Photo by Laura Flannery
Kate Fuselier, of Cosmic Collective, with pieces from her new collection.
On September 14, some of the best fashion models in the industry will step out onto the rooftop of a Madison Avenue high rise in a riot of color. Betsey Johnson meets Kacey Musgraves in unrestrained pageantry of fringe and sparkle, resoundingly feminine but carried in strong shouldered silhouettes and power pants. It’s humorous, it’s bold, and it’s fun. And from Kate Fusilier’s Cosmic Collective, it’s New Orleans to its core. In fact, the collection, according to Fusilier, is inspired by the incomparable fashion of Louisiana collegiate marching bands—set apart by capelets and tall feathered hats.
“I know [the collection] is nothing like everyone else’s,” said Fusilier. “I’m so excited to bring something different to New York.”
Inclusion in Flying Solo NYC’s “Ones to Watch” runway for this fall’s New York Fashion Week is the culmination, and potentially the international launchpad, of Fusilier’s quick rise in the fashion industry.
Photo by Laura Flannery
Kate Fuselier, of Cosmic Collective, with a piece from her new collection.
Just four-and-a-half years ago, she was stepping out of a treatment center for alcoholism, ready to redefine herself. “I never once in my life was like, ‘I want to be a fashion designer when I grow up,’” she said. “I never even considered this would be my path.”
“I knew something was shifting, something was evolving. I couldn’t pinpoint what, but I just rode the wave.” —Kate Fusilier
It began with bandanas, which she wore daily throughout 2021 as protection from the COVID-19 virus, but eventually made into her signature fashion piece. Inspired by the loud, festive spirit of New Orleans, she had entertained ideas of zhuzhing them up—“I had considered rhinestones, or fringe.” Then, one day she walked into a boutique. “This was right when the Nashville scene was popping off, disco cowgirl,” she said. She noticed some denim jackets on display, dripping in crystal fringe. “And I thought, ‘maybe I’m onto something’.”
She walked up to the counter and pitched her idea for rhinestone fringed bandanas to the salesperson, who—to her surprise—said, “Yeah, I do think that would sell!”
Photo by Laura Flannery
Kate Fuselier, of Cosmic Collective, with pieces from her new collection.
“I literally told nobody,” said Fusilier. “I went home, looked up adhesives, different bandanas, different crystals. And I launched an LLC.”
She called her creations Blingdanas, which she began selling at area arts markets. On advice from a friendly local boutique owner who told her, “This is going to blow up,” she brought them to a show at Dallas Market Center—which led to boutique placements all over the country. Now, Blingdanas can be found in shops from Vegas to the Ozarks, from Palm Springs to the Grand Ole Opry.
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“But at this point, I still didn’t consider myself a designer,” said Fusilier. She started getting invitations to take part in local runway shows with the Junior League and other organizations, and putting together thrifted and upcycled outfits for the models to wear with their Blingdanas, getting help from her friends. When New Orleans Fashion Week called, “I knew something was shifting, something was evolving. I couldn’t pinpoint what, but I just rode the wave.”
She headed over to a nonprofit down the street from her house offering beginner sewing classes. “These little ladies taught me how to sew,” she said. When she debuted her first collection, rebranded as Cosmic Collective, at New Orleans Fashion Week last fall, her teachers all attended and cheered her on.
Photo by Laura Flannery
Kate Fuselier, of Cosmic Collective, with pieces from her new collection.
“After that, it just kind of blew up,” Fusilier said. In the year since, she’s received an invitation to apply to Project Runway (she didn’t make it on the show, but was honored by the recognition), has dressed folk blues musician Dusky Waters for French Quarter Fest, and been commissioned to create several looks for Kenny Chesney’s bass player, Harmony Kelly. And now, New York Fashion Week.
Creating this new collection for fashion’s most critical audience, she emphasized that she “just wanted to stay true to what [she’s] been doing.” And after it’s all over, she plans to (carefully) pack up all of the designs, and head straight back to her hometown for New Orleans Fashion Week, bringing it all full circle.
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