people interested in purchasing in my designs. There wasn’t a certain age or dress style that was particularly interested, which was great to see.”
