Profile: Karla "Kaine" Bautista – Real Leather Design Competitions

Karla "Kaine" Bautista

SAIC School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Fashion Design BFA

Womenswear, Embroidery, Atelier - Pattern Cutting

My name is Kaine Bautista and I am a recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who specializes in womenswear. I have been showcased in runways such as Perception at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and most recently, I have shown my most recent collection in Eclát at the Epiphany Center for the Arts. Investigation lies at the heart of my creativity, with craftsmanship as my guiding hand. I specialize in transforming intangible themes of memory into tangible art through fabric and garments. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, I explore folklore and science through traditional research, conceptual mind-mapping, non-traditional silhouettes, and handcrafted textiles. The hours invested in creating these textiles allow me to capture beautiful moments in fabric: the etherealness of space rendered in dyed organza, the gleam of metal embodied in leather, a secret language encoded within a print, or an otherworldly texture manifested in knit. With these tools and techniques, I strive to achieve a delicate yet resilient balance in my work, marrying the ephemeral with the enduring. During a recent internship, I began working extensively with leather. For the brand, I crafted a leather studded basketball for the Bulls: Art of the Game showcased at the United Center. Initially challenging, leatherwork has grown to be one of my favorite mediums. The meticulous processes such as hand skiving, gluing, and specialized stitching techniques became deeply meditative for me. Looking forward, my ambition is to establish my own brand. I am drawn to artistic science-fiction inspired clothing that is striking and unique but also garments that blend seamlessly with everyday wear but is also striking and unique. While much of my work is influenced by sci-fi themes, my brand would emphasize slow fashion methods, prioritizing sustainable materials, techniques, and fair labor practices. My ultimate goal is to create clothing and art that reflect my vision while upholding these standards.

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The Space Suit

Category: Apparel

Competitions: International

There is a mist that exists. An amorphous grey and blue, wet thing floating mid air. Lightweight and airy in nature yet near impossible to look through. Objects inside smeared and blurred. The mist crawls, dragging its immensity across the earth. It beckons and tempts all living things. Those who welcome its cold embrace emerge as other, as alien. In this ever-evolving world, humans desire to erase their insecurities and flaws by seeking the mist. They tinker with their own bodies, replacing their flesh for an “improved” version. With each pass into the vapor and another transformation completed, the effect intensifies. In this domino effect of evolution, change brings much more than anyone could handle. These individuals become so distorted that all that remains are contorted shells with human spirits, ultimately merging with the mist itself. Taking inspiration from vintage space suits, Arrival (2016) and artists such as Simon Stalenhag, H.H Giger, Harlan Ellison, and C.S Koseman, I set out to construct my own altered human in this design. This leather set is part of a collection that was inspired by my love for science fiction while incorporating real life contexts - vintage space suits. The suit itself represents the middle part of this transformation into mist with a black leather exterior and a hint of blue in the soft suede interior. The influence of the movie Arrival (2016) and the Alien franchise informed my choice of material being leather. To me, it mimics what I think alien flesh would look like The cocoon-like layered jacket silhouette was inspired by 1950's space suits. In this project, I wanted to explore an alternative method of joining leather that was both functional and decorative. While researching more about the spacesuits and how they are made, I stumbled upon leather welders wire gloves with staples attached to make them more protective. This method inspired me to use them to put the leather together. These staples are not the ordinary flimsy kind. The durable ones used along with the heavy-weight leather will hold the seams essentially, forever (until time takes it). My goal with this "space suit" was to create garments that withstand the test of time through craftsmanship and high-quality materials, while also achieving a timeless aesthetic. This was realized through its slightly oversized jacket and straight trousers, designed to be worn by anyone, regardless of gender. Everything material in the jacket, pants, and trouser are biodegradable from the leather and lining to the water-based glue and steel staples.